Going through some old Legend DVD’s, I found Lee Proudfoots face in MH434 doing a tail chase. He didn’t look very comfortable doing it, so it made me think of the risks involved during the different segments of a typical Legends show. The tail chase, the timing, the balbo and so on. The balbo has been discussed widely before and after 2011, but not so much the tail chasing parts they do.
Not looking for a number or anything considering the danger factor, just found it to be an interesting topic. Naturally, Proudfoot keeps his eyes planted on the leading Spitfire in front, which made me realize that he doesn’t really look for the other two Spits doing low passes over the gras runway. It doesn’t look like he does anyway.
By: Seafuryfan - 13th January 2013 at 19:29
Not a fighter pilot then, seafury?
So sorry you are not ‘comfortable’ with it.
Am sure you have done night, multi aircraft formations, on NVG, at low level? (maybe not)
All done in a professional manner, well briefed, by competent crews.A similar ethos for a Spitfire tailchase?
“Clear above and behind!”
No need to apologise! 🙂 And like many of us, I wish I had been….But do I detect some service ribbing there….? And I bet you’re a damn sight better with you oily rag than I am with mine!
It’s ok to voice an opinion…I hope.
By: DCK - 13th January 2013 at 19:23
I prefer the tail chase when you got four on each runway, just screaming past low and going up at each end of the runways.
By: Elwick - 13th January 2013 at 18:48
Maybe 7 or 8 years ago (I don’t recall the exact year) at Legends I recall a Mustang tail chase with at least 8 aircraft. In that tail chase there were so many aircraft that the guys at the back seemed to get perilously close to the guys coming back down the other side.
Re: the Breitling fighter, I never quite get why there seems to be such an attraction to old aircraft flying very close together. With the Breitling fighters, one could appreciate the superb airmanship in keeping these different types so close together, but surely the point is to display the aircraft, and to me they flew unnecessarily close.
Just my opinion.
E
By: ozplane - 13th January 2013 at 16:45
Which is why the Breitling Fighters were such a great “act”. Four dissimilar aircraft with different aerodynamics. I remember Lee telling me that the Mustang used to accelerate in a dive much quicker than the others, which made matching speeds tricky. The Corsair on the other hand had so much power it was easy to balance the speeds required plus it’s aerodynamics let it slow down quickly when required. I think what might be an upcoming problem is the lack of practice time available due to the increasing costs of operating a warbird. We shall see.
By: Oily Rag - 13th January 2013 at 16:13
Not a fighter pilot then, seafury?
So sorry you are not ‘comfortable’ with it.
Am sure you have done night, multi aircraft formations, on NVG, at low level? (maybe not)
All done in a professional manner, well briefed, by competent crews.
A similar ethos for a Spitfire tailchase?
“Clear above and behind!”
By: DCK - 13th January 2013 at 13:34
I think saying that Lee looked uncomfortable in the tail chase is quite an assumption. As the person who filmed and owns that particular footage my take on it is quite different, it show an incredibly professional pilot concentrating hard on flying a high performance aircraft in challenging conditions. That year wind speed and gusts were quite high so naturally concentration levels would be higher.
If Lee had been uncomfortable in that situation he would have ended his display.
Perhaps just the G-pulls then.
Anyway, ‘comfortable’ is such a wide term.
By: sconnor - 13th January 2013 at 13:08
I think saying that Lee looked uncomfortable in the tail chase is quite an assumption. As the person who filmed and owns that particular footage my take on it is quite different, it show an incredibly professional pilot concentrating hard on flying a high performance aircraft in challenging conditions. That year wind speed and gusts were quite high so naturally concentration levels would be higher.
If Lee had been uncomfortable in that situation he would have ended his display.
By: Evalu8ter - 13th January 2013 at 08:59
A tailchase is a perfectly safe evolution provided that it is correctly briefed and the participants have broadly similar performance. In military flying a base height and base speed is briefed, and if the types are the same, the power setting is set and then left for the duration; therefore all manoeuvring is based on the lead & lag principle – as mentioned above. It is probably a slight distraction having aircraft with different aerodynamic and engine factors, so a mixed type warbird tailchase is probably a little harder (not to mention engine handling considerations and the need to keep a close watch on Ts & Ps to identify a problem early). Perhaps to a non-military trained pilot, a tailchase isn’t as natural an evolution as some others as it derives from BCM training, but then formation flying and formation aeros aren’t a civil training requirement either – they seem to cope with those ok. Though, you do need to keep a close eye on run and breaks…….
By: Seafuryfan - 12th January 2013 at 23:29
No I’m not a pilot. I’ve spent many years rubbernecking in the rear of a helicopter, helping the crew in avoiding other aircraft/helicopters and obstacles. The more aircraft in a small piece of sky, the higher the risk.
By: Ewan Hoozarmy - 12th January 2013 at 23:24
The tailchase at Legends is choreographed. Aircraft going East fly to the North of the Main runway, those going West south (or similar, cant remember which). Nobody overtakes. Spacing is kept by ‘lead & lag’ manoeuvres. Cant see a problem with it as it is, and opposition manoeuvres would only create more of a collision risk if a pilot became unsighted.
Seafuryfan. Are you a pilot by any chance?
By: DCK - 12th January 2013 at 22:11
Direct me to the thread if you can. Can’t seem to get it up in a search.
By: Seafuryfan - 12th January 2013 at 22:06
We have discussed the tail chase before…I’m not comfortable with it. Too many aircraft in a small piece of sky. I’d be happy with 2 or 3 aircraft only, in opposition to fill the sky a bit.
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January 12, 2013 at 9:59 pm