Salute!
@ cog....
Lead aircraft will have a higher fuel burn than following aircraft, thus will want to climb to a higher optimum altitude early than the following one. What then?
Well, you follow the procedure that the geese do. Just watch a migration formation and see the lead goose change positions and a new one takes over for awhile, then another and so forth. Dem geese ain't dumb!
My tanker buddies tell me that refueling Air Force one and other big planes "pushes" them due to the "bow wave".
In the final analysis, it is actually possible to get "help" from a buddy to reduce fuel flow or even stay up due to an engine loss. But you need to be fairly close and have done it before when not under duress. Of course, then there's "Pardo's Push" as a last resort.
Gums sends...