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West Coast Formation Clinic 2013

tcone1

Well Known Member
The West Coast Ravens are pleased to announce the 2013 West Coast Formation Clinic (WCFC) will be held from Friday April 26 to Sunday April 28, 2013 at the Madera Municipal Airport (KMAE) in Madera, California.

Detailed information regarding the clinic and application process are available at http://rvformation.com/wcfc2013/ which has a wealth of information under the various tabs, including aircraft and paperwork requirements, airport info, a complete schedule of events, links to all the pre-study materials, and hotel rate and reservation information. Interested pilots should review all of the information on this web site and follow the instructions and links to apply. There will be prerequisites and home study is required.

Formation flying is one of the most challenging and rewarding things one can do in these fantastic airplanes of ours. The clinic is limited to Van?s RV series aircraft. We cannot train in the RV-10 or RV-12 at this time. Attendees are expected to show up with excellent stick and rudder skills.

The goal of WCFC is to introduce formation newcomers to the basics of formation flying. The desired outcome is that motivated newcomers who attend the clinic can learn enough to finish the clinic with the skills necessary to safely fly solo in two-ship flights and continue their training at home. We train to FFI standards in a safe, professional and fun environment.

Clinic size is limited and we will accept as many applicants as possible given the various constraints. Last year?s clinic was oversubscribed in less than 48 hours after being announced. Safety is paramount and consideration is being given to ensure that oversubscription doesn?t cut into the overall quality of training. We have strict requirements as to the ratio of trainers to trainees. Therefore, tough decisions may be required as to which applicants are accepted so as to keep the clinic size from becoming problematic. All carded formation pilots, please sign up early as we?d like to make acceptance announcements to applicants no later than 15 March.

Activities begin with demo flights on Friday afternoon. Ground school is mandatory for all clinic participants and begins at 17:00 in the hotel conference room. This ground school is intended as review of the home study materials spelled out on the web site.

Saturday, there will be a fly-out BBQ dinner at ?Slick?s? house in nearby Sierra Sky Park (E79). Last year saw over 40 airplanes parked on Slick?s street and over a hundred people ate and joined in for some of the finest food, fun and camaraderie. Spouses are definitely encouraged.

On Sunday, an ?All-Up? flight for all those cleared for the ?All-Up? will be briefed and flown, giving participants a taste of large formation maneuvering. Optionally, training can continue after the ?All-Up? for those not pressed for time by long flights home.

FFI wingman Jim Piavis posted this video http://vimeo.com/25276329 of a past WCFC

We look forward to making new friends and sharing the fun, challenge and camaraderie of RV Formation Flying with this year?s clinic attendees!
 
Possible Checkrides

It's now looking like there will be FOUR checkpilots attending this clinic.

If any of the Safety Pilot cadre are looking for checkrides, Bob "Nasty" Mills will be co-ordinating the checkrides.

The focus of this clinic is on introducing new folks to the fun and challenges of formation flying but there will likely be time prior to or immediately after the clinic for checking those who schedule checkrides.
 
Application period will close

Applications to the West Coast Formation Clinic will close as of tomorrow at 12:01 am PST.

We are reviewing the folks who've applied for this year's clinic. We will maximize the number of attendees within the constraints of time, airspace and IPs.

People will be notified by March 15th as to the status of their application.
 
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