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Formation at night
Hi all. I got to see two EA18g Growlers do an evening fly-by on the weekend of our city. 5 minutes prior to the flyby, I managed to spot a faint read flashing dot, around 15kms away, towards where the aircraft departed from. It seemed to be holding, as the flyby had to happen at a specific time. Then, the red flashing light turned into a white light, and I could see it was travelling towards us now, as the time got close to the flyby. But seconds before it it arrived, the sigle white light split into two, and it was two aircraft flying (what seemed to be) close formation, splitting into two, as one did a flyby down one side of a river, and the other, the other side. Here's might high quality map indicating what happened. Note my good pattern, indicating where they were holding.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2a0d8a6cca.jpg What I'd like to know is: How do the pilots flight close formation, in the dark? Would they have night vision, so that the 2nd aircraft follows the lead? Or is there some other way they do this? Following a dark aircraft closly in the night seems - tricky. And if they do have night vision, would they have the ability to see their instruments? Wouldn't they be too bright? Or is it a bit anaolog up there so they simple keep the lights off in the cockpit? Just for reference, the day before they did a practice run, and I managed to capture this: https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1c4c6b57cf.jpg I'm kinda proud of that shot. :) That's the Royal Australian Airforce Boeing EA18g "Growler" doing a little flyby. |
Night Close Formation
If the situation allows aircraft lighting to be on (ie peace time) then you can use the lights as a formation reference. In my old type this meant putting the wing nav light on a cockpit light as a forward reference and using the rear nav light to control spacing along the diagonal. More modern aircarft (such as the F18) have formation lighting strips. In a tactical situation you will will have to rely on NVGs. Some fleets practice both (as we did), some will just do one and some will do none. Close formation take offs needed to be done without NVGs since the burners were too bright. Once burners were cancelled you could goggle up (easier said than done in close formation, at night - it took much practice on the ground to be able to do it right in the air!) and then carry on. Close formation landings can be done with or without NVGs. BV |
Carrots!...…..
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Bob didn't mention cockpit lighting. There are NVG compatibility but the lighting systems of modern aircraft are NVG comparison where necessary.
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I take it the growler has Navigation lights on top of the mainplane as well?
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Permanently etched in my memory are hours in the back seat of Buccaneers at 600 ft RadAlt over the sea glued on to three dim blue lights (when they were all working) ”one of us going to have to look in at the fuel soon” ”not me mate” |
Many years ago I read an account by a wartime pilot who stayed on in the peacetime RAF. He said he knew things had changed when he couldn’t find anyone on his Sqn prepared to do night formation aerobatics with him..... |
Teaching co-pilots (who hadn't had the benefit of proper BFTS formation training) to fly in close formation at night on the VC10K. Such utter fun...NOT!
But I guess that's why we were paid such a handsome flying pay bonus as QFIs? Or not.... |
Beags,
Just how often did VC-10K's fly close formation at night operationally? |
Whenever there was a need to refuel at night from another VC10K or TriStar. Such as on night one of Gulf War 1.
During one of trust-me-Tony Bliar's bring-a-bottle Balkan wars, we had to ensure that all squadron captains were capable of refuelling at night. The scenario included several VC10K / VC10K prods, plus maintaining in contact for 10 min including 2 x 180 deg turns in contact. Then some TriStar night jousting. So quite often, really. |
In the old Valiant days the drogue had three Sturmey Archer bicycle generators with vanes instead of the rubber bits to run off a bicycle tyre. As soon as the drogue came into the airstream they lit up little bulbs to show you where the drogue was.. Floodlights beamed across the wings gave you the orientation.
I cannot remember anybody having trouble refuelling at night. |
Cralis,
To add to what BV said, night formation, both with and without NVG's, requires a very vigilant lookout, as depth perception is greatly reduced at night. Furthermore the pilot needs to have a good instrument scan going on at the same time, using all available systems to ensure safe separation of the aircraft. The exception is when flying close formation. Here the pilot will use the other aircraft as reference by looking at the different lights or by looking at the entire aircraft through the NVG's. Some aircraft like the F-16 have both external and cockpit lights that are NVIS/NVG friendly. On the F-16 the external light can be selected to normal, covert and off. In covert mode, there are no lights showing from underneath the aircraft and the lights that are showing are only visible through NVG's. In the cockpit, most instruments, panels and screens are capable of either normal or NVIS mode. The pilot can switch between normal and NVIS lightning in the cockpit by pressing the Hands On Black Out (HOBO) switch on the throttle. The benefits of NVIS light in the cockpit is that the glare in the canopy is greatly reduced, which in turn gives the pilot much improved vision outside the aircraft through the NVG's. Furthermore, selecting NVIS mode will make the aircraft less visible from the outside. in my air-force NVG's are only allowed in VMC conditions as the risk of Spatial-D is very high if the horizon is not visible or if the aircraft lights cast shadows on the clouds surrounding the aircraft. If the pilot enters IMC conditions he is to select goggles up or to degoggle completely and revert to instrument flying. The pilot will look underneath the NVG's when looking inside the cockpit (ie. when cross checking instruments or looking at the screens. In the F-16 community, T/O and LDG with NVG's is not allowed as NVG's deprives the pilot from depth perception completely (it is already greatly reduced at night without NVG's). In the F-16 community NVG's are considered the biggest killer, as the risk of midairs and Spatial-D is very high if sound procedures and technics are not followed. One great improvement that we have got a while ago is the NVCD's, which enables the same features as the Helmet Mounted Cueing System (HMCS) through the NVG's. NVCD's along with Link 16 will greatly enhance the pilots situational awareness on other formation members/opponents/ground tracks, making both close and tactical formation flight at night almost as easy as in daytime. |
would they have the ability to see their instruments? SASless may wish to comment on the veracity of that. |
I remember being guided by my trusty nav (35-odd years ago!) into night close formation on an unlit Bear D in the Iceland-Faroes gap with me on instruments (no NVG) and him using the now antique hand-held monocular shufti-scope: "right one degree, come up 10 feet, fly level" followed by "fly level, fly level, Gate!, fly level" - he used the extra light from the reheat to read the door number as we shot out from underneath it.
With the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't the cleverest thing either of us did that night, but we did get the number... |
Robert Mason states that they used to formate at night by using the instrument lights of the other helicopter, with overlapping rotor discs Interesting to see the local Ospreys flying night landings in V formation, no lights, and request to the tower to turn OFF the runway/taxi way lights prior to joining the circuit. |
Sasless has long said Robert Mason borrowed others experiences without attribution and had an amazing inclination to embellish thus making an account loosely based upon a modicum of truth into a good yarn. I have a dear friend who shared a Cockpit with Mason on occasions and I trust his evaluation of the matter. That being said....the UH-1 in those days had Standard Nav lights that could be selected to Off, Bright, Dim, or Flash. Bright was standard.....Dim were really Dim....like about as bright as your standard two D Cell flashlight (Torch) when you really....really need some light in the Cockpit when you experience a complete electric failure. The flash mode was at the normal bright level. We had no strobe lights but did have Rotating Beacons. Day formation, while in the left seat.....at one half rotor disk separation....one could leer into the right hand door window of the adjacent aircraft and see the instruments. In those days we could actually see the indications of the VSI and Altimeter. We did not overlap blades routinely or on-purpose normally although sometimes young men who have scant sense of their own mortality will do some very stupid things. At night we maintained the half disk to one disk separation......the same peek in the other cockpit might yield a dim red glow but that would be it as we ran our cockpit lights as dim as possible to enhance seeing something outside. Generally....Lead and aTail end Charlie ran anti-Colls but on approach those got shut off.....leaving just Nav lights on. The Nav Lights were blanked out when viewed from below....as we wished not to be seen from the ground. To clarify....once on Chinnoks...everything was the same except we went from half disk separation to half day separation generally as my unit generally did single ship tasking but when the opportunity presented itself we ganged up and postured upon returning to base. |
Originally Posted by Fortissimo
(Post 10266127)
- he used the extra light from the reheat to read the door number as we shot out from underneath it.
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. I got to see two EA18g Growlers do an evening fly-by on the weekend of our city. |
Originally Posted by Pontius Navigator
(Post 10266432)
It occurs to me that if the OP could identify them as Growlers it was not dark but twilight and technically not night flying.
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Night formation before the days of NVGs ? The Scimitar had a formation light on the wing tip and of course track and relative speeds were known. Surprising how much you can see with the instrument lighting turned down or off, relying on the phosphorescence of the needles.
Whilst still training, tried to join one night with the lead on the dark side, when his formation light had failed. What’s the only other white light ? Yep, the tail light ! SOP form up was the only reason I went underneath and didn’t hit him ! :eek: |
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