Hi Everyone!
Question for those of you that do / are interested in flying formation.
Do you PM the people that you want to fly with and set up your flight that way?
In the military there are a few systems we use with strict rules and protocol to fly formation. To the extent that we can fly IMC and know exactly what the others in the formation are doing (help with computers).
Any interest in flying formation??
-Rhody01 / Steve
If you have people you want to fly with (so not random people) this is preferred.
You can put out a topic like this asking for interest.
Check out IFES ;) we escort people!
^^ Which is exactly a formation !
There are some mixed feelings about flying formation with random unknown pilots. Some people really enjoy it when you join them in flight, and others can’t even stand the idea of another plane in close proximity.
It sounds like you have real life experience with formation, if that is true then you are an extreme outlier here!! What I do when flying with unknown pilots in IF is join from a 45 angle to roughly a 1nm trail position, and then approach with a slow closure rate to see how they react. If they start getting squirrelly I immediately knock it off and break away…
I’ve noticed that most people who get upset about this subject have had bad experiences with pilots that have zero energy management skill and no respect for safety. Which I completely agree with, no one want planes crashing into them! If you fly safe in formation with unknowns, I doubt you will have any problems (except for the system lags).
Yes check out IFES! Come join me and @Furtive_masstwofourf and @CaptainDawud and many others in on the fun!