As for low flying....well my summer job is flying a firebomber,so low flying is a requirement of the job. However it is done after specific initial and recurrent training by highly experienced pilots and conducted in accordance with specific SOPs design to maximize the safety of the operation. What I saw was a lowtime pilot in a light single cranking and banking on the deck exposing himself and his passenger to needless risks for no good reason except for cheap thrills....hence my "stupid" comment on an earlier post.
I have to agree. I saw an inexperineced pilot displaying poor understanding of low level safety, operations, altitude control, and for that matter, airplane control. Including the aircraft registration in the video only confirmed the lack of judgment.
My career has involved a lot of low level operation, including many years of aerial firefighting and ag (crop dusting), and other operations. Flying low is a discipline, and it needs to be done responsibly. The people in the video weren't showing discipline, or responsibility.
Depth perception over water, even rough water, is challenging to determine, even with experience. Depth perception when jinking around and thrill seeking may present a greater challenge. The pilot in the video was up and down and all over the place, rolling reversals this way and that, displaying poor airmanship and again judgment.
I do not think given that many or even most readers will not have the experience or training to understand and mitigate the risk inherent in what was shown in the video, that it is a good idea to suggest what this guy did was a good idea. That is obviously just one personal opinion and is worth every penny you paid for it
Make that two personal opinions; agreed.
Those bent on saying "leave them alone, they're just having fun" clearly don't have the experience or understanding of what they see to make such a statement in anything but abject ignorance.
The inexperienced pilot who doesn't know the difference might be tempted to duplicate the same stupidity, leading to tragedy.
To the poster who said he'd been doing it for some time and never got hurt, I'm reminded of the man who plays a round of Russian Roulette. He puts the pistol to his head, presses the trigger and then when nothing happens, says "it's okay. It didn't go off."
One day it will.