(upbeat music) - Formation flying, when two or more aircraft are in flight very close to each other, maneuvering in a very tight synchronized and disciplined manner.

Now on Pilots, Props and Planes, we're in Porterville California, where we are visiting with the Red Star Pilots Association.

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(plane whirling) (bouncy piano music) - Formation flying began in the very early years of world war one.

When observation planes or reconnaissance aircraft which were the eyes of the armies would fly over the enemy's lines and they would be protected by fighter or scout aircraft while they were doing their mission.

Fighter pilots soon realized that flying in pairs provided increased visibility.

It increased their victories and it provided a certain degree of safety.

Over the years formation flying involved in military services and eventually found its way into the civilian sector at an airshow is where you'll see the best opportunity for formation air display.

Sometimes you'll see aircraft that are flying as close as three feet to one another.

In today's episode, we're going to sit in on a pilot briefing for a F.A.S.T training session.

F.A.S.T stands for Formation Airshow Safety Techniques.

- The F.A.S.T program is an organization that is on national level and it includes several organizations like the RPA that fly various old aircraft mostly all ex-Warbirds that teaches formation.

And our primary job is to promote safety while we're doing it.

Because there is obviously a little risk in flying formation.

Since you have airplanes close to each other.

- So a pilot wants to learn formation aerobatics how do they start?

What types of maneuvers do they fly initially if they've had no experience?

- Initially we want someone to have at least 50 hours in the type of aircraft that they're going to be flying.

So they are very familiar with it because in formation you're constantly looking at the other aircraft.

So you kind of have to know your aircraft by heart.

So after five or six flights in a basic two-ship then the pilots will go to four-plane formation and fly.

All of these are with an instructor pilot in the backseat.

So they will receive a fast card, which authorizes them to perform during air shows in wavered airspace.

- In Wavered airspace being airspace that's essentially sanitized so you can perform without the fear of any other aircraft.

- Exactly.

At major air shows, there is wavered airspace by the FAA that allows us to do things that are normally not legal, like fly aerobatics or fly very low to the ground.

And very fast in front of the crowd.

(drum music) - We're also gonna visit with some of the flight instructors who are taking part in this F.A.S.T exercise and I'm gonna have an opportunity to fly in formation with members of the Red Star Pilots Association.

(drum music) Gil, would you give us a little bit of a background on the Red Star Pilots Association and how it became?

- So the Red Star Pilots Association actually started way back in 1993 by a gentleman named Bud Harrell and he called it the Yak Pilots Club.

And then it became known as the Yak Pilots Association.

And then it grew past about 200 members and became officially a 501c3 based in Virginia and was now named the Red Star Pilots Association.

Really focused primarily on ownership and enthusiasts of Red Star aircraft.

So aircraft from former Soviet Bloc nations, like China Soviet union countries, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania et cetera.

- So you mentioned the Yak, why that particular airplane?

- The Yak was originally the trainer that the Chinese used for the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

They were used in Soviet Union and the Chinese bought them as their initial trainer and- - A primary trainer?

- As a primary trainer.

And so their pilots would use the Yak.

It was the 18.

And then for a short period, it was called the 18A a went from a tail dragger to a nose wheel aircraft before the Chinese built the Nanchang.

which was their own design built.

And they allowed some of the surplus aircraft to be sold.

And they were bought by private collectors here in the United States.

All of a sudden you had a military type, tandem seat, fully robotic airplane that a could be civilian owned and flown.

Kind of like the T-34 or the T-6 but we call them the Affordable Warbird.

- So they're flown now in formation training.

And, and how does that work?

- So the FAA several years ago authorized certain signatories of which the Red Star Pilots Association is one to be able to train and provide credentialing to pilots to fly formation in what's called waved airspace which is the airshow environment.

- Sure.

- So if you wanna fly in a formation in an airshow you have to have a formation wing card, which we are one of the 16 signatories that we can train people whether they were former military or ground up civilian pilots, to be able to get that card and be able to fly legally in the air show.

- So the Yak-18 is essentially in basic design very similar to the Nanchang CJ-6 But they're completely different airframes.

They're low wing, tandem, bubble canopy, similar in looks but different in construction.

- Yeah.

Bill, you said exactly right.

So the Nanchang CJ-6 a came after the Yak and it really came about because the Chinese decided that they were gonna not purchase more Yaks from the Soviet Union and they were gonna design-build their own aircraft.

And so if you put a Yak-18 next to a Nanchang, there's similar, definitely similarities.

And they have that cantilever wing that the the Yak-52 doesn't have, for example or the Yak-50 doesn't have.

So that candle lever wing kind of like that mini course air wing put 'em side by side they look similar.

(drum music) (cowboy music) - [Bill] Formation flying has been around for a long time.

Some of the earliest airshow performers often flew their aircraft in formation.

Wing walking was also a popular feature at airs shows and sometimes the pilots would fly their aircraft in formation with wingwalkers performing.

Wing walking is still performed at air shows and Margie Stivers, thrilled airshow audiences with her daring riveting dancing on air.

(cowboy music) - What I do is I do aerial stunt work on a by plane and flight, specializing in the art of wing walking.

I started wing walking 12 years ago I started wing walking in 1991.

We were at an air show.

It was not an air show that was wavered airspace with aerobatics.

It was an air show where we were flying around.

It was a balloon festival.

I had been around wing walking for, you know, three years previously but it was not something that I chose to do.

As a pilot I didn't wanna leave the control stick.

And I decided, no, I didn't really wanna wing walk but I wanted to be a pilot.

And I was very happy and content in that.

But you know, they said, "No, go".

And I said, "Okay, you know what?

We need it."

You know, you rise to the occasion, you do what it takes.

You're part of the team.

I'll try it.

And if I like it I'll do it tomorrow.

And I got up there, I put the seatbelt on and wham it was like the sun came out of the sky.

It started shining on me.

I started dancing and I said, "You know this is what I was put on this Earth to do."

Boom, no question.

And I've never looked back.

Well, what we have incorporated in our routine today is the historic 1920s gear axle hang.

That's where I hang by my knees on a bar suspended between the gear legs.

Now this is a difficult area to work on on the plane because not only am I not in contact with the pilot by sound, but also he cannot see me.

So it's a very difficult area of the plane.

I'm suspended below the wheels.

So it, there is a bit of danger involved.

Also I do unique stunts, such as flying off the back of the rack while the plane is doing aerobatics.

I've also stood on my head while the plane is doing aerobatics.

A lot of different things that have incorporated costuming with wings and working with an entire package, coordinating the music.

So as we're looping and rolling it's in time with the music and with the, the costume.

So it's a complete package, like a piece of art.

The Barnstormers had a very important role in the history of aviation.

They were really the interface, the bridge, if you will between the pilots and this new world of aviation and ordinary people.

So what the wing walkers really did was they came and they said, "Look, and if this guy could hang off a wing, well, they certainly, they too could be in the cockpit of the plane while it went around the field."

When I exit the cockpit.

And sometimes I take off out on the wing I'm at one with the environment.

I'm not thinking I'm, I'm a part of the whole.

Kids often ask me and I get this question a lot, "Do you get scared up there?"

No, I have to think ahead to the next stunt.

If I don't, if I'm all thumbs, then I'm gonna find myself in trouble and, you know, getting, getting into some danger there, I look at wing walking as an art and it's an art that comes from within.

I think each and every one of us has something unique inside of us that comes to the surface.

And it's important to explore that.

I don't think that everybody identifies with a wing walker.

I don't think that wing walking is for everybody.

Obviously it's kind of hot and cold.

There are people who really think I I need to talk to somebody in a white coat and there's others that just would give anything to do it.

So, but it's not about the wing walking.

It's really about the art and it's about expressing it and entertainment and, you know, sharing it with people so they too can think of something unique within themselves.

But for me, it's, it's a part of who I am.

(soft music) (lighthearted band music) (propeller buzzing) (military band music) - (faintly speaking) (military band music) (aircraft whirling) (propellers buzzing) (aircraft whirling) (military band music) - [Pilot] Flying one half mile further.

(aircraft whirling) (military band music) (indistinct radio chatter) (military band music) (faintly speaking) (military band music) (strong wind drowns out speaker) (military band music) (strong wind drowns out speaker) (military band music) (indistinct radio chatter) (military band music) - Mike, first of all, I want to say thank you for an incredible formation flight.

Not only learning about this today, but being able to see firsthand what you and your pilots do was most impressive.

So thank you very much.

- Oh, you're welcome Bill.

We're very pleased to, to show you what we do.

- I'm with Dean Fried, call side Frido, who was also part of the formation flight this afternoon and Dean again thank you for a wonderful experience.

That, that was just tremendous.

- It was our pleasure Bill.

- Our pleasure.

- Really nice to be up there.

And what a professional group of pilots that are part of this Red Star Pilots association.

- Absolutely, I like to think so.

- What is your background?

- My background, I was a Canadian F-18 and F-5 pilot in the air force and then got out of the air force and went to the airlines like a lot of us do so.

And I've been at the airline airlines Cathay Pacific for about 30 years now.

- So naturally when you began flying formation with the Red Star Pilots Association you had a pretty good background information flying already.

- I did.

I did typically in the air force, at least for fast jet pilots, air formation flying is how you get from A to B and how, how you move the airplanes around.

And it's really second nature.

That's what we do.

- Do you see that there's a difference between flying the fast jet versus flying the slower training aircraft?

- Well, really no other than the power and the speed but the fundamentals are all the same.

A lot of the hand signals from air force to Navy to Marines to Canadian air force are very, very similar.

So a lot of the procedures are similar, but really the difference is the performance of the aircraft.

Really.

- What's the, what's the best thing about flying in formation for you?

- Well, for me, the, today, something like today was the best thing.

We had four really tight guys that could go flying really you know, professionals.

We did looked what we thought was a great job.

Our mission was to go out there and just really impressed the camera.

And we landed and we had no issues.

We got back safely and that is what's impressive for me.

That makes me feel really great.

- And that's what F.A.S.T training is all about.

- And that's what F.A.S.T training is all about.

- How often do these seminars take place?

- Well, usually there's seminars, I'd say every few months in our organization all over the country and there's some even in Canada, so you can go onto our schedule on our website and find where there is one and other signatory organizations like the T-34 Association and the NATO Group.

They have formation clinics all over the country.

Yeah, yeah.

And quite a few.

- So really this is essential in, in maintaining proficiency for all pilots involved in flying formation in probably the airshow world more than typical.

- Typically.

Absolutely.

If you don't have a big group of guys or girls to fly with at your home airport then this is the way to keep your proficiency up is to go to these events and fly with us and keep your skills up.

Absolutely.

(guitar music) - I'm Bill Vasilovich Thank you for joining us on this episode of Pilots Props and Planes.

(upbeat guitar music) - [Announcer] Funding for Pilots, Props and Planes is provided by, - [Announcer] Reedley College nestled against the Sierra in central California offers a full spectrum of flight science, aviation mechanics and professional pilot education in an affordable community college setting.

Go Tigers.

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