EZ squadron Formation Flight

More on Joinups and Turns

•Overrunning the lead is the greatest safety concern

–If needed, fly under and behind the lead to the outside of the turn to prevent an overshoot

–Never go belly up on the lead – You may hit what you can’t see!

•Anticipate power requirements and don’t be timid

–Immediate action to correct a drift out of position is essential to avoid large corrections and a potential PIO situation

–You are never “in formation” just maneuvering to get closer to it

–All turns require significant power changes by the wingmen

•Outside turns require power to accelerate, to speed up, and to climb

•Inside turns require a power reduction to avoid overshooting

•Beginners often fail to reverse the power drill at the completion of the turn

•Turns into the wing require extra skill by both lead and wing – particularly toward the strong side of a finger four formation

•Lead should never initiate a turn into an echelon formation

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	It is hard to overstress the importance of avoiding an overshoot condition! The only two things that are worse are: flying over the top of the lead, and hitting him! Common situations leading to overshoot are: 1) misjudging the closure rate on join-up 2) lead turning into the wing, and 3) bunching up in the pattern and on final to land.
	The natural inclination when joining up on the inside of a turn with an excessive closure rate is to increase your bank angle to avoid hitting the lead. This is very dangerous! Increasing your bank angle decreases the turn radius, further increasing the closure rate by cutting off the lead. Additionally, wing is likely to lose sight of the lead when he goes “belly up”. This is a tailor made prescription for a mid-air! The correct procedure is to pass below and behind the lead to the outside of the turn where the longer flight path can “soak up” the excess speed. Once wing has his speed under control, he can again cross-under and behind the lead to take his assigned position.
	In station keeping (as in most other phases of formation flight), relative motion is everything! The sooner undesirable relative motion is detected and decisive corrective action taken, the smoother and easier it is to fly formation. A common mistake by the new formation pilot is a failure to make prompt and aggressive power changes. A wingman using this “walking on eggshells” approach to power management quickly finds himself drifting out of formation at an increasing rate. The belated response then is a really big power change to arrest a deteriorating situation – which culminates in a wild excursion in the other direction (i.e., PIO, pilot induced oscillation). A key characteristic of our planes is a very sluggish response to power changes. They respond more like an ocean liner than a car – and they don’t have brakes! Anticipating this delay is a skill that the formation pilot can only acquire with practice, but it is crucial to precision station keeping.
	In contrast with relatively aggressive power changes, accurate station keeping calls for continuous, but very small changes in pitch, bank and yaw. Remember, formation flight is not aerobatics!