JP Formation Flying

[2greens]

Can any fellow PPruners out there with longer memories tell me what the reference points are on a JP3 when flying in echelon port/starboard?

Regards to everyone

Two Greens

[keithl]

Burned into my brain! From the LHS.

No.2: Nose light sits in filler cap recess of port tip tank, abeam the elevator hinge line, equal amount of upper & lower wing surface visible.

No.3: the same except stbd filler cap appears to line up just aft of nose light.

[sycamore]

Keithl, you must be ex-Navy then !!:ok:

[Hueymeister]

Sorry, only flew the JP 5A....and then so many years ago..I can no longer remember....b4 I volunteered for GP3 route!!!!!!!!!!!

[NigelOnDraft]

Can any fellow PPruners out there with longer memories tell me what the reference points are on a JP3 No need for a long memory - still regularly instruct formation with JP4s & 5s (4 obviously as 3).

From the SOPs:
a. Echelon.

1. Longitudinal. Opposite elevator hinge line of aircraft ahead.

2. Vertical. Same height i.e. upper and lower surfaces of leader’s wing visible.

3. Lateral. The leader’s tip tank filler cap (Mk4) or wingtip (Mk5) in line with the nose - hereafter referred to as the Forward Diagonal Reference. The distance between wing tips is about a third of a wing span.

The 5 - sub the wingtip for the filler cap:
http://217.35.88.85/Jp5Sm.jpg
Mk4 (Mk3) - just "a bit further forward!":
http://217.35.88.85/Jp4Sm1.jpg
Perfect answer!
http://217.35.88.85/Jp4Sm2.jpg

[2greens]

Many thanks All. Time to go and play!!


Regards
Two Greens

[John Farley]

NoD

....2. Vertical. Same height i.e. upper and lower surfaces of leader’s wing visible.


A nit pick I know but with the JP when you see equal amounts of upper and lower wing you are a foot or two lower than the leader. In a vic doing aeros (for a wings do) I usually never saw the No 3 - Sid Cutbill - as we were both using the wing as you describe. Until one day when we were upside down at the top of a low level loop our 'leader' called "Pushing out of this one".

Moments later and for the first time Sid and I were able to look each other in the eye....OK it was 42 years ago but certain pictures stay fresh for ever.