Sawamura

From previous Saturday.

Rudder pedals make it easier and more comfortable, but they are not required. The first 1 1/2 years, I used the Twist Y-Axis on my X-52 pro for the rudder controls. :music_whistling: Track IR is something I would recommend every virtual airshow pilot to increase the Situation Awareness during displays, whether in formation or solo. For smoother controls, you may also tweak/tune your axis curves(Pitch, Roll and Rudder) to make have a very sensitive reacting aircraft.

Here are some tips I can provide you from when I learnt my first steps in formation flying. Start off easy. Create a small mission with an AI as lead, in your case, a P-51 with a good stable cruising speed(about 250mph). Fly your P-51 close to it and hold a decent distance. The positioning doesn't matter at first. It is important that you fly close to it and learn to use the throttle in formation. Once you feel comfortable enough with the throttling you should focus on the positioning, still only in level flight without any turns. Join the leading AI in the 'Slot' position to learn to use the elevator controls to stay in position. Don't use your rudder while learning the first steps. They come in use later. Once you feel confident behind the leading aircraft, change your position to either side and make yourself more familiar flying a solid and somewhat stable position. Once you feel good in level flight, you can go for your first turns. To practice turns, you may look for a partner to practice with. Someone who can keep the aircraft very stable as leader and who has experience(sounds easier than it is, I know...). Following an aircraft through turns is not far away from flying your first rolls in formation. It needs more time to practice to work with your throttle and the stick simultaneously. Again, don't use your rudder yet but control your distance to the leading aircraft with your elevators by carefully banking in and out. For the advanced stuff that goes beyond military purpose, you need an experienced leader to practice rolls and later, loops. Depending on how much time you can put in practicing formation flying, it can take you up to 9 - 12 month to be good at it. Some are faster, some need more time(I was one of the later). Joining a virtual air demo team with already existing skills and experience in formation certainly advantages you to join for live shows sooner, so that you won't need to learn the basics before flying the real stuff. Although, many teams welcome everyone who have never flown formations and/or aerobatics before because the amount of virtual airshow pilots is only a very small portion in this community. Good luck and happy flying! :)

70 F-15E Strike Eagles of the US Air Force's 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, April 16th 2012.

At first I thought the first picture shows a BF-109Z(Zwilling). :music_whistling:

It's actually a bunch of single shots plus some Photoshop magic. The original one is even bigger. :)

The Blue Impulse are back in their hangar. :)