2012 West Coast Formation Clinic

[rvmills]

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



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!



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!


Cheers,
Bob "Nasty"

[AX-O]

2s in. (extra words)

[RV6_flyer]

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.

[Bob Axsom]

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.


Oh, thread drift never mind

Bob Axsom

[rvmills]

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!

Originally Posted by Bob Axsom

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!

Originally Posted by Bob Axsom

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...

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:


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"!)

Originally Posted by Bob Axsom

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!

Cheers,
Bob

[a25afm]

I am planning on attending.

[rvmills]

Glad to have ya coming Alex. See you there!

Cheers,
Bob

[rvmills]

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

[RV8iator]

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.

[rvmills]

Originally Posted by RV8iator

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!

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