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Need Help With Formation Lead Change!!!
- Thread starter virtu050
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Wow, there is an open ended question.
What is it you are having trouble with? Are you having trouble early, hand signal trouble, or getting back into parade position?
If you are passing the lead, once you look and signal, keep looking at the New Lead. Don't let your right hand follow your look, you just came from "perfectly trimmed up as lead" right?
Control inputs . . . teensy tiny for separation.
Power reduction to start going backward and down . . . small to drift rate is slow.
Patience: Much.
Don't rush it.
As you slide down, then back, and approach the parade posit (still 20' stepdown?) lead with a slight power addition to stop aft slide, then re correct power.
Just general comments.
Is your IP trying to get you to do it faster or smoother?
Or, have you not flown form yet and you need gouge?
-Demento
virtu050 said:
What is it you are having trouble with? Are you having trouble early, hand signal trouble, or getting back into parade position?
If you are passing the lead, once you look and signal, keep looking at the New Lead. Don't let your right hand follow your look, you just came from "perfectly trimmed up as lead" right?
Control inputs . . . teensy tiny for separation.
Power reduction to start going backward and down . . . small to drift rate is slow.
Patience: Much.
Don't rush it.
As you slide down, then back, and approach the parade posit (still 20' stepdown?) lead with a slight power addition to stop aft slide, then re correct power.
Just general comments.
Is your IP trying to get you to do it faster or smoother?
Or, have you not flown form yet and you need gouge?
-Demento
I have a tendency to get too much wingtip seperation and too much stepdown... and sometimes when i try to stabilize with 20' wingtip i'll get closer to lead... i was told to keep the wingtip on the horizon to keep from turning into lead...
Demento said:What is it you are having trouble with? Are you having trouble early, hand signal trouble, or getting back into parade position?
If you are passing the lead, once you look and signal, keep looking at the New Lead. Don't let your right hand follow your look, you just came from "perfectly trimmed up as lead" right?
Control inputs . . . teensy tiny for separation.
Power reduction to start going backward and down . . . small to drift rate is slow.
Patience: Much.
Don't rush it.
As you slide down, then back, and approach the parade posit (still 20' stepdown?) lead with a slight power addition to stop aft slide, then re correct power.
Just general comments.
Is your IP trying to get you to do it faster or smoother?
Or, have you not flown form yet and you need gouge?
-Demento
Slight wing-dip away, then slight wing-dip to stabalize. I know it's easier said than done. It took a few times for me to look right and move the stick left then back right, just didn't feel natural. I was taught an easy way to do it which pretty much leaves you no time for error. Once you get your lateral seperation, easy off a little power and a little nose down at the same time, then be ready to catch it with a little power at the bottom. (all at once, smooth, not fast) Work with it in 3-D, instead of correcting one step at a time. You'll get it. Was this your first form flight?
I had one T-2 instructor ask me if I turned the "Wingtip Magnets" on when I did a lead change. "C'mon man, you can't be flipping that switch when you're doing a lead change! That's just dangerous." I think Demento was right on when he said your arm automatically follows your head when you look left right. If you can stabilize your elbow on your leg when you're doing it you would be amazed at how much more stable your initial LC is.
The secret to T-34 formation flying
Every correction creates a need for a countercorrection. You will tend to make corrections in sets of threes once you see an error in position.
For example, let's say you are "sucked." Let's say you choose to first aim to get on the bearing line and then close the nose to tail. You really want to make the power-distance and wing-bearing line corrections together, not in isolation, but for illustration we will take them as discrete tasks.
The initial wing correction, which is small, moves you toward the bearing line, but you have to take that correction out as you approach the bearing line, or you will blow through it. You then take the counter correction out with a slight movement to stabalize on the bearing line. Three corrections-countercorrections. While you are doing that, you have also added a small amount of power to correct your nose to tail distance. Assuming you got back onto the bearing line before fixing your nose to tail, you still have to take that power correction out as you get to the correct distance, then counter correct again to stabilize in position.
Right, clear as mud.
Lead change. I'd guess that you might be waiting too long to make that first counter correction to stop that "drift away" from what you are describing. A little wing movement "away" starts your drift, then you have to take that little heading change out to stop the drift, or you will keep drifting away.
As to the "too low" the key is to make a very small descent and then counter correct before you hit the "sight picture" from the FTI since momentum is a factor.
And as others have mentioned, it usually takes a few tries to get the timing right. That is why you get more than one Form flight before you solo. :icon_smil
-Demento
virtu050 said:
Every correction creates a need for a countercorrection. You will tend to make corrections in sets of threes once you see an error in position.
For example, let's say you are "sucked." Let's say you choose to first aim to get on the bearing line and then close the nose to tail. You really want to make the power-distance and wing-bearing line corrections together, not in isolation, but for illustration we will take them as discrete tasks.
The initial wing correction, which is small, moves you toward the bearing line, but you have to take that correction out as you approach the bearing line, or you will blow through it. You then take the counter correction out with a slight movement to stabalize on the bearing line. Three corrections-countercorrections. While you are doing that, you have also added a small amount of power to correct your nose to tail distance. Assuming you got back onto the bearing line before fixing your nose to tail, you still have to take that power correction out as you get to the correct distance, then counter correct again to stabilize in position.
Right, clear as mud.
Lead change. I'd guess that you might be waiting too long to make that first counter correction to stop that "drift away" from what you are describing. A little wing movement "away" starts your drift, then you have to take that little heading change out to stop the drift, or you will keep drifting away.
As to the "too low" the key is to make a very small descent and then counter correct before you hit the "sight picture" from the FTI since momentum is a factor.
And as others have mentioned, it usually takes a few tries to get the timing right. That is why you get more than one Form flight before you solo. :icon_smil
-Demento
Try using only left rudder to get your separation, it works wonders. When using this technique, don't hold onto the stick, rather, make your hand flat and put it up against the right side of the stick so you won't accidentally pull it right when looking at your wingman during the change. Doing that will also allow you to push the stick left if you need to use wing dip to get away from new lead if you do start getting closer to him.
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