This last statement is absolutely correct. Common sense alone suggests staying at a safe altitude in case the engine quits. You know what they say about pilots: There are those who have experienced engine failure, and there are those who are going to...
The reason for questioning the OP on his location relative to the field, is that if he lives directly in the approach zone on one end of the field, there is simply no way to avoid flight close to his property when the prevailing wind favors flight in that direction. When taking off, the aircraft would be expected to be higher, but at full throttle and thus making a lot of noise. On landing, the aircraft would be expected to be much closer but close to idle. If you drive by the approach end of a commercial runway where 747's are landing, they are going to skim by because thats what they have to do, since they have little margin for error.
I personally have never seen anyone with a "circular field" smooth enough or groomed enough that it permits onmidirectional takeoffs and landings. It is normally enough of a job just trying to keep 2 runways maintained, let alone a field multiple times the surface area. It would also be much harder to get a permit for that kind of operation, since you would have to demonstrate freedom from navigational hazards over a much larger number of acres.
Generally speaking one tends to have prevailing winds from a particular direction. Most of the time, operation from the field would be the opposite to the prevailing wind unless it is near calm. Takeoff and landing would be in the same direction, again unless it was near calm. So claims of taking off in one direction and landing in another sound pretty wierd. It sounds more like unauthorized low altitude "buzzing" to me, but then it is being told by someone who does not understand the mechanics of flight and who won't come up with the facts regarding his location relative to the field. He could post an earth google image (without revealing the exact location showing the runway, with an "X" marks the spot) for his location that would shed some light on the issue.
If he
is living off the end of the runway, close passage of the aircraft is unavoidable when conditions favor that direction. Then one has to understand whether the field was possibly in existance for many years but dormant (very common situation due to age or loss of medical) and the original owner sells to a new owner who buys specifcally
because of the strip. If you can land your plane at home, you may save several hunderd $/month in hanger rental at the local public field and a lot of commuting time.
Nothing said prior detracts from the need to be considerate. Apparently the neighbor seldom takes off over the OP's home - must be wind based. Why then his approach is low over the OP is not clear to me, and
normally it is possible to execute this part of the flight
without bothering anyone.
Sure, you may have authorization to fly over a house at 75 feet, or 500 feet (I think most of us can tell the difference between those two extremes), but that doesn't mean you should, or that it's neighborly to do so.
