Photon

I believe that in Norway (where I'm from), you need a special license to do aerobatics (JAA stuff).
How does this work in the US, do you need any special training to legally go do loops etc? Or do you just need to follow the FARs regarding parachutes when pitching more than 30 degrees up and down, and other aerobatic FARs?
Only thing I could think of would be a tailwheel endorsement to fly most of the airplanes that are rated for those things

usmc-sgt

just need to follow the FARs in the US. The only license perse is a low altitude waiver which is issued by the FAA and difficult to comeby but you dont need that anyway unless you are an airshow pilot.

do not practice acro-
Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement;
Over an open air assembly of persons;
Within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport;
Within 4 nautical miles of the center line of any Federal airway;
Below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface

and if you are expecting to bank more than 30 degrees or pitch more than 60 throw on a chute. The tailwheel endorsement is not required unless you plan on taking the plane out solo and instruction is not required although it would be near suicide to attempt it without prior training.

I was/am an acro instructor so let me know if you have any questions.

Bug Smasher

No specific license or endorsement.. but high performance, tailwheel and possibly a complex endorsement can come in handy.

that said, it'd be fairly reckless to teach yourself aerobatics.

Jeremy

more info from the FAA:http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory...hlight=91%2048

REFERENCES. In addition to the sections of the FAR quoted above,
there are other sections of which a pilot should be knowledgeable:
a. Section 91.9 - Careless or Reckless Operation. “No person may
operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the
li.fe or property of another .”
b 0 . Section 91.15 - Parachutes and Parachuting Pilots should
familiarize themselves with the requirements of Section 91.15 which contain
certain parachute wearing and packing requirements.
c. Section 91.71 - Acrobatic Flight. “No person may operate an
aircraft in acrobatic flight:
(a) Over any congested area of a city, town or settlement;
(b) Over an open air assembly of persons;
(c) Within a control zone or Federal airway;
(d) Below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface; or
(e) When flight visibility is less than three miles

Stryker

Isnt is supposed to be the other way around? (30 deg pitch, or 60 deg bank)

(sorry I promise im not nitpicking)

usmc-sgt

ha...yea that would make sense.

Photon

yea by all means, I have no plans of teaching myself aerobatics :P
Just wondered how it was legally

Stryker

That would be frustrating trying to do steep turns in a 172 with a bulky parachute on.... grrrrr...

Cubdriver

Not to change the subject, but what do you think of doing practice engine outs down to 50 feet- legal or not? Obviously, you can't do them in non-accord with FAR 91.119 so it would be over a sparsely populated area probably over a grass pasture, and free of structures including fence posts. I think it's legal personally.

Stryker

I read that other thread and I think that person busting their checkride for going below 500 was a bit BS.... Now going all the way down to 50 feet, I dont think its really necessary, cause if you dont know if you are going to make a field by the time you get to 500 feet AGL, you probably arent going to make it... I teach in an area that has a LOT of open fields/farmland, so we can go low, but I usually break it off at about 500 and then afterwards ask the student why they could or could not make it to the particular field that they picked, and if not what could they have done better... I dont see any need to go that low...

Now I think the main reason for that is that if you get that low and do experience a REAL engine out it could aggrivate the situation esp with a student and they could freak out and potentially stall/spin the plane... and we all know the results of these scenerios that low to the ground... Never good...just my opinion though...

Cubdriver

Well I agree it is dangerous and you would want to clear your engine and be ready to land in case it does blink out but I see some value to doing low altitude engine outs occasionally to develop an awareness of what it looks like to actually land off airport. 500 ft will do for most training purposes and this would be an occasional sort of thing, something that would be done alone for practice. I just wondered what the legal aspects of it were.