DISPLAY FLYING – A PERSONAL VIEW
 

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Zero Error Margin by Des Barker

It's downloadable

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.

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.

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.

Thank you for a great post.

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

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.

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).

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

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.

Display trophies
 

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.

The most dangerous phase of flight. Showing off.

Dudley Henriques
 

Some relevant articles by Dudley Henriques:
Airshow Flying Safety https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Z...baK8znoZVbZj48
Safety on the Airshow Downline https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Z...chJaE_WvC7dPO0
Low Altitude Rolls https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Z...pbdKFQX4iptlDI
Low Altitude Loops https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Z...1jU69h0z3nrPQQ

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.

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