Caution: Landing Traffic

For some unknowable reason, in VMFAT-101 (the Marine hornet training unit), one of our requirements was to do a bunch of section landings......so flying parade until touchdown. It is weird and nothing you would ever reasonably need to do in life, especially in a Hornet. But I guess it was cool. We also did section takeoffs.....ie you release the brakes and stay right next to him throughout the takeoff, as well as double section takeoffs where two jets launch together simultaneously from in this case, RWY 24L and 24R at Miramar. Nobody in the Navy would ever do any of these things as far as I have ever seen. I'd certainly never brief either of those things.

Anyway, pretty cool video, not exactly what I'm ranting about
 
35 AoA said:
For some unknowable reason, in VMFAT-101 (the Marine hornet training unit), one of our requirements was to do a bunch of section landings......so flying parade until touchdown. It is weird and nothing you would ever reasonably need to do in life, especially in a Hornet. But I guess it was cool. We also did section takeoffs.....ie you release the brakes and stay right next to him throughout the takeoff, as well as double section takeoffs where two jets launch together simultaneously from in this case, RWY 24L and 24R at Miramar. Nobody in the Navy would ever do any of these things as far as I have ever seen. I'd certainly never brief either of those things.

Anyway, pretty cool video, not exactly what I'm ranting about
Click to expand...

Close formation flying is our bread and butter in UPT. It's basically confidence building for the students and refines their precision motor skills in formation, something they've never done before. Wing landings are not an item they have to accomplish to proficiency, but they're opted to sample it. For us IPs it is a proficiency item we have to perform and instruct to obviously. Close formation can be incredibly fatiguing for students at first, but hey, no sallies in baseball right?

A hornet friend of mine who recently transitioned to silver wings gave me the crash course into this weird Navy lingo. For those in the audience not familiar with Navy...

usn usaf
parade = fingertip
section = element
section t/o or landings = Wing (or element) t/o or landings

As to the grey jet world? Point taken, close formation is not commonplace compared to white jets. Formation is my favorite part of the white jet job. I feel lucky to still consider breaking out from a high undercast in finger-4, sliding the formation over and coming up initial 4-ship echelon, as a cool day at the office even after many years of doing the job. The kids enjoy it and who doesn't want to work with people who genuinely want to be there, know what I mean? It beats my long forgotten days in that miserable Buff community that's for sure.

You know what's weird to me? "Landing" without flaring. I keed I keed.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Close formation flying is our bread and butter in UPT. It's basically confidence building for the students and refines their precision motor skills in formation, something they've never done before. Wing landings are not an item they have to accomplish to proficiency, but they're opted to sample it. For us IPs it is a proficiency item we have to perform and instruct to obviously. Close formation can be incredibly fatiguing for students at first, but hey, no sallies in baseball right?

A hornet friend of mine who recently transitioned to silver wings gave me the crash course into this weird Navy lingo. For those in the audience not familiar with Navy...

usn usaf
parade = fingertip
section = element
section t/o or landings = Wing (or element) t/o or landings

As to the grey jet world? Point taken, close formation is not commonplace compared to white jets. Formation is my favorite part of the white jet job. I feel lucky to still consider breaking out from a high undercast in finger-4, sliding the formation over and coming up initial 4-ship echelon, as a cool day at the office even after many years of doing the job. The kids enjoy it and who doesn't want to work with people who genuinely want to be there, know what I mean? It beats my long forgotten days in that miserable Buff community that's for sure.

You know what's weird to me? "Landing" without flaring. I keed I keed.
Click to expand...

haha yeah fair enough. I get you on all points. I just thought it was kind of a funny waste of time, however cool looking it was. That said, I always enjoyed bringing a division (4 ship for you air force types :) ) into low holding at the boat and then in for the break. Paddles always seemed to enjoy it, mainly because it made the recovery go faster so they could get back to their XBOX until the next cycle started. Either way, normally meant an upgrade to my pass if I nailed the timing (all day case 1 stuff is comm out, so you just watch the deck and head to the initial when it looks about a minute from being clear/ready) and we all got aboard first pass.
 
35 AoA said:
For some unknowable reason, in VMFAT-101 (the Marine hornet training unit), one of our requirements was to do a bunch of section landings......so flying parade until touchdown. It is weird and nothing you would ever reasonably need to do in life, especially in a Hornet. But I guess it was cool. We also did section takeoffs.....ie you release the brakes and stay right next to him throughout the takeoff, as well as double section takeoffs where two jets launch together simultaneously from in this case, RWY 24L and 24R at Miramar. Nobody in the Navy would ever do any of these things as far as I have ever seen. I'd certainly never brief either of those things.

Anyway, pretty cool video, not exactly what I'm ranting about
Click to expand...

In the Marines, it seemed like section take offs were more popular than section landings. At least from what I remember. Got a lot of section PAR requests with "flight lead sep on final." Flight of four, seems like most were "non standard trail" on deparure. On arrival anything from the break, split 2 section PAR or singles PAR.

Good vid. Reminiscent of the Blues with A-4s.
 
It would really suck if the guy in the back flubbed it and had to do a go around.
 
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