FUNDAMENTALS OF FORMATION FLYING

the most effective use of the airplane as a weapon of war both defensively and offensively is when it acts in teams as a single unit consequently knowing how to fly formation is a must for all military pilots the smallest unit in a formation of planes is the section which may consist of two or three plays the section leader is primarily responsible for the conduct of the section and it's safe navigation the job of the wingman or wingman is to maintain proper wing position in relation to the leader when flying a wing position the leaders wings are your horizon a fundamental rule of formation flying is to keep your wings parallel to your leaders at all time you'll find you have a tendency at first when you're flying wing to fly with your inboard wing down this causes your plan to move toward your leader attempting to correct this by adding outside rudder causes your plane to skid use a Laran to keep your wings level with your leaders wing all three plane formation flying is parade formation which is closed and dressed up the wing position is flown with 75 feet between corresponding parts of the wing plane and the leader and on a 45 degree bearing from him to establish this bearing center your plane in the 90 degree angle formed by the trailing edge of the leaders wing and is fuselage in this position your inboard wingtip will be 10 feet laterally from your leaders wingtip and your nose will be 10 feet aft of his tail you will also maintain a 10-foot step down which keeps you below the prop and wing wash of your leader if you fly low enough so that you can just see the inboard wheel cover of the lead plane you will be approximately 10 feet stepped down in making turns the inside wing man should drop down to maintain his 10-foot step down and roll in the leaders axis the outside wingman rolls on his own axis since the inside wing man travels a shorter distance he must throttle slightly to keep from over running the leader while the outside wing man traveling a greater distance must advance throttle to keep up you are the starboard wing man flying in parade formation in a be to hold your position frequent small adjustments of stick rudder and throttle must be made to correct any relative motion if the leader seems to be pulling ahead you are actually dropping back and must use throttle to stop the relative motion if he seems to rise you are dropping down must use your stick to pull back up lateral movement of course is corrected with rudder when the leader starts a right turn you trottle slightly dropping down and rolling on his axis to maintain your 10 foot step down during the turn the opposite wing man will look like this I'm turning to the left you advance throttle to maintain your 10 foot ass position and roll on your own axis keeping your 10-foot step down throughout the opposite wing man will be in this position now let's see how to form an echelon this is the signal from the section leader to change from B to write a Shalon this is the signal of execution after the signal to form a right ashalon has been given and on the signal of execution the left wing man drops down with slightly reduced power until he is 20 feet below the opposite wing man he then moves back until he is ten feet behind his tail he then skids slowly across by applying right rudder and using a stick to keep his wings level he adds throttle as necessary to maintain nose to tail distance he stops his skid and eases up in the position the wings must be kept level and the movement slow on receiving the return to be signal the number three plane drops down 10 feet since he has already stepped down 10 feet from the plane ahead crosses back smoothly using throttle as necessary to keep from dropping back on reaching the opposite side he again uses throttle to move forward to a 45-degree bearing from the leader then pulls up to a 10 foot step down after receiving the right echelon and execute signals the left wing man drops down then back until he is 20 feet below and 10 feet half the opposite wing man he crosses under slowly maintaining his position by use of throttle then pulls up 10 feet into the right ashalon position after the return to V signal the number three man drops down 10 feet boss is back then moves forward to a 45-degree bearing from the leader he then pulls up to a ten foot step down left echelon Xandra turns to VR performed in exactly the same way to the other side here is how the maneuver will look to you you receive the right echelon and execute signal the opposite wingman is kept in view as you drop down until you are 20 feet below and then back to 10 feet behind him keep your wings level and cross under smoothly formal right ashalon advanced your throttle and ease up in the position on the signal to return to be you drop down 10 feet advanced throttle to maintain nose to tail distance while crossing back then add further throttles who move forward to a 45 degree bearing from the leader then pull up to a 10 foot step down before you can fly in formation you have to know how to get into formation this is accomplished by the original rendezvous before taking off a landmark is selected where the planes will meet traveling at 100 15 knots and at a predetermined altitude you will rendezvous in this manner when you arrive at the rendezvous point when the leader is directly over the point of rendezvous he begins a left 30 degree angle of bank turn at the completion of 180 degrees of turn the distance from the point becomes the radius of the rendezvous circle and can be maintained with about 15 degrees of Bank it is necessary however for the leader to vary his degree of Bank slightly in order to maintain a circular pattern around a geographical point under all except no wind conditions the first plane to arrive directly over the point is the leader he begins his 30 degree angle of banked turn the second plane rendevouz by entering the rendezvous circle and heading directly for the center of it after determining the leaders position from him and when directly over the center of the point he commences a rapid left turn and continues it until he has the leader on a 45 degree bearing to the starboard of his headache and is within the sector made up by a 225 degree and a 255 degree relative bearing from the leader the closing relative motion commences at this point and should be continued until he is in position to join up pausing momentarily on the inside of the leader he crosses under to write echelon the third plane follows the same procedure here is the CV rendezvous used by the Navy as the quickest means for planes to join up after leaving a carrier to simulate planes taking off a right ashalon will be broken and a column formed in this manner after giving the breakup signal the lead plane breaks to the left in a 45-degree Bank 180 degree turn holding his altitude constant after 5 seconds at which time the leader will be a beam of the second planes left wing the second plane gives the lead to the third plane and also goes into a 45-degree Bank 180 degree turn being sure to mains his altitude five seconds later when the second plane is a beam of the third planes left wing the third plane makes the same turn the angle of bank may be varied during the last 30 degrees of turn in order to line up directly behind the leader it is important that all planes maintain their altitude during the turn to ensure a proper interval in column once in column all plane should use throttle to adjust their air speed to 150 knots and the wingmen should adjust their altitude to that of the leader by placing him on the horizon the leader maintains his new heading for 10 to 12 seconds then begins a 180-degree turn to the left with 15 degrees of Bank when the leader bears 30 degrees off the second planes port bow the second plane makes a steep left turn which he holds until the leader bears 45 degrees from him on his starboard bow at the same time positioning himself within the 225 to 255 degree relative bearing sector from the leader he holds these respective bearings as he closes on the leader when the third plane has the leader 45 degrees from his port bow e 2 makes a steeply banked turn and closes on the leader in the same manner remember to keep all aircraft ahead of you in sight at all times as the second plane closes on the leader he pauses momentarily on the inside then crosses under moving into right ashalon the third plane does the same waiting if necessary on the inside until he is assured that the second plane is moving into his position you are third plane in a right echelon the leader gives the CD breakup and rendezvous signal passes the lead to his wingman blows a kiss and starts his 45 degree Bank 180 degree turn after 5 seconds when the lead plane is a beam of the second planes wing he passes the lead blows a kiss it begins his 45 degree Bank 180 degree left turn five seconds later you follow making sure you maintain your altitude completing your turn you will still be 10 feet stepped down trottle should be used at this point to adjust airspeed and altitude to the leaders the leader holds this heading for 10 to 12 seconds after completing his turn then starts a 15 degree Bank 180 degree turn to his left when the leader bears 30 degrees off the second planes foul the second plane commences a steep left turn when the leader is 45 degrees off your port bow you make a steep left turn holding it until the leader is almost 45 degrees off your starboard bow and you are in a 225 to 255 degree relative bearing sector from the leader at this point reduce your angle of banks sufficiently to commence a smooth controlled rate of closure keep these bearings as you close on the leader don't wait until in position to cross under to take your step down it should be taken as soon as you are close enough to recognize remember keep all planes ahead of you in sight at all time after closing leader the second plane hesitates momentarily then crosses under and behind the leader into his position in the right ash alot you follow the same procedure flying opposite your proper position for a brief moment on the inside of the turn and then crossing under to the right echelon with practice this maneuver can be done with constant power setting but if at any time you find yourself falling back add full throttle to catch up if through misjudgment the second plane has fallen back you wait on the inside opposite your wing position until he catches up then cross under as he is assuming his position always keep your eyes on your leader for any signals he may give Erie is signaling that he is giving the lead to the second plane the pilot of the second plane acknowledges the signal by patting his head and pointing to himself and the pilot of the lead plane moves out 10 feet drops down 20 feet below the second plane balls back to a position opposite you then moves in 10 feet and comes up 10 feet to make a V formation the old leader must not take his eyes off the new leader at any time during the lead chain the parade for plain division is composed of two two plain section the number one man is the division leader the number three man the section leader bearing step downs and distances from plane to plane are the same as in three plane work to form an echelon to the right the number two man describes an arc as he flies across at the bottom of the arc directly after the leader he has stepped down 20 feet but then form left echelon the number two plane flies back across first and the section then follows using throttle as necessary to maintain nose to tail distance turns in the balance parade formation are made similar to the turns of three planes in a parade be formation turns in a Shalon are also the same however in the four plane parade formation turns are never made into an echelon the standard tactical formation for maximum maneuverability and effectiveness is the four plane division in free cruise in his formation the wingman and the section leader dropped back to a 30 degree bearing on the division leader while increasing their step down and nose to tail distance to 20 feet respectively this step down must be maintained to avoid becoming caught in the slipstream or wing wash and to provide ample space for all planes to maneuver freely a4 plane division in free cruise balanced flight appears like this when seen from the rear when a turn is made all planes are free to maneuver within a 60 degree limit astern of the division leader moving in board or outboard while maintaining position when any turn is completed each wing man dresses on his section leader on the outboard side of the division bearing 30 degree the number two man is always on the opposite side from the second section if you are flying number four position in slow cruise free cruise right echelon a turn will look like this turns away from the Echelon are done by all planes moving into position vertically below the leader upon completion of the turn the planes move back into their original ashalon positions in turns into the echelon the number-two man eases into position vertically below the leader as the number three and number four men find themselves pulling in too close to the plane in front they also move into position vertically below the leader when the turn is completed all planes return to their original ashalon positions to rotate wingmen the division leader gives the signal and the second plane slides across to the left making a balanced formation the number three and number four planes move up one position the number two plane then passes back down the echelon and crosses to the right and takes up his position as the number for plane now let's see how the lead is passed from your position as number four man here is how it will look to you the division leader moves out 10 feet drops down and then back passing the same distance from each succeeding plan as he did the previous one he then crosses to the right and takes his position as the number format