EZ squadron Formation Flight

Joinup on Departure

•Poor power management, rapid climb, and/or tight turns by the lead will make things difficult at best for his wingman

–Lead should maintain the initial runway heading longer than usual

–Keep the climb gentle – especially with a staggered departure

–Make wide crosswind and downwind turns

•Allows wing to turn inside lead to join up

•Prevents whipping the wing into a “sucked” position

–Straight-out departures call for moderate climb and power levels

•Poor joinup technique disrupts the flight and increases the danger of a midair collision

–Always use geometry (turns) not power whenever possible for joinup

•Turn inside the lead to catch-up

•Turn outside the lead to fall back or reduce closure rate

–Inexperienced wingmen tend to seriously underestimate

•The power required to catch up to the lead from an in-trail, sucked position

•The power reduction needed to arrest the high closure rate that develops


	Departure puts a heavy demand on the skills of both the lead and the wingman. Things happen fast once an element breaks ground! This is definitely one of the most demanding phases of formation flight, and it is not the time to demonstrate what a “sierra hotel” formation pilot you are! Leave that to the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels. Give the lead enough room so that you both can get your gears up, climb rates stabilized, and generally get into the “groove” of flying.
	In the case of the lead, his central objective is to fly a flight profile that is readily achievable by his wingman. In particular, he must moderate his power and flight path because too much power, too high a climb rate, and/or tight turns will blow the wingman away into an impossible, “sucked” flight geometry. Extending the departure before turning cross- and down-wind almost always is a good idea, particularly if there are more than two planes in the formation. This gives stragglers room to “cut the corner” in order to catch up.
	The wingman’s job on departure is to maintain 100% eye contact with the lead, and to accomplish a smooth and safe join-up. Nothing is more discouraging than hearing on downwind that your wingman is already lost! It happens, sad but true, and it is a sure sign of a major screw-up. The wingman will soon learn that catching the lead by using power is difficult and dangerous. It seems to take forever, and then suddenly he is faced with an unexpected and horrendously high closure rate that can easily result in a severe overshoot. Be smart and use turn geometry, not power, to control your join-up! The time to catch the lead is on the cross-wind and down-wind turns. Turn inside the lead to overtake, turn outside to fall back.
	In the case of a straight-out departure, the lead needs to cut the wingman some slack in both the power and climb departments. Also, the wingman should avoid catching the lead from directly behind where an overshoot becomes both more probable, and more dangerous.