Sorry Tossas, I can see you are suitably aghast at the lax laws outside Straya.....I didn't mean to hijack this topic and turn it into an Oz bashing forum (don't even start me on ATC / airspace)....but just to clarify - the German was clearly flying within 500ft of structures...which would have been illegal in the US and UK....he just couldn't read a map...and the UK has a night rating too (now called a Night Qualification) and the US has a logbook sign off if you did 3 hrs and a 100nm XC with a distant landing during your PPL training....whereas Aus requires 15 hrs and a rating because it is darker in Australia....Don't get me wrong I think it is very silly to fly below 500ft, and night flying without visual reference requires instrument skill....it's just that Australia has a culture of not relying on people's common sense and instead creating detailed regulations to outlaw every possible permutation of stupidiy...and lawmakers are very efficient as well...I especially like the Penalty Units system for fines....all CASA need to do is change the value of a unit periodically to keep up with inflation instead of revising every regulation with a fine (literally thousands)....Anyway no more Aussie bashing from me in this thread....I am fifth generation Aussie afterall...love the place...hate the bureaucracy