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2020 Falcon Flight Formation Clinic was a SUCCESS!

scrollF4

Moderator, Asst. Line Boy
Ambassador
The 2020 Falcon Flight Formation Clinic took place May 29-31 at KTPL Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional in Temple, Texas. It was an unparalleled success. After having slipped the event from April due to the nationwide lockdown, and worries over possible bad weather, we were treated to the best possible late-spring weather; an outstanding airport staff and EXPANSIVE large hangar, ramp, and briefing facilities; and nearly three dozen pilots and RVs raring to formate.

Ron “Shorts” Walker and Bobby “Luke” Lucroy led the event, surrounded by Falcon Flight premiering our new all-blue uniforms. I think it’s best to lay out the event through numbers:

34 RVs and pilots, some from as far away as Wisconsin, west Colorado, and even Tucson. And Arkansas.

6 check rides
- 3 Wingmen check rides
- 3 Flight Lead check rides
Luke and Shorts earned their Large Formation Certifications
1 Red Scary earned his 2-ship solo
1 2-Ship wingman earned his 4-ship solo
4 new Red Scaries (welcome aboard!)
MANY outstanding safety pilots (thanks, y’all!)

Between noon Friday and noon Sunday (48 hours) we launched over 180 RV sorties including 2 go’s Friday afternoon, 4 go’s Saturday, and the 30-ship-plus-photo-bird all-up Sunday. That’s a busy 2 days for any USAF and USN fighter wing!

Guest help: Thanks to the Lone Star RV Formation Team of Houston, and Bulldog Formation Team of Little Rock…what talented formation pilots!

Special Thanks to:
- Shorts and Luke for being the driving one-two punch that led us all to victory.
- Sean Parker, KTPL’s airfield manager, who made this amazing hangar and ramp available, and supported us with a top-notch FBO crew.
- Mike Mayeux, his (and my) nephew Evan Mayeux and his wife Morgan, and chef friend Jason Ard. This powerhouse team spent the entire day preparing a heavenly Texas barbecue banquet of mesquite-hickory smoked brisket, Mexican street corn, proper Texas beans, and German-style red cabbage slaw. Even that mean old tough Arkansas Bulldog crowd remarked at how much better it tasted than their beloved pulled pork barbecue (the 10% rule applies). Slats Schlatterer went back for seconds. I saw him do it.

Now the photos:

The ramp...

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...and the hangar.

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The flying.

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The people...
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To be continued...
 
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Part 2

As mentioned, Mike Mayeux and his crew spent all day Saturday smoking brisket, street corn, ranch beans, and German slaw for the entire crew. For his payment, he asked Falcon Flight to cover his costs in the form of a donation to CASA of Williamson County to benefit central Texas foster kids. The meal was as delicious as the pilots were generous.

The dinner...
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Did I mention that Mike is my brother?
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To be continued...
 
Part 3: The All-Up

Falcon Flight used Sunday's all-up mass formation as a means to honor our medical responders in the Temple TX area. Shorts and Luke planned and executed two 15-ship formations in a high/low crossing stack. We crossed overhead Temple-area hospitals, and the city's response was way beyond positive.

Go here to see Carl "Jawbone" Brownd's camera ship album:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uc9mwe3p2owl5yn/AADDy4AtimEkN3DQW8vQlRTYa?dl=0

Here's Dyson Hoover's album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MDU3xtWMqgjkqyQWA

Here are more shots:
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Ron "Shorts" Walker leading Falcon High.
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Bobby "Luke" Lucroy leading Falcon Low.
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Matt Wittman is known as Machine Gun Droner on his YouTube channel. He asked if he could ride along and capture the event from the air in hopes of highlighting responsible drone flight, and to stay away from large formations (in light of the recent unsafe drone flights around the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels). I think you'll really enjoy his video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gRYZ6QHoeA&feature=youtu.be

Facebook lit up with local videos...
https://www.facebook.com/jodimorgan/videos/10218892631799962/

...as did the media.
https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/falcon-flying-formation-team-holds-flyover-honoring-front-line-workers/500-5f07fd49-530f-43fd-b28e-6e5982fe61c9
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/state-regional/temple-front-line-workers-honored-with-flyover-sunday/
https://www.tdtnews.com/news/coronavirus/article_38549ac6-a1de-11ea-9eda-3b715f3859b9.html
https://www.tdtnews.com/multimedia/image_f5ede116-a38f-11ea-9cc0-63f62889a91c.html

There are many more photos out there, too many for me to post here, so I hope the pilots will post more. We all met our objectives for safety, fun, and learning. I can't wait for next year!

Pine Bluff and KC, y'all are up next! :cool:
 
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Looks great!

That looks like an excellent event! I sure do miss TX BBQ. The flying part looks like fun too! :D
 
Great write up

Scroll,
Great write up! Amazing clinic in many ways. I really enjoyed it especially the camaraderie.
 
Formation Training

Thanks for the write up Scroll! All I can say is that it is very cool to take 34+ pilots who don't know each other, train to the FFI standards, hold each other to those standards, then go out and launch a 31 ship formation without a hitch. The learning process is always ongoing and encouraging. It also makes for lots of great stories and experiences, not to mention really enhancing your piloting skills with your airplane. There will be very few pilots that experience what it is like to fly a really good four ship, much less a large formation. Safety is always first and the standards are the standards. Always hold your formation buddies to them. Great job and tremendous fun everyone!
Blue Skies,
 
Great writeup Scroll! Thanks again for leading me around the sky and thanks to Cowboy and Slatts for the safety piloting as I learn the ropes.

Fantastic event all around.
Dyson
 
Great writeup Scroll! Thanks again for leading me around the sky and thanks to Cowboy and Slatts for the safety piloting as I learn the ropes.

Fantastic event all around.
Dyson
You didn't enjoy the Saturday evening flight with the Lone Star guys?? ;) ;)
 
Very Nice

Great clinic, great hosts, and a really fun weekend. A lot of learning, a lot of flying, and a lot of fun! What a great cure for the Covid Blues :)

Thanks to all the Falcon Flight folks for making it all happen.

Slats (4) :D
 
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