DISPLAY FLYING – A PERSONAL VIEW

[LOONRAT]

I first started display flying in 1973 and have completed over 2000 displays worldwide in a wide variety of military and civilian fixed wing and rotary machines. I have lost a lot of close friends in display flying accidents caused by a multitude of reasons that may or may not have been under their control. Now fully retired from all flying due to medical issues I have listed below some thoughts (not necessarily in order of importance) that may be worthy of consideration.

Aircraft – It’s the aircraft people want to see – not a foolhardy pilot
Audience - Most audiences are made up of a very low percentage of aviation professionals so display to the higher percentage audience.
Allowances – Operate well within the aircraft and your personal limits. Minimum limits give you much reduced margins for an error of judgement.
Barrel Rolls - They are one of the most dangerous manoeuvre in the book.
Birds - Bird strike risks are higher at low level, over the sea or near waste tips. Make allowances and review your personal protection and procedures.
Currency - Don’t expect to display if you are not in current display practice/not fully fit. (Fully fit includes well rested, not hung over, no after work stress, no home stresses etc)
Dependants - Remember your dependants. They expect you to come home.
Ejection Seat - If fitted do not expect miracles. It has operating limits. Know them and tailor your display accordingly.
Entertain - Displays are formulated to Entertain, Excite, Educate but never to Frighten.
Humility - Never believe you are the best.
Minimum’s - A thoughtful pilot rarely flies down to minimum’s.
Mistakes - Mistakes can be made in a split second but the results could be forever.
Perspective - Beware the ‘Goldfish Bowl’ day with no horizon over a flat calm sea !!
Practice - Stick to what you know and have practised. Unscheduled flypasts/displays can be a killer.
Pressure - Never be intimidated by personal or external pressures.
Skill - The skill and professionalism of a pilot is ultimately judged by finishing a display with the aircraft and himself in one piece.
Unexpected - During all display flying/non-flying activities ‘Expect the Unexpected’ and leave room/time to cope.
Death - Death comes to all men. The trick is to make it ‘Always in the Future’

If you have any more to points or anecdotal stories then feel free to pass them on.

[Less Hair]

Great list. The skills part seems most important to me. You sound like the right guy to have safely done this business.
Just don't let the average Joe do it. Many manoeuvres are not routine to even experienced pilots. Have people do it that truly know everything by hand.
I once had to deal with some commercial airliner demonstration team that only had super accurate flight test pilots do it and with serious preparation and limits. They were spot on every time and left safety buffers everywhere. And then I have seen "experienced" captains trying way more simple manoeuvring themselves...If it is not what you do in daily life better stay away.

[Cornish Jack]

Mostly inarguable, but item 2 - Audience ? The % assessment seems reasonable but displaying to suit the lowest common denominator ??? Maybe I have misunderstood ?

[SASless]

Showing off the uniqueness of your aircraft is the key to a good display in my view.

My display flying was done in helicopters and they are not as "sexy" as airplanes can be when doing aerobatics....trailing smoke...etc.

When flying the Bell UH-1H in displays I realized the sound of the helicopter is what was its most unique attribute.....and flown correctly it can be made really loud with that iconic sound it produces.

In a steepish 180 turning descent at near max power....it is possible to rattle Wine Glasses off Tables in the VIP section of the Duxford Helitech I am told.

Perhaps that was a bit of exaggeration but it suggest how loud and she was in that descending turn to fly along the Display Line at Vne of just over 100 Knots which is slower than any slow pass by an airplane.

That being said....people remember that flight.

[itsnotthatbloodyhard]

Great post, Loonrat. The only thing I could think to add is:
Competition - it isn’t one

[LOONRAT]

Re competition - some air displays (IAT as an example) offer a prize for the best display - subtle external pressure here at play !!!!

[markkal]

There is a great book I would suggest to anyone interested it encompasses all aspects of display fliying:

Zero Error Margin by Des Barker

It's downloadable

[Dan Winterland]

Improvisation - is for comedians. Don't deviate from your display plan.
Loops - The low level loop is second in danger to the barrel roll. You can do a good looking display without relying on sound judgement of the height required to pull out of a maneuver. And if you do have one, stick to your gates parameters.

[Less Hair]

Wanting to impress the general audience might be a waste of time anyway as most people will not know what to look for and when you really fly close to the edge of the envelope. Noise and some well briefed show commentator might do the trick instead. And some nice in flight posing with your aircraft at the right bank angle and attitude with light coming from the right side to cater for those all important pictures.

[LOMCEVAK]

Loonrat
A great thought provoking post. Our backgrounds and display experience are somewhat different but the lessons and philosophies inevitably will be the same. I started display flying in 1984 and am still displaying now, with my experience covering both CAA and UK Military regulation, and types covering swept wing fast jets and single piston (cat B and C) types. A few thoughts to continue the debate:
Barrel Rolls To fly barrel rolls in a display in the way that the UK Military teaches barrel rolls would indeed be dangerous. However, there are many ways to fly them and some techniques can be flown in a display consistently and safely. The military teach to achieve a very high nose up pitch attitude at the end of the first quarter when at 90 degrees of bank, and for a symmetrical manoeuvre pitch attitude on the way up will equal pitch attitude on the way down and, therefore, height loss in the second half may be excessive. Also, I believe that some do not stress the importance of achieving wings level inverted at the apex and absolutely no later than when the nose passes the horizon. However, watch how the Red Arrows, for example, fly a barrel roll. At the start they will remain wings level until about 35 degrees nose up and then will start to roll and simultaneously reduce the nose up pitch rate, achieving wings level inverted at the apex then continuing with a constant rate of roll and relatively low pitch rate. As a singleton you can start this manoeuvre from a level turn in the opposite direction to the roll then commence the roll from the turn whilst maintaining the nose up pitch rate such that you achieve the same wings level attitude at around 30 - 35 degrees nose up. These most certainly are barrel rolls and are, in my opinion and experience, safe to fly in a display. But to return to the original post, I too have had friends killed in barrel rolls during displays, inevitably as a result of an excessively high nose up pitch attitude during the first half and failing to achieve wings level by the apex.
Minimums It is worth adding detail regarding which minima you can fly to safely and for which you should ideally always have a margin. Minimum heights, for flypasts or for aerobatics, are approved for a given pilot based on the category or type of aeroplane and the pilot's experience and skill. Therefore, if a minima has been awarded then I see no reason why a pilot should not fly to it if and when appropriate. For a deep crowd it perhaps should not be used because the spectators at the rear may not be able to see the aeroplane. However, for a thin crowd line flying at the minima will quite possibly give the best view of the aircraft, especially for photographers who will then have a background. BUT, the minima that should have the extra margins added whenever possible relate to the energy of the aircraft, specifically the minimum entry speed for a vertical manoeuvre and the minimum height required for successful completion of a pull through/downward half of a loop. In those cases, in my opinion the minima should only be used if there is a real 'safety of flight' reason for doing so.
Risk Assessments These are fine for the risks that have been envisaged and anticipated. However, there will always be risks out there that you have not thought about and are, perhaps, novel. These may well be associated with manoeuvres and conditions that are permitted within the regulatory approvals so mitigating them is down to you! Risk assessments will not save you from these but sound judgement based on experience, common sense and a sense of self preservation might. Be alert, think everything through and never believe that if a risk assessment is signed off that you are safe.

[A320 Glider]

Thank you for a great post.

May I ask you what are your thoughts on the Shoreham crash with pilot Andy Hill?

[LOMCEVAK]

It would be inappropriate for me to comment here about Shoreham but if you look at the threads relating to that accident you will find that I did make a few posts.

[A320 Glider]

Well if I had taken the lives of 11 people, I would not be able to sleep at night.
Captain Al Haynes admitted he was deeply affected by the loss of life onboard his aircraft when it crashed (and bear in mind this was not a pilot error case).

[Finningley Boy]

Re competition - some air displays (IAT as an example) offer a prize for the best display - subtle external pressure here at play !!!!

I trust you mean the various Trophies for the best this and that, has there ever been any indication that someone has felt sufficiently inadequate having seen some of the competition, that they then decided to embellish their own sequence? There is of course the unavoidable matter of weather restrictions on the day. I've seen at many displays, IAT/RIAT particularly, when one F-16 is forced to fly a flat display each day, while another gets the full window, each day.:)

FB

[ShyTorque]

I once declined to carry out my designated Puma display at Chicksands, because there was no defined crowd or display line. Instead I offered to arrive early, land and do a static display for the day.

I was later appalled to see another military helicopter (red and white Gazelle) arrive on scene then carry out a semi aerobatic display directly over the crowd, including a vertically nose down descent with what must have been an unauthorised female companion in the left seat.

One of us was unprofessional. I don’t think it was me.

[Easy Street]

I recall reading in the accident report for the Tucano display work-up crash at Linton that the pilot was attempting to fit a stall turn into his 'rolling' display as part of a bid to secure the CFS annual display trophy. Throw in some over-confidence and some poor supervision, and hey presto....

Edit: seems I recall correctly, p1.4-9 and 1.4-25 refer. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/705804/2018-04400.pdf)

[Courtney Mil]

The most dangerous phase of flight. Showing off.

[David J Pilkington]

Some relevant articles by Dudley Henriques:
Airshow Flying Safety https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8ZDKcThEH_eMlQ4dGRjZGUxQkk/view?fbclid=IwAR0_EE30VK4dzJcAVmMAzqA8n8HdO04aP6UVdqigIYA1ab aK8znoZVbZj48
Safety on the Airshow Downline https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8ZDKcThEH_eSGZsbC1SZGo2bjg/view?fbclid=IwAR3F-EXduQL9TRBEeHauLMVdt9QKKGFx9VRURwU6mj-D2chJaE_WvC7dPO0
Low Altitude Rolls https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8ZDKcThEH_eT0VlZmE1R1l2VTQ/view?fbclid=IwAR3p2RfkSLy8GTPFYn-e24siAXgNXkzxnAGl1YGgj-T_upbdKFQX4iptlDI
Low Altitude Loops https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8ZDKcThEH_eMHA4aWZ5d24zYms/view?fbclid=IwAR2pwuLCfDFaWDKYprFi-I_SsE1yAE4IW_C-AmId5of6_1jU69h0z3nrPQQ

[Wensleydale]

Re competition - some air displays (IAT as an example) offer a prize for the best display - subtle external pressure here at play !!!!

There is a story that circulated at Waddington many years ago that concerned Vulcan 558 from when she used to display while still belonging to the RAF. The Vulcan crew had been authorised for a flypast at a small airshow en-route home after performing at another show. Arriving at the second show, they completed their flyby and were asked if they could perform a second flyby because there had been several cancellations and there was quite a large gap in the flying program. Ever obliging, the crew carried out their full display. Next working day, the display pilot was called in to see the Station Commander, who asked him how the flyby had gone. "Very Well" replied the pilot. The Staish then commented that it must have been a very good flyby and presented the pilot with the trophy for best display which had been sent up from the second airfield. No further comment was needed.

[Cornish Jack]

A quick word of thanks to today's mini display at Bacton Gap - Didn't see the whole thing as i was in the 'shed' and was alerted by the noise. Perfect conditions, bang on my centre line and nice Lomcevaks. Was the smoke 'hiccup' on departure just 'clearing the throat', or system glitch ? Nice teatime show for the Bank Holiday. :D

[Fortissimo]

The best advice I was ever given on display flyng was from my late father, who had received it from one of his instructors.

"The aim is to impress, not astonish."

[RichardJones]

Years ago i was asked to do a cropspraying demo at some airshow. I said no. Why? I responded with these words: "the occupation is hazardous enough. When I screw up (which we will all do if we do it long enough) i don't want it to be in front of thousands of people. There is no dignity in that".
That was my full time job then, not part time. Nuf said.

[RNHF_PILOT]

I think most of the points made by LOONRAT and LOMCEVAK are fairly well known and understood amongst the UK display flying community. However, I am interested to know what the feeling of US display pilots and display pilots from other countries are towards these points. I have not attended or participated in an airshow outside the UK but judging by a number of videos I have seen on YouTube and other SM over the years, there are some spectacular and highly skilled displays flown but I do wonder how much margin of error they have because a lot of it looks like its on the absolutely limit of what the aircraft and pilot can do.

[Tay Cough]

I’ve been to one or two in the US as a part of the audience.

While it is quite impressive to see someone recovering from a vertical manoeuvre down in the weeds, firstly it’s only the people at the front who can see it. Secondly, it’s not so bad someone easing it down to that height when the recovery is sorted somewhat earlier. However, I wince when I see someone doing it with a hard pull. I’ve seen it several times.

[9BIT]

Why do you ask? Going to put in a claim against the Reds for some stained bed sheets, that were obviously out drying whilst they conducted a nearby display.

[Mogwi]

Smoke can produce a rather toxic-smelling mist with an on-crowd wind but not aware of any staining problems. Did cause a few stains to nether garments after lifting the beer tent with my along-crowd arrival at San Nicole some years ago but that is another story.

A wise man once said to me that you should only display because you enjoy it. If you start to fly for the crowd, turn downwind and land. I managed to display aircraft as diverse as Wessex, Sea Harrier, Yak 50 and Tiger Moth for some 45 years without doing any damage to myself or the crowd (apart from said beer tent). I acknowledge that my reactions may not be quite a sharp as they were in the 70’s, so no longer indulge in low-level aeros.

Still love the flying though!

Mog

[ZH875]

Why do you ask? Going to put in a claim against the Reds for some stained bed sheets, that were obviously out drying whilst they conducted a nearby display.
plenty of diesel oil dots when washing was on the line in Scampton AMQs when Reds went up.

[Shackman]

Not strictly speaking an air display, but a 'display' tac landing in a Wessex in front of Royal party at Aldergrove, who were downwind of LS. Unfortunately troops threw a load of red smoke grenades out whilst disembarking (to capture something or other!). Station Commander not happy as his (and everybody else's) uniform turned a more reddish colour; Royal's outfit started as pastel blueish but finished a much streakier red. I was 'disinvited' to the subsequent lunch!

[Dan Winterland]

Competition - it isn't one

One large annual airshow used to have a prize for the best displays for both fast jets and large aircraft/helicopters. It was a point of honour with the members of one European air force that they took the trophy home. Their displays were 'impressive', but I got the impression having watched one that 'luck' was a part of their safety strategy.

[longer ron]

I was on detachment at a coastal Airfield/Airport many years ago - the reds were operating out of VASS - when they taxy'ed out the jet efflux was going to be sweeping the professional spectators (erks) stood standing there.
I did a quick Risk Assessment (even before they had been invented :cool:) and went inside the building - closed the windows and watched the multi coloured jet efflux taxy out billowing across all the unwise people outside in the multi coloured summer sunshine :)

[treadigraph]

A certain biplane formation team with outstanding passengers was sponsored for a while by a cosmetics company. The airshow smoke was produced by injecting baby oil rather than diesel into the exhaust, which enveloped the crowd at one well known event with copious amounts of sweetly scented instant fog as the birds on biplanes cavorted overhead. I don't know about anyone else but I had the threepenny bits big time the next day and I blame that bloody smoke! Just like castor oil...

[chevvron]

COEF at Farnborough was in the tower watching the Reds depart in their usual '5 plus 4' groups.
The leading 5 started smoking as they rolled and COEF remarked loudly 'I just hope one of the leading 5 doesn't abandon takeoff before the other 4 get airborne'.

[Big Pistons Forever]

I think most of the points made by LOONRAT and LOMCEVAK are fairly well known and understood amongst the UK display flying community. However, I am interested to know what the feeling of US display pilots and display pilots from other countries are towards these points. I have not attended or participated in an airshow outside the UK but judging by a number of videos I have seen on YouTube and other SM over the years, there are some spectacular and highly skilled displays flown but I do wonder how much margin of error they have because a lot of it looks like its on the absolutely limit of what the aircraft and pilot can do.

North America has a significantly better record for air show crashes as compared to Europe. The Hunter crash for example would not have occurred in Canada or the USA because the display box was much smaller than the allowed for this category of aircraft and the pilots display validation would not have been valid based on the fact that his last assessment was flown on a small home built aircraft (RV 8j. This pilot would have been disqualified from flying this show. The blow back from this event has sadly and frankly typical of UK aviation, turned into much bureaucratic box ticking instead of actual evaluation of pilot skills by qualified and arms length evaluators.

[The Oberon]

I live in Scampton Village, yes, I was here before the Reds, and if it is a calm, humid day the diesel fumes hang around for ages and the washing can end up pink or sky blue. If they don't manage to get to Cyprus or Greece for their Spring work up, it can be 2 -3 times a day.

[Background Noise]

Most piston-engine display aircraft now use 'smoke oil' rather than diesel, as it is cleaner all round and environmentally friendlier. It is commonly referred to as Ondina, which is a bit like calling all vacuum cleaners 'Hoovers', and the commentators do like to say it is just like baby oil. I don't think there was any connection between Guinot and smoke oil however. For those jets which still use diesel, it is pretty smelly, but I'd be more concerned about the dye. They don't 'spray' it over the crowd, as they don't generally fly over the crowd, but it will drift a long way downwind.

There have been Hawk dye incidents with smoke valves open on the ground. At Valley in the early 90s a number of cars behind VASF were dyed red and were professionally valeted at public expense very quickly and with no questions asked it seemed, which naturally gave rise to conspiracy theories. Clothes on washing lines on the patch were lightly covered in red dust.