CHAPTER 3 - FORMATION Flashcards
What are some reasons to fly form?
- Minimum Risk Route (MRR) compliance
- Safe Passage Corridor (SPC) requirements
- Mass employment (AAR, airdrop, assault transport)
- escort by other aircraft
- other flight route restrictions based on geography or time
How should you plan formation flight?
To exploit the threat, terrain, and retain ability to maintain contact with other aircraft
What are the 2 formation flight regimes?
Define them
Cruise: nose to tail separation of 20-3000 ft (0.5 NM) within 500 ft vertically
Tactical: nose to tail separation of 3000 ft (0.5 NM) to 3 NM and vertical separation will be planned/briefed to support mission requirements
What are the 4 baseline formations?
Trail
Fluid Trail
Radar/Tanker Trail
Echelon/Tanker Echelon
What is the standard formation in VMC?
Fluid trail
How should formation briefs go?
Should be concise with a focus of effort placed on the objective area and contingencies versus administrative items
What dictates formation size and type?
Aircraft resources available Ingress and egress environment Terrain Weather Route Altitude to be flown Mission objectives
What is the formation contract?
- Lead leads
- Wingmen are responsible for deconfliction from lead
- Wingmen clears leads 6 o’clock
- All speeds will be referenced as IAS
- Lead announces unplanned speed changes greater than 15 kts
- Lead/wingmen announce unexpected encounters with atmospheric or threat based on mission degraders
- In lieu of a briefed rejoin plan, lead will use distance to go to a specific waypoint along a flight path and MSL altitude to identify rejoin points for assembling the formation
PLA for climb to join
PLA for join to altitude
HP and airspeed in descent
Go-around airspeed
68
70
NLT 1000 HP and <230 KIAS
180 KIAS
Explain PACE for inter-flight communications
Primary - HAVE QUICK cypher text
Alternate - dissimilar band cypher text
Contingency - another dissimilar band cypher text
Emergency - plain text
How is the radio check supposed to sound?
Ranger Flight, uniform 1, go secure, uniform 1 secure, uniform 2, U2 secure, V1, V1 secure, V2, V2 secure, ARC-210, ARC-210 secure
What are the standard TACAN A/A settings?
Lead - 70Y (during HAAR, lead carries TACAN A/A for refueling portion)
Dash 2 - 7Y/69Y
Dash 3 - 6Y/68Y
Dash 4 - 5Y (during FWAAR/TAAR the last aircraft in the formation carries the A/A TACAN for refueling portion)
Who shall sign the flight plan for the flight?
PIC/Formation leader
What shall all aircraft have at briefed man time?
Current ATIS
EGI aligned
Primary inter-plane frequency tuned
Define nonstandard formations
Total lateral separation (lead to last aircraft) greater than 1 mile and total vertical separation greater than 100 ft
Why should engine starts commence at briefed time?
Predictable in-flight fuel loads
What is the taxi interval?
What if significant FOD hazard exists?
2 aircraft lengths
4-5 aircraft lengths
How long should all aircraft remain on tower frequency?
Until last aircraft is airborne
How should Squawks and TCAS work for a flight?
- all aircraft have individual squawks during departure until standard formation is established
- once standard or directed by ATC, lead will carry mode 3 squawk
- remaining aircraft select ATC REPLY OFF, TCAS BRDCST ON, TA ONLY, and downlink data off if flight ID is entered
Where should the first aircraft be positioned on the runway?
Left or downwind side
If cleared for takeoff from hold short what is the expectation?
Rolling takeoff for the flight with no delay on the runway
What is the takeoff interval?
15 seconds or the preceding aircraft breaking the deck, whichever occurs first
When is a running rendezvous accomplished?
When there is no turnout after takeoff.
Wingmen will displace 500 ft laterally, fly briefed airspeed plus 20, and intercept bearing line
During a turning rendezvous what are the bearing line cues for a stepped down formation?
Lead aircrafts vertical stabilizer bisecting the outboard wing. The bottom of the fuselage should be on or slightly above the horizon.