Formation flying - dissimilar a/c

gkainz

Final Approach
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Greg Kainz
Interesting mix of aircraft here... Hawkeye balls to the wall and rest of the guys in slow flight :D
 

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Rather an old picture, that, with an A-6 Intruder on the right wing, no less the F-14 leading.
 
I've seen demo flybys with modern jets and WWII prop planes which are even more interesting...

airshow-1.jpg
 
A Bearcat/Hornet formation is a lot better performance match than a Tomcat/Hawkeye formation, but dissimilar formation is often more exciting than desirable. One of the worst formation near-disasters to which I was ever a party was an attempted formation interval takeoff with an A-7E leading an RF-4C. The Corsair pilot leading briefed a 5 second interval, and we still caught him halfway down the runway with our gear still in transition. I think we made three inadvertent lead changes before we passed the departure end -- we went max to idle to mil to max and back a couple of times before things stabilized with him leading and us on the wing.
 
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Rather an old picture, that, with an A-6 Intruder on the right wing, no less the F-14 leading.

fits perfectly with a rather old aviator - me! :) You sure the Tomcat's lead and not in trail? I know no self-respecting jet jock would fly trail with a Hummer, but the perspective of that shot sure looks like the Hummer's got the lead.
 
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Slightly dissimilar.
 

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I'll have to search for it when I'm at home, but on YouTube, there is a video of a C-47/C-17 formation flight.
 
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