[Happinow]

Originally Posted by Johndc

The red biplane is mine. I fly over my neighborhood enroute to my aerobatic practice area 10 miles NE of The Villages while the engine warms up. I’m usually overhead for 2-3 minutes, my total flight time is normally 25-35 minutes from take off to landing. I don’t fly “back and forth over The Villages for hours”….how boring would that be!!

For example, on Oct 22 the post said I “started at 9:00….. still at it at 2:00”, was actually two flights, one in the morning that lasted 32 min and 54 seconds, of which 4 min and 40 seconds was over The Villages where I was trying to skywrite a “heart” for my wife. The second flight (it was such a beautiful day I just had to go again) lasted 29 min and 32 seconds of which 4 min and 9 seconds was over The Villages. So, not 5 hours overhead, but only two periods of 4 minutes each.

I video every flight I take with a GoPro camera mounted on the airplane and I archive the videos. My altimeter is visible in the video, and it’s easy to see that I’m always above 1000 feet and NEVER do aerobatics over The Villages. None…ever….no loops, no inverted flight. I always comply with FAA regulations. Easy to see on the videos. Also easy to see are the aerobatics I do over my practice area, near the national forest to the northeast….barrel rolls, aileron rolls, slow rolls, 4-point rolls, snap rolls, loops, loops with a roll on top, hammerheads, hammerheads with vertical rolls, immelmans, split S’s, Cuban 8’s and a few other fun things.

I do apologize to anyone whose peace I may have disturbed, Perhaps I’ll do most of my warm up time somewhere else, I know the airplane is noisy. However, I can’t let the exaggerations and accusations go unanswered….but I’m not entering into an online debate.

I also live in Sanibel. I see and hear you overhead a lot. Every time I hear your plane I say " there's that crazy guy up in the plane" and I run out to watch. I enjoy your runs overhead and I see people on the golf course stop and look too. Please be careful and continue to enjoy what you love!