Salute!
Tnks for the reminder , TDracer. Ya gotta be close to have help. but you can be a half mile behind a heavy and see some serious roll and such.
We "lights" saw the effects of the wing downwash/upwash/vortex on a daily basis in close formation. Figure ten to fifteen feet or so.
As an experiment on a cross ocean mission I tried to use the vortex of the KC-135 tanker while maintaining nose-tail seperation ( B-70 crash fully on my mind). Sure enough, as I closed from the stern I had to hold left stick , although I was on the starboard side. So I was riding the "wave" like a surfer. Pulled back power a bit and stayed right with the tanker. My fuel flow went down a few hundred pounds per hour. So those geese have figured it out prolly a few hundred thousand years ago, ya think?
Gums recalls....