Kyle Boatright wrote:

danger. The folks you see on the ground are not spectators but airshow
staff or pilots.

Yes, and heaven knows that it is acceptable to put pilots and their parked
aircraft at an unnecessary risk.

The spectators are usually laypersons and can't judge the risks, so it's
the organisator's and the pilot's responibility to protect them.
Contributing airshow pilots however can judge the risks (I would hope!),
and if they decide to deliberately stand there during a flyby, it's
their choice.

Whether the pilot put himself in danger is another question. I can't and
won't judge it, but even if he were, that's what airshow pilots do
routinely.

No. Their goal is to entertain the crowd but NOT put themselves in danger.

You can read, can't you? Where did I say it was their goal to endanger
themselves? It's their goal to entertain (and probably also a bit to
show off, I dare to assume), and to reach that goal, they accept to take
risks.

BTW, they take routinely much bigger risks than that low flying
airliner. Flying inverted a couple of feet above the runway is *much*
more risky, yet done routinely at airshows and I've yet to see a post
about that here. Probably the most stupid thing done at airshows is the
"inverted ribbon cut", but you see it everywhere and nobody seems to
care. E.g. http://youtube.com/watch?v=sCbwRzgJLhk. In that particular
video you also see one low level pull in which the pilot nearly stalls
the plane. Most dangerous at that altitude, but people don't even
realize the situation. The same goes for those stupid low level flicks
shortly after take off. E.g. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uy0KkqFf_bU
Extremely risky, because in a flick you have *never* 100% control. Yet
nobody seems to care. But an airliner flying low... wow, *this* is going
to cause discussions! It reminds me somewhat of the quality of certain
newspaper reports which have been discussed here on a regular basis.

BTW, I don't say that I like such displays. Actually I hate them, and I
don't attend airshows for that very reason. I do attend aerobatic
competitions, though, because they are flown at a safe altitude.
Besides, the flying there is mostly better (i.e. more precise), albeit
less spectacular.

bodies in all developed countries. Those governing bodies usually react
with disapproval on stupid pilot tricks (at airshows or otherwise) which put
the public at risk.

You can read, can't you? It was my point that the public wasn't put at risk.

Stefan