No one is questioning if it is alright to fly directly at the pits. If you go back and actually read the posts on this page you will see that HoundDog has stated that a pilot may "never never never" fly toward the flight line. We inquired how that is physically possible. So far, no one has been able to answer the question. There is also some question as to the length of the flight line and what about pits and spectators that may extend for hundreds of feet in either direction of the pilot stations . A reasonable person might conclude that a pilot might eventually be aimed at the flight line. As for the figure 8. That is a legal maneuver. As are others that momentarily aim the plane inward toward the flight line. How can an airplane be flown so that all turns are away from the flight line. It cannot. Perhaps that is why the AMA has not written such a rule.

I am not saying that a pilot flying at the crowd and then yanking up isn't scary and even perhaps performing an unsafe maneuver. I would certainly go ask him to stop doing that. That is pretty clear cut. We all seem to agree about that. But what about a line that only shallowly approaches the Flight Line and at a distance further than the AMA requirements, say 200 feet out. And without the yanking immelmann .There seems to be no way to express or define the exact point at which a maneuver crosses the line into the realm of unsafe. And certainly the blanket statement of "never never never" be aimed at the Flight line is the absolute that cannot be met.

I forget who made the statement about defining pornography. They said, "I may not be able to define it, but I know it when I see it". Well, that seems to be the standard here as well. There is a point when we can see something is unsafe. But actually defining that point is very difficult and writing it is even more difficult. So then the question becomes ; How do you hold a person in contempt for not understanding what cannot be spoken ? I would say the answer is to approach them and ask them , politely, to not do "that" any more. That thing you just did. We would prefer you didn't do that any more. There is no need to judge their intend or if it was malicious. It is all a matter of perspective and their perspective might be slightly different. They may have forgotten the size of the crowd today. Just tell them to stop. It isn't a big deal.