I think it is silly to say that aerobatics, which have a certain element of danger at high altitudes, are not more dangerous when flown at low altitudes.
Hmmmm??? Since when have aerobatics been ‘dangerous’ at high altitudes? Correctly flown at ANY height, any aerobatic manouvre is safe. When flown badly, with poor speed control, low energy etc at low level, the aeroplane is going to bite you eventually. At high level, Its going to look and feel awful, but not ‘dangerous’ unless you eventually hit the deck by putting the aeroplane in an unrecoverable situation.
In 2000 or 2001, Strikemaster G-BXFX spun in from something like FL150 when a test flight spinning exercise went wrong….both occupants had servicable ejector seats which were fired at a very low height (much less than 2000ft). 10000ft after entering the spin (i.e 5000ft at the very lowest), with no apparent recovery, I’d have been reaching for the handle!
Low level display flying effectively means that even if a parachute is worn, the options for escape in an emergency are limited – which is why aerobatic manouvres HAVE to be flown accurately every time, every display, 100% of the time.
If there was any evidence that low level aerobatics, correctly flown, were dangerous, they wouldnt happen (in UK flying displays anyway)
Aeroplanes rarely fail….pilots often do
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