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Posted by Ulysses on May 17, 2008, 12:06 pm
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> Boy, talk about thread drift!
>
> >
> > I also got the impression that after these recovery drivers get
prosecuted a
> > few times for trespassing they probably face a prison sentence so have
to
> > quit their jobs and become balloon pilots, now that they have the
necessary
> > experience.
>
>
> I know a little about this subject since I am a glider pilot. Flying
around
> without the benefit of an engine sometimes means an off-field landing. In
> hundreds of flights, I have never had to land without the comforts &
safety of
> an airport runway, but that is just 'cause I haven't really had the
opportunity
> to do that much cross country flying. I can tell you that 90%++ of land
owners
> are friendly, courteous, and helpful to hapless glider pilots. The
difference
> between a happy landowner and someone like the lady you described is
usually the
> attitude of the pilot. I don't know much about the balloon folks, but it
is
> very much in the collective culture of the soaring community to find a way
to
> leave every landowner happy. Sometimes this means paying for damages
(real or
> imagined), sometimes it means a free glider ride, but usually just a smile
and a
> friendly word will suffice. Are there glider pilots who are jerks? Yes!
Just
> like any other cross section of humanity.
>
> Also, an aircraft owner has the protection of an obscure bit of
federal law.
> Just being forced to land on your property does not make the pilot a
trespasser.
> The law generally grants the aircraft owner reasonable rights of recovery
and
> the landowner a reasonable right to recover damages.
>
> Property ownership in the US does not always give you absolute control
over
> every inch of your land 24/7. For example, most states allow land
surveyors
> reasonable access without permission, and typically the public has use of
any
> navigatible waterway that runs through your property.
>
> Vaughn
>
>
I have no objection to somebody making an emergency landing. That's not to
case here. The balloons regularly fly into an area that is all private
property and they know it. Most of us are on their maps of places where
they are not supposed to land I do not know anyone who doesn't mind the
balloons landing on their property.
There's a lot more to it. My dogs are scared to death of the balloons.
They must imagine them as some kind of horrible, fire-breathing monsters.
They are not afraid of airplanes, helicoptors, motorcycles, cars, trucks,
tractors, or anything other kind of vehicles. I cannot let them out in the
morning unescorted because one if my dogs got so scared she ran away for two
days one time and 24 hours another time. This means not only is my dog
terribly upset and lost but I also have to spend all my time looking for
her. She now knows to go into the house (or at least the garage) if she
gets scared. People out here also have cows and horses and they object to
the balloons too. I have read many accounts of horses being scared by
balloons and injuring or killing themselves trying to escape.
Opening a closed gate and driving onto the property without the owner's
permission is trespassing here. It may not technically be trespassing for
a balloon to land unless you have huge "No Trespassing" signs aimed at them
and have notified each balloon company not to land on your property.
Besides that there are people here who will probably shoot someone who
breaks into their property. Often they will cut fences and padlocks to get
to their balloons. Some of the balloon companies have a release form that
states that the pasengers may be arrested for trespassing so it is clear
that they expect to land on private property, at least some of the time.
They also drive through the dry brush in what is considered an Extreme Fire
Hazard Area to get their balloons. The park in the dry brush which is
something we locals simply do not do. They frequently land in the dry brush
and take off again in search of a better spot. I've not read of any
burshfires being started because of this but it's a risk I'd rather not
take. They have been suspected of stealing patio furniture etc from
unoccupied homes that they landed near. They regularly fly well below the
500' required by the FAA.
I believe it is possible for the balloonists to find a place to fly their
balloons where they can land without trespassing and disrupting the lives of
the people who live on the ground. If not, oh well. Things that I like to
do have been outlawed. Things I don't like are encouraged. I used to think
I should tolerate things I did not like because I had the freedom to do the
things I like. Once they took away my freedoms I no longer feel like I
should have to put up with anything I don't like.
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