Overview:

Formation flying is an absolute blast. The goal may be to perform at an air show — or merely to get a group of two or more airplanes safely from point A to point B. When done properly and done well, it can be incredibly satisfying, and it looks great from the ground to boot. That said, flying in formation is serious business! It's not the type of thing you want to just "go up and try" with your buddies, at least not without training and education. Very straightforward and safe techniques have evolved over the years, stemming primarily from military flight ops. We as civilian GA pilots can benefit greatly by learning and utilizing these techniques.

The West Coast Formation Clinic is a weekend-long immersion into the study of safe formation flying. It promises to advance the knowledge and proficiency of all pilots who attend, regardless of prior exposure. There will be a broad range of experience levels among those who attend the clinic. Experienced pilots help train the rookies. A variety of FFI cardholders will be on hand to ensure a high level of professionalism and discipline. The objective of the clinic is to train rookies to a solo skill level so that they can return and train safely at home — and also to provide a venue for continuation training for the experienced pilots.

The clinic begins with ground school, which is mandatory for all pilots who wish to fly at the clinic. Ground school includes an interactive visual presentation and Q&A session that delves into and beyond the T-34 standards and the RV supplement in detail. While this may be a review for some of the more experienced pilots, it will introduce rookies to the mechanics of formation flying needed to conduct our practice flights safely and uneventfully.

Following ground school, there will be a series of introductory practice flights. First, rookies will ride along (as passengers) observing experienced pilots fly a normal 4-ship continuation training mission. This demonstrates proper control/throttle movements involved and shows what the formation should look like — for many, this may be their first exposure to flying close to another airplane.

Each rookie then begins flying off a flight lead's wing at the controls of his own airplane — with a Safety Pilot, an experienced observer, riding along. This flight includes low-order maneuvers where we teach hands-on formation flying. The Safety Pilot will be riding the controls to ensure proper stick and throttle response. If the rookie is doing well, we hope to "clear him for solo formation" in two or three supervised training missions, and possibly move on with 4-ship training. If not, we stand him down and move on with those who show the skills. That's when the fun and the challenge really begins! There will be several 4-ship practice flights being conducted simultaneously in separate practice areas around the base airport.

The conclusion of the clinic is usually marked by an "all-up" formation, in which all qualified pilots will fly. This gives everybody a chance to experience and participate in a Large Formation. Look good for the cameras and have fun doing it!

NOTE: This clinic is for RVs ONLY. For the sake of safety, we cannot accommodate other aircraft types. If you have enough "like aircraft" to form a flight (2-4 ships), please contact us. We will NOT mix aircraft of different types.

NOTE: The T-34 Formation Flight Manual is required for participation in this clinic. This manual provides basic information about formation flying as well as standardized hand signals. All participants must have read this manual cover to cover prior to the clinic. For more information, including where to buy the T-34 manual, please refer to the Preparation page.

For more information on formation flying and FFI, see this AvWeb article on formation flying or the FFI Program Manual. Please view the other pages on this web site for complete event information. We hope to see you there!