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Old 15th Mar 2014, 12:45
  #3899 (permalink)  
LongTimeInCX
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
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Would any experienced formation pilots care to speculate on the ease with which a twin-aisle passenger jet could be hand-flown for 4 hours in close formation with another?
Not only could one intercept at night, providing it was VMC, but a relatively safe join up could be established, and whether one chose to remain directly astern, or 5/7o'clock to avoid visual detection from the lead aircraft, and ideally slightly low, it is quite easily do-able with the lead aircraft displaying good reference lights.

So in short, intercept, join up and loose trail formation keeping very easy.
(helps to have had at least some practice, overshoot and lack of appreciation of closure rates are a killer!)
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