EZ squadron Formation Flight

Two-Ship Departures

•Wing should be positioned nearly abreast of element lead

–Acute position reduces the potential for a collision on the ground

–Tire or brake failure may not be controllable – Don’t hit the lead!

•The wingman must maintain an acute position on the roll

–Lead must stay within the wing’s available power envelop

–Leave close formation on departure to the Blue Angels

•Call an abort immediately if something isn’t right

–Remain on your side of the runway if at all possible

–Wing must be prepared to make a go/no-go decision

•Multiple elements depart in flights of two

–Don’t rush the preceding element

–Start your roll as soon as the previous element breaks ground


	Once you have some formation time under your belt and have built up your confidence, you are ready for a two-ship (or element) departure. Leave three- and four-ship departures to the pros!
	Generally, two-ship departures are quite easy to accomplish since the lateral clearance offered by most GA runways more than adequate. The key to safe departures is for the wingman to maintain the correct “acute, angle-off” geometry with respect to the lead aircraft throughout the roll. Obviously, he also has to stay on his side of the runway centerline.
	A nearly universal mistake is for the wingman to fall behind the lead (become “sucked”) during take-off. If the lead has some type of tire, brake or wheel failure, a “sucked” wingman stands an excellent chance of participating in a ground collision! A second major source of take-off error is improper power management by the lead. The lead must leave the wingman some power margin so that he can maintain the correct angle-off position. Departing at less than full power is something that the average pilot finds highly unnatural. Thus, all else being equal, it is advantageous to have the lower performance plane take the lead on departure so that he can use full power, with the wingman pulling off power, as required, to maintain position.
	The possibility of an abort on departure should be pre-briefed, and both pilots should be prepared to abort at any time. Either pilot can call an abort. However, unless a “flight abort” (as opposed to “abort, abort”) is called, the safest course of action may be for the “non-abort” plane to continue the take-off. This is a pilot decision that each flight member must be prepared to make.
	If a multiple-element (i.e., more than two-plane) departure is planned, each element should delay its roll until the preceding element breaks ground. Reducing this delay by rolling early makes join-up easier, but it isn’t worth cutting into the safety margin of the flight.
	Note that with a staggered departure, each plane can start to roll when the plane on his side of the runway is off the ground. Thus a multi-element flight can be launched nearly as quickly by using a staggered departure procedure as it can by departing as a series of two-ship elements.