Originally Posted by
da Rock
Sounds like your model club has a pretty lousy flying site.
So your GA pilot's excuse for buzzing the crowd was he was so low and going so fast he didn't see them until it was too late to get back to legal altitude.
You obviously haven't been flying in a real GA airplane in a while. You are talking about people in the open, with or without cars / structures visible. And I'm talking about 90 to 120 kts. the average speed of a Cessna. Not your or my flying field specifically.
I was taught to be at least 1000 feet unless doing emergency landing practice. And one reason is the scenario you brought up. Not to mention it would be difficult to do an emergency landing from 500 feet.
one thing is what you are taught, another completely different thing is what is legal. Is right there in black and white on section (c) of the above quoted FAR. And since you know the subject, you are also aware that a pilot _can_ legally fly MUCH lower than 500 ft. depending on the type of airspace. Is it smart? well, that is where personal minimums come to play.
You guys keep using the term "buzzing the field". If _that_ is the case, you _MAY_ have a point. The fact that the OP insinuated that local pilots come to _visit_ the rc field could be taken as a possible infraction. Otherwise a non-local pilot would have no clue about activities not marked on the aviation charts. That is where the above mentioned personal minimums come into play.
Good luck.
Rafael