Formation Flying Clinic - Fredericksburg, TX - June 2012

[RyanShort1]

So a number of good warbird pilots are in Fredericksburg, TX this weekend practicing their formation flying. I was flying a lowly Cherokee and a Cessna 172 with students today, and managed to stop long enough to get a few pictures - which by the way are due to the kindness of a forum member here who helped me out since my last camera broke and I was down to shooting with my cell phone.

Enjoy the shots!







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Ryan

[CH2Tdriver]

I love the original NMF 'patina' on the Mustang!

For the non-warbird owner/regular GA pilot, are there opportunities to learn formation flying and become qualified as far as the FAA is concerned?

[Obergrafeter]

FAA doesn't require a "rating" to fly formation except in waivered airspace. FAST ratings are provided by a few organizations..........NATA, Traron, T-34, etc.

[aerojock]

I found it interesting that when I looked up the registration on the Wildcat it is registered in the "Agriculture and Pest Control" category. Was it used as a crop duster?

[FG1D Pilot]

As I recall a story I read: At the end of WWII a fellow from Idaho ( I think) bought 16 Wildcats to use as crop dusters. Most of the ones flying are from that group.

[stearmann4]

For the non-warbird owner/regular GA pilot, are there opportunities to learn formation flying and become qualified as far as the FAA is concerned?

It's not the close precision required by the FAST signatories, but cessnas to Ohkosh has a pretty good syllabus for you to get some inital exposure to formation flying while using a rented C-172, with clinics spread all over the U.S. https://www.cessnas2oshkosh.com/training.aspx

I took a departure from warbird formation instructing to help out a friend of mine who's the national direrctor for C2O...and it was a pretty good time if you keep it in perspective.

You don't really have to be planning on flying the mass arrival at OSH, the clinic I just taught a couple of weeks a go had 3 OSH participants and 6 guys with Cessnas who just wanted to what it was all about.

Mike-