Formation Flying Article

Spinner

While I applaud Bill Cox for raising more awareness about formation flying, I must take strong exception to the overall tone of the article. It has a pronounced "how to" feeling to it and seems to encourage self-teaching, even among two inexperienced formation pilots. While the points made are technically correct for different aspects, it is absolutely not a good idea to just go out and try this. And being "lead" is far more than just being the plane out front: there's a reason only the more experienced and technically qualified pilots in the military do that role.

It may be perfectly legal for anyone to go fly an ultralight with no more "training" than having read a how-to article but I think we'd all agree that would be dangerous. Similarly, no student pilot can solo without significant right-seat training, to include at least the basics of dealing with "contingencies", such as imminent stalls, go-arounds, etc.

There ARE resources for such training. In fact, Piper Owner Society generously supports one: the Cherokees to Oshkosh group. The group has developed techniques and training which makes formation flying much safer and more enjoyable - and offer instruction for free. While the focus is on getting a group of planes to OSH, several of us have gotten "the bug" for formation flying and have advanced our skills through additional training and certification - again, for free. I encourage anyone interested to explore the cherokees2osh.com website, especially under Documents/CtO Training Resources. This is NOT to say that reviewing those resources will get you qualified to go fly formation - any more than reading the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook would let you hop in a plane alone and fly it. But the resources will show you the very basics for our group, as well as the seriousness with which we take this "team sport".

Similar groups for formation flying in other GA airplanes exist as well, such as Mooney Caravan and Bonanzas to Oshkosh. There's considerable "cross-pollination" among these groups (I've personally taught probably a dozen Mooney pilots).

If you're interested in learning more about formation flying, please consider attending one of CtO's mini-clinics in the spring, even if you don't plan to go to OSH. You're welcome to come just to observe or to have one of us teach you.

The key piece is I believe it's risky to consider this a "self-taught" skill. Please avoid the temptation!

/Ed LeBlanc
Director of Air Operations
Cherokees to Oshkosh
FAST Lead Pilot

Scott Sherer

Good comments!