A_F_2015_03_04_

hen you spend

your aviation

career putting

space between

yourself and other

aeroplanes, your

first attempt to fly in

formation can be daunting, scary and

a little bit ego-busting ... until you

realise it is the most fun you can have

in an aeroplane without explaining

yourself to a Magistrate.

My first time in formation was

not my initiation; over the years I

had been in many as a photographer,

and how the pilots ever held station

so accurately was a constant source

of wonderment.

It was inevitable, I suppose, that

one of my pilots-of-choice, Lilydale

instructor Murray Gerraty,

would slap me in the face with a

metaphorical glove and tell me it

was time to take up the challenge

for myself. Was I a good enough

pilot to fly safely only 12 metres

away from another aeroplane?

I certainly didn’t think so, but

knew if there was anyone in the world

who could straighten me out it was

Murray, so up to the plate I stepped.

A brief moment

Until you sit in a formation briefing,

you have no idea of the amount of

work it takes to get the show in the

air. Planes have to be compatible with

each other, everyone needs to know

exactly what’s going on–no surprises–

and most importantly, each pilot has

to trust emphatically the skills and

attitudes of the other pilots.

Part of that is knowing who is going

where, when they are going to go and

how they are going to get there. Every

aircraft is assigned a number with

the leader taking No.1 and the others

numbered right to left or front to

back, depending on the formation.

If, say, the opening formation is a

simple “vic” (arrow head), then lead

is One, the plane in echelon right is

Two and the plane in echelon left is

Three. That’s your number, and you

keep it for the whole flight, even if

you change positions. Another plane

can take the lead, but they don’t take

on the Number One call sign; that

stays with the original leader.

Then there’s frequencies to sort

out, runways, take-off and landing

positions, sequences, speeds and

the all-important emergency

procedures. All of this is discussed

among an air of crackling banter

and pilots scribbling furiously on

small bits of paper. As the newbie

in the pack, I initially found the

lack of rigid seriousness alarming

for a group that was going to fly

dangerously close to each other in

just a few minutes time!

“Banter is one of the most import

parts of formation flying,” Murray

pointed out. “We’re always having

digs at each other. You’ve got to

trust the other pilots, and relaxed,

good-natured banter is a great way

to build that trust.”

For my first sortie, I would

have Lilydale Chief Pilot Craig

Hammond beside me in Airtourer

ECI, with the aim to see if I could

hold station on the leader, Michelle

and Murray in CT4 PTM. The

CT4 is effectively an Airtourer that

had breakfast, so we were going to

have to pedal furiously to match

them in flight.

In Close Company

Formation flying is one of those things that

always looks fantastic when it’s done right.

Steve Hitchen went out to Lilydale to find out

exactly how much work is needed to get a

formation team to the precision stage.

43

LINE

ASTERN

PG 44

PRACTICE AND

OTHER MISTAKES

PG 48

TAKING

THE LEAD

PG 46

GETTING

DOWN

PG 48

GOING

FORWA RD

PG 49

australianflying.com.au

March – April 2015 AUSTRALIAN FLYING

MAIN: Try to choose aircraft that are

similar, and place the aircraft with

the most excess power at the rear.

LEFT: Perfect position. In line astern

you follow the leader’s nose wheel.