What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

2012 West Coast Formation Clinic

rvmills

Well Known Member
Ready for some WCFC Formation Fun? Then C'mon out to Madera, CA April 27-29, 2012!

VAF%252520post%252520diamond.jpg


The 2012 West Coast Formation Clinic (WCFC) will be held from Friday April 27 to Sunday April 29, 2012 at Madera Municipal Airport (KMAE), Madera, California.

Formation flying is an extremely fun, challenging and rewarding activity. The WCFC is designed to introduce you to the basics of, and develop your skills in, RV Formation Flying to FFI standards...in a safe, professional and fun environment.

The WCFC is open to RV aircraft only (-3, -4, -6, -7, -8, and -9…sorry no RV-10s or RV-12s). Participating pilots should have excellent stick and rudder skills. Aircraft must be in excellent condition and have dual controls, dual PTT, and an intercom. No vernier throttles allowed.

Interested pilots should join the 2012 WCFC Yahoo Group (paste http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WCFC2012/ into your browser if the link doesn't work). Once you're notified of Group membership, please register for the clinic by adding a record to the database section. You must do both steps to fully register!

This Yahoo Group site is the discussion group for all participants in the 2012 WCFC clinic, and contains links to obtain or download the required manuals and references, as well as clinic details, required paperwork, and hotel information.

The WCFC will begin at 1700 PDT on Friday evening with a mandatory, multi-media, interactive Ground School for all participants. Dinner is included (at cost).

On Saturday evening, there will be a fly-out BBQ dinner at nearby Sierra Sky Park (E79), hosted by FFI Flight Lead Tim “Slick” Cone, at the internationally renowned “Casa Cone”.

On Sunday, an “All-Up” flight for all participants that have been cleared for 4-ship solo will be briefed and flown, giving all participants a taste of large formation maneuvering.

We would like to extend a sincere welcome to all clinic participants. We look forward to sharing the fun, challenge and camaraderie of RV Formation Flying with all comers!

Last Year's Gang!

VAF%252520Post%252520WCFC%2525202011.jpg


The Mustang and the Extra won't be there, but plenty of RV's, like the guys in the middle here, will! Hope you will join us this year!

VAF%252520post%252520mustang.jpg

Cheers,
Bob "Nasty"
 
Last edited:
That Mazda engine sure puts out nice smoke. If you have a smoke system, you can rest assured that you will get put in the BACK of the formation if you are able to fly formation.
 
It might have been interesting for Reno

I was approached by a few folks about attending the Reno race school last year and I believe they want the pilots to have formation experience - maybe this is a way to get some for aspiring big time racers. I do have vernier engine controls though so that is out for me.

A little off topic, Bob Mills I am curious how one of the nicest guys I know could get a handle "NASTY"?

Also, that mustang looks like it has another foot or so of vertical stabilizer/rudder height over a stock model. I seem to remember something about some research P-51 being so modified. I noticed in the autographed photo of the one Paul Poberezny sent me that it looks tall too. Here is a photo of the ROK AF P-51 I was sitting in at K-2 AB, I think you can see the difference. The one I am sitting in is a "D" model and I know they went up through at least "H." Maybe it is just a later model instead of an aftermarket mod.

IMG-1.jpg

Oh, thread drift never mind

Bob Axsom
 
Last edited:
Bob,

I think yours are some great questions, and we can easily play this to keep in on-topic! All for the good of formation flying! :)

I was approached by a few folks about attending the Reno race school last year and I believe they want the pilots to have formation experience - maybe this is a way to get some for aspiring big time racers.

Spot on Bob! Pylon Racing Seminar begins with two days of formation flying, and pilots earn a FAST card as part of their racing license. As you can imagine, two days from no experience to a FAST card would be a challenge, so coming in with formation experience is recommended. Rookies are evaluated on basic formation (are you safe around other planes) and on how they fly the course. A lot to absorb in a week as a new kid, so a good foundation in formation is a big asset, since there are enough butterflies about getting on the course as a newbie already! An RV formation clinic would be a great place to start getting that foundation!

Also, that mustang looks like it has another foot or so of vertical stabilizer/rudder height over a stock model. I seem to remember something about some research P-51 being so modified. I noticed in the autographed photo of the one Paul Poberezny sent me that it looks tall too. Here is a photo of the ROK AF P-51 I was sitting in at K-2 AB, I think you can see the difference. The one I am sitting in is a "D" model and I know they went up through at least "H." Maybe it is just a later model instead of an aftermarket mod.

Its a later H-model Bob (good eye!). They were built at the end of the war as a lightweight variant, and did not see WWII combat action. Not many of them survive today. Take a look here for some neat info on Mustang variants (that link is the H). The D got the bubble canopy, and the H got the tall tail. I'm kinda partial to the D tail...kinda like a classic RV-6 tail (aesthetically speaking), eh! ;) 'Course, if they offered me an H... :D

To keep it OT, that photo was after a 4th of July parade fly-by in Boulder City, NV. That formation was 7 RVs (all WCFC vets and now FFI card-holders), followed in trail by 2 T-6's and the Extra, then followed in trail by the Mustang. After the parade, the T-6s had to bingo home, then the rest of us joined on the P-51 over Lake Mead. Pretty nice of the gent to give us all some of his very expensive time! And in case you're wondering...yes, a Mustang sounds really cool from his wing too! :) Here's what the full post-parade formation looked like:

P-51%252520%25252B%2525207.jpg

Photo Credit: Pat "Dulette" Dulaney, "co-pilot" of Marc "Dula" Dulaney, and an official photographer of the West Coast Ravens. (Also official "hider of the Jeremiah Weed bottle"!) :eek:

A little off topic, Bob Mills I am curious how one of the nicest guys I know could get a handle "NASTY"?

Thanks for the comment Bob...right back atcha. As for the call sign...oh, dunno...perhaps a few hijinks in a former life...used to hang with a guy named "Craze", if that tells ya anything! ;) (All in fun!)

And back to the clinic, call signs not required to attend...though you might leave with one! :p

Cheers,
Bob
 
Last edited:
WCFC 2012 Registration Closed

We've now closed registration for the WCFC 2012. (This thread remains open, only clinic registration is closed.)

The response to the clinic has been incredible, and we have 72 pilots now signed up! We have a large group of carded Flight Leads and Wingmen attending, as well as quite a few Advanced, Intermediate and Rookie pilots.

Lots of planning underway to ensure all in attendance receive high quality training and have a very enjoyable weekend! It should be quite an event!

If you missed the sign-ups for the 2012 clinic, you can get a head start for next year by joining the WCFC 2013 Yahoo Group here.

Cheers,
Bob
 
Photos

We want photos of the Sunday all up 72 ship. You can make an Airbis 380 formation.

You guys have a safe and fun clinic out there.
 
We want photos of the Sunday all up 72 ship. You can make an Airbis 380 formation.

You guys have a safe and fun clinic out there.

Thanks Widget!

As for the all-up, the plan is for less than 40...that gig (and the record) has been reserved for later in the year! ;)

Where we park everyone for Slick's fly-out BBQ is another question! :rolleyes:

Lots of pics will be forthcoming though. We are going to experiment with a new automated scheduler that Tim "Tank" Redden has developed (looks pretty cool so far), and will be tailoring some pretty cool Rookie, Intermediate and Advanced training. Standard clinic format, with a bit of 2-ship training for Rookies after their 4-ship demo. Biggest challenge...airspace management!

We'll share the "goods and others" with other clinic hosts in a post-clinic debrief.

Big fun ahead!

Cheers,
Bob
 
Why is it when an announcement is made that sign up is CLOSED, people still try to sign up? CLOSED means close and that means no more sign ups.

We've now closed registration for the WCFC 2012. (This thread remains open, only clinic registration is closed.)

The response to the clinic has been incredible, and we have 72 pilots now signed up! We have a large group of carded Flight Leads and Wingmen attending, as well as quite a few Advanced, Intermediate and Rookie pilots.

Lots of planning underway to ensure all in attendance receive high quality training and have a very enjoyable weekend! It should be quite an event!

If you missed the sign-ups for the 2012 clinic, you can get a head start for next year by joining the WCFC 2013 Yahoo Group here.

Cheers,
Bob
 
Why is it when an announcement is made that sign up is CLOSED, people still try to sign up? CLOSED means close and that means no more sign ups.

Ah, it's OK...sometimes I'll tap on the window of a store that's just closed just to see if they'll still let me in (especially if I saw them turn the key).

We really are full, and we don't make an alternate list, because most drops happen in the day or two prior to the clinic, and it's hard to make last minute add-ins or ask folks to drop everything at the last minute and pre-study, then fly to the clinic. 72 is a pretty dern big number too, so we're just going to stick with that, and if drops happen, it'll make things even more managable.

I've had to turn away a number of folks (nuthin' personal!), but I do tell them the following:

You can sign up early for the 2013 clinic to reserve a spot by joining the WCFC 2013 Yahoo Group, here.

We also practice throughout the year, and can train new formation pilots outside the clinic during the year. We communicate on another Yahoo Group named West Coast-FFI, and if you'd like to fly with us during the year, that group is where to contact us. That site is here.

We are humbled by the response to the clinic, and hope to see all interested pilots at a future clinic or during the year!

Cheers,
Bob
 
Last edited:
wow... alot of planes

Hi Bob,

72 is alot of airplanes. Just curious from an organizational view point.

Does that airport have a control tower? If not, do you guys use an airboss or some way to keep everyone sorted out?

Thats gotta be a real spectacle on clinic weekend! If I am off I might space A into one of the bay airports and rent a car and check it out.

Chris M
 
Hi Bob,

72 is alot of airplanes. Just curious from an organizational view point.

Does that airport have a control tower? If not, do you guys use an airboss or some way to keep everyone sorted out?

Thats gotta be a real spectacle on clinic weekend! If I am off I might space A into one of the bay airports and rent a car and check it out.

Chris M

Chris,

Space-A into Fresno and come hang out. KMAE for the clinic, E79 for the BBQ Saturday night.
 
Does that airport have a control tower? If not, do you guys use an airboss or some way to keep everyone sorted out?

I am not Nasty (Bob) but.... There is no tower or airboss. The airspace is divided by sections and altitudes. We all come into the initial for an overhead. The flying part is awesome but the coolest part is walking by one of the kids that is on the other side of the fence and talking with them. Gets me every time.
 
Chris,

72 is definitely a huge group. Safety first, so we've been working through multiple scenarios, and how we'd manage sortie rates, ramp flow and airspace. One thing is for sure...72 airplanes will not be airborne at any one time.

Depending on how many sorties we generate per training round, we may stagger brief times so that 10 flights (or less) brief at a time, and are staggered by 1 hour. That way one wave is recovering as the next is taxiing. We could theoretcally launch 15 flights at one time (airspace construction), but I don't plan to do that. Staggering is the answer if we have more than 10-12 flights per round (a likely scenario with 72 planes/pilots).

We'll be conducting Rookie, Intermediate and Advanced training, so we'll likely plan the waves to separate them a bit where we can.

The objective is to safely provide quality training to all attendees. If we find we are pressing the edge of the envelope, we'll slow down and stay safe.

We will be counting on our flight leads to keep the pace safe, keep in their areas, and use a good lookout doctrine and good communications with each other. That has been one of our strong points, and we'll continue to teach and use that this year. The leads have shown a high degree of skill in working together to make launch and recovery safe evolutions. If we see a need for an airboss, given these numbers, we can discuss such a measure.

It would be great to have you out here...hope you can make it. If you don't fly into the Bay Area, SkyWest and Allegient go to FAT...we can pick you up!

Cheers,
Bob
 
Last edited:
I hope I can make there.

It sounds like you all have a plan. I think the idea of that many airplanes at a clinic made me think of how they must have ran the ww2 training bases. It will be a challenge I am sure. I hope I can drop by there and check it out in operation. We will have a few pilots from our group there.

AX, The kid thing is the greatest! When I fly at an airshow I always mingle in the crowd and find a couple kids and get to know them. When its my turn to fly, I have it set up with the announcer, and mention the kids by name over the PA when I am doing my routine. After I fly, I always go into the crowd and hand out airplane cards and talk to the kids. I flew a show a few years ago in Illinois and my friend Dave Adams was there with his Long EZE parked inside the crowd line. He had kids lined up and was setting each one in the front seat of his plane. That was one of the coolest things! ( a kid on the outside of the fence is cool, but one on the inside of the fence is making an impression.)

Chris M
 
Last edited:
Since no one has posted yet, I guess this is appropriate.

I had a great time at the WCFC 2012. I learned a lot, ate an awesome dinner on Saturday (thanks Slick and everyone involved) and bonded with many new people (kind of happens quickly when someone is that close to you). Our final exercise was to fly 32 aircraft around the area. The first picture (taken by Condor) is of our first 16-ship. The second picture is of the second 16-ship. We also had a photo ship buzzing around. Can?t wait until next year.


578091_3071477346243_1242926825_32339984_1208022578_n.jpg


557725_3075226719975_1242926825_32341579_1272061894_n.jpg
 
Who do we think we are TeamRV?

Nope, but everybody's gotta have a goal.

Since no one has posted yet, I guess this is appropriate.

I had a great time at the WCFC 2012. I learned a lot, ate an awesome dinner on Saturday (thanks Slick and everyone involved) and bonded with many new people (kind of happens quickly when someone is that close to you). Our final exercise was to fly 32 aircraft around the area. The first picture (taken by Condor) is of our first 16-ship. The second picture is of the second 16-ship. We also had a photo ship buzzing around. Can?t wait until next year.


578091_3071477346243_1242926825_32339984_1208022578_n.jpg


557725_3075226719975_1242926825_32341579_1272061894_n.jpg
 
WCFC2012

A huge Thank You to all of the organizers, safety pilots, participants, and helpful individuals for a very professionally run clinic! I can't begin to expound on how well this was run and the level of professionalism that was demonstrated and camaraderie generated. I can honestly say that everyone that participated learned something and left with a smile on their face... :D

Here is a shot taken by my right seater during the 32 ship (Dueling 16-ship Diamonds) all-up flight...


Formating%2520with%2520friends.jpg
 
Boomer,

You are welcome any time, clinic or not.

We live an hour's drive from Yosemite Park and have spare cars to loan.

Come on by, it'd be great to see you again.

Slick,

Call if you ever need ballast.
Boomer.
 
The WCFC 2012 Clinic Management Team would like to thank all the pilots that flew in from as far away as Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We'd also like to thank the many volunteers (local and Shang-hai'd) that truly made the clinic special.

We're especially gratified that we safely flew over 50 briefed formation hops (2-ship, 3-ship, 4-ship plus the all-up) and over 200 aircraft sorties from Friday through Sunday, with 56 participating aircraft! Some great training was accomplished, and we had the following training and qualification milestones achieved among the cadre:
5 Rookies moved to Novice
1 Novice moved to Intermediate
1 Intermediate moved to Advanced
2 Wingman Cards were earned

And 56 pilots had an absolute blast training in formation flight, working hard, playing hard, and making new friends!

I hope those with pictures from the clinic continue to post them here!

We're looking forward to flying with everyone throughout the year, and welcome any other pilots interested in formation flying to contact us any time. Hope to see you at the 2013 WCFC!

Cheers,
Bob "Nasty"
 
The WCFC 2012 Clinic Management Team would like to thank all the pilots that flew in from as far away as Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We'd also like to thank the many volunteers (local and Shang-hai'd) that truly made the clinic special.

We're especially gratified that we safely flew over 50 briefed formation hops (2-ship, 3-ship, 4-ship plus the all-up) and over 200 aircraft sorties from Friday through Sunday, with 56 participating aircraft! Some great training was accomplished, and we had the following training and qualification milestones achieved among the cadre:
5 Rookies moved to Novice
1 Novice moved to Intermediate
1 Intermediate moved to Advanced
2 Wingman Cards were earned

And 56 pilots had an absolute blast training in formation flight, working hard, playing hard, and making new friends!

I hope those with pictures from the clinic continue to post them here!

We're looking forward to flying with everyone throughout the year, and welcome any other pilots interested in formation flying to contact us any time. Hope to see you at the 2013 WCFC!

Cheers,
Bob "Nasty"

I missed you bro! Sounds like a great clinic.
 
I missed you bro! Sounds like a great clinic.

Back atcha brudda!

OK - here's a link to a few that "Red" managed to capture from ground level:

https://picasaweb.google.com/109854784657274835863/MaderaFormationClinic2012

I'll be adding a few more as I process all the photos.

--Ron

Good pics Shorts...still pumped that you and Falcon came all the way from Tejas, and BeeGee and Sheriff came all the way from the Show Me State!

Cheers,
Bob
 
Back
Top