Imagine yourself flying low and slow through New York City: buzzing the Statue of Liberty, weaving between buildings and circling the Brooklyn Bridge. Illegal? Unsafe? Probably. But Raphael Pirker of Team Blacksheep, a group of R/C airplane enthusiasts pioneering the use of first person video, has found a way to do it. His aerial joyride through New York has been viewed over a million times on YouTube and offers a unique and incredible view of Manhattan.

Some things to look for: The launch site is the newly opened section of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. You will notice what looks like a large bandage on the Brooklyn Bridge, part of a maintenance project that is scheduled to be completed 2014. The team makes some incredible low passes on buildings in Downtown Manhattan as well as the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. The large suspension bridge halfway through the video is the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, connecting Brooklyn to Staten Island. And it’s hard to miss the seven-pointed crown and torch of Lady Liberty.

In an interview, pilot Raphael Pirker discusses the necessity of experience and safety when operating R/C aircraft in the vicinity of people and property, and he warns that you should not try this at home. He claims that they were stopped by police and park rangers several times while making the video, but he kept everything safe and legal through extensive research of local laws and FAA regulations.

Regardless of the legality of the flight, questions have been raised as to the safety and wisdom of operating in such a populated area. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

A word of caution to would-be daredevils: do not try this at homeThis is one of my favorite flying videos. It has all the elements: low level flying, speed, a great airplane and the perfect soundtrack. The airplane pictured appears to be a Van’s RV-4, a popular and fun homebuilt kit plane. Stephen Stills’ Treetop Flyer (different version on iTunes) is the perfect musical accompaniment.

Aerobatics is cool. Naval aviation is cool. And when you put the two together you get the über-cool Blue Angels, the US Navy flight demonstration squadron. As an outfit, the Blue Angels have been wowing airshow crowds since 1946 with their precision maneuvers and tight formation flying and this video captures the latest generation of Blue Angels F/A-18A-D Hornets in vivid HD. Smoke on!

“Operating helicopters onboard ships is extremely complex, due in part to the difficulty of landing a helicopter on a moving platform, but also due to numerous practical engineering issues.”In what is perhaps the most harrowing helicopter landing I’ve ever seen, test pilots land a Lynx Mark 90B helicopter on a pitching and weaving Knud Rasmussen class Patrol Ship. This is part of a limitations test by Prism Defence, a company specializing in Ship Helicopter Integration.

Anybody who’s ever taxied an airplane in low visibility knows that situational awareness is critical. In most cases, radio communication is the only way air traffic control can positively identify an aircraft’s location. If the pilots don’t know where they are, then neither does air traffic control. This was a hard lesson learned by the crew of United 1448 in what could have been another Tenerife.

Aside from heavy fog, it was business as usual at Providence, Rhode Island on December 6, 1999. United 1448, a Boeing 757 has just landed and they are cleared to the ramp via taxiways November and Tango.

The first mistake is made by United 1448 as they make a wrong turn on taxiway Bravo which leads back to 5R/23L – the active runway.  Unaware of the situation, Providence Tower clears FedEx 1662, a 727, for takeoff.

Perhaps out of caution, or maybe sensing that something is wrong United 1448 asks “are we cleared across straight ahead on November?” 1448 unknowingly misleads ATC into thinking that they are holding short of the inactive runways 23R and 16, and they are cleared to cross. Mistake number two.

What follows is nothing short of terrifying. Amid a confused transmission you can actually hear the thrust from departing FedEx 1662 as United exclaims “somebody just took off!” But the story doesn’t end there.

Realizing the existence of a problem, ATC tells United 1448 to stop – a sound plan. At this point United 1448 makes it clear that they are lost. At this point only three facts are known:

1. Somebody just took off close enough to scare United 1448.
2. The flight crew are on a runway.
3. United 1448 is near the Kilo taxiway (which only crosses one runway – 5R).

At this point there is enough information out there for ATC to piece together the whereabouts of United 1448 – or at the very least raise a red flag that the airplane may be on the active runway. As United 1448 attempts to explain their situation Tower cuts them off, “United, stand by please.” That’s ATC lingo for shut up.

What follows is unthinkable. Amidst the confusion, Tower clears another aircraft, US Air 2998, for takeoff. Strike three. Knowing the inherent danger in this situation, United 1448 makes one last plea to the tower controller. “Ma’am I’m trying to advise you, we’re on an active runway.”

But the controller is still locked into the premise that United 1448 is on the other runway and hastily clears US Air for takeoff again! There’s the fourth link in the accident chain and there appears to be nothing the United crew can do about it.

And here’s where exceptional decision making comes in. US Air 2998 saves the day by choosing to remain clear of all runways despite continued pressure to take off from Providence tower.

This is a vivid reminder that we all need maintain a “big picture” view of the airport environment and do our part to maintain safety. There’s just no guarantee that anybody else, even ATC, is going to operate in your best interests.

There has been a lot of talk about the “point and wait” trick for cloud clearance since my first post on the subject. To clear up any questions on the matter, I went up and shot some video of this rule of thumb in action. Check it out and spread the word.

This one’s been circulating around the web for a week now. On May 31, a piston twin ran off the 2,100 foot runway in St. Barthelemy Airport (SBH) in the Carribean. What makes this video so interesting, aside from the surfer-dude commentary, is that the pilot opted not to go around even after floating for nearly three fourths of the runway.

When should you execute a go around? As one of my first flight instructors said: go missed anytime the approach does not look perfect. Seriously now, increase power and go around if there is any doubt in your mind as to the safety of your upcoming landing. Continue on to the video.