Ed Guthrie said:
There is high probability that "unchoreographed" in your mind and the reality of the flight as flown are totally different. As an example, a formation join-up is could be described as "unchoreographed" in that the general process is discussed and rehearsed, as are the various sub-elements, but the actual particulars are chosen in flight via communications between the two pilots, i.e. "Joining up on your right, blah, blah, blah."
In formation demos, it doesn't happen with any other team. Every single move from starting the walk-down to pulling out the pens for post-demo autographs is scripted, including every single word said on the radio (well, NEARLY every word -- e.g., at certain points they call actual speeds/altitudes entering and exiting their maneuvers so they other pilots can compare it with what they should have and compensate accordingly for being 10 knots slow or 50 feet high or whatever, but the call is made by the book).
For all we know the pilots would call sub-elements in the routine as they progressed, each sub-element rehearsed and practiced ad nauseam, but the specific order of those sub-elements within the actual routine left to whim, weather, crowd reaction, etc.
Again, no other formation demo team does it that way -- every element, sub-element, etc., is done by a preplanned scripts. Listen to the Blues as the start their takeoff -- the leader reminds the team exactly which of their several demo options they are doing, and from there on, every move is by the script. They even have planned contingencies at every point for one or more planes falling out for mechanical reasons (except the Boss who flies lead -- if he breaks mid-show, the show stops). They most certainly don't change a planned rejoin to diamond to a rejoin to echelon in mid-demo.
For all the Monday morning quarterbacks know, a right echelon join-up in a left turn was called, but someone went dyslexic and turn right, not left, or joined left, not right. Those mistakes happen in totally choreographed shows, too, and have nothing to do with how the show was organized.
It is just for this reason that the other formation teams
don't change moves during the show. While there may be an occasional "mistake" in a Snowbirds show, their safety pilot watching from the ground will call it out instantly and if necessary, they will stop and regroup before it gets dangerous. The biggest thing the teams train for is absolute consistency -- everyone does everything exactly the same every time.
Even with our very simple formation flying in the Grumman community, we have a 23-page formation standards manual that each pilot must have committed to memory. We do everything by that book or we brief it to death before the flight. One of the worst sins to be nailed on in the debrief is blowing something from the standards -- even something as simple as 2 failing to call "in" when going to close trail. Other than in an emergency, if we didn't brief it and it isn't in the book, we just don't do it, and we have basic guidance even for emergency situations in the book. In a formation, you cannot have anyone not KNOW exactly what is expected of him, and what to expect from the others -- improvisation is unacceptable.
Now, my perspective is colored by 15 years of military formation flying experience (including a number of over-a-beer discussions over the years with former Air Wing 11 and A-6 community shipmates who became Blue Angels), and my FFI-sponsored civilian formation training and qualification. Ed may have a different perspective based on his formation experience. But given what the involved pilots themselves said publicly about how they ran their performance, I was not surprised by the outcome.
