2012 West Coast Formation Clinic

[RV6_flyer]

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.

Originally Posted by 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

[rvmills]

Originally Posted by RV6_flyer

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

[Christopher Murphy]

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

[tcone1]

Originally Posted by Christopher Murphy

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.

[AX-O]

Originally Posted by Christopher Murphy

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.

[rvmills]

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

[Christopher Murphy]

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

[AX-O]

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.

[tcone1]

Nope, but everybody's gotta have a goal.

Originally Posted by AX-O

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.

[JoeBlank]

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...

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