Form Clinic - North Carolina
Team AeroDynamix was putting on a Formation Clinic this weekend.  On Friday, I took the day off from work and headed south to North Carolina with Mugsy.  Here we are passing by Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
   
Looking down at the Patuxent River bridge.  Just below the bridge is Solomon's Island -- a Navy recreational area -- where our family went camping when I was a kid.  Years later I took my own kids there.  Both times we were rained out!
   
Looking at Richmond to the west.
   
Looking to the east of Richmond.  This area was hotly contested during the Civil War.
   
We stopped at Gilliam-McConnell Airfield (5NC3) for lunch at the famous Pik 'N Pig restaurant.
   
On final for runway 13.
   
Save on deck and ready for some North Carolina BBQ!
   
 
   
 
   
A local guy built this P-40 replica in his backyard with materials from scrap yards and construction sites.
   
It was fairly hot for mid-May.
   
It was a short 30 mile hop from the Pik 'N Pig to Stanly County Airport (KVUJ) in Albemarle, NC  where the formation clinic took place.   It was hot and hazy by 1PM when we arrived.   Stanly County has a control tower staffed by Air National Guard controllers during the week.  Thankfully the tower was not operational over the weekend.
   

Parked on the large ramp at Stanley County.  I was surprised by how many RVs were already here.   While we were heading into the FBO building, numerous four-ships were taxiing for takeoff.

Friday was basically ad-hoc.  "Dubes" of Team AeroDynamix was running the schedule and setting up flights as people showed up and based on what they needed.    Newbies needed to ride as a passenger with an experieced form pilot.  Guys needed wingman checkride recommendations needed to fly in a 4-ship with a Flight Lead present.  Guys needing a Flight lead checkride needed to lead a 4-ship with a Flight Lead present.  Then there were others that just wanted practice.  Dubes took care of them all.

Mugsy and I got some good practice in a 4-ship Friday afternoon.  Some other Mid-Atlantic RV flyers -- Pablo, Jerry and Tim -- had come earlier and got a couple of flights in.
   
One of the Navy's new (relatively) T-6 Texan primary trainers.
   

I think there were close to 50 RVs present.    When flying was done for the day Friday, pizza was delivered to the FBO building, and there was a two-hour Formation Ground school for the guys not having FFI Formation Cards.   We all stayed in a nearby hotel conviently located next door to the Sagebrush Steakhouse and Bar.   Emphasis on the Bar.  A cold draft beer tastes pretty good after a heavy day of flying.
   
Mugsy tying down his bird.
   

Saturday was more structured than Friday.  There were two flights in the morning, lunch, then two more flights.  The weather was not the best but it was flyable and we ended up getting all four flights in.

My first flight was for a Flight Lead checkride recommendation.   Most of my flying the last year has been as lead so I felt pretty good about going for the Flight Lead checkride.  Leggs from Team AeroDynamix and a Flight Lead flew as #3 and evaluated me.  The flight went fine  and I got my recommendation.  But afterwards Leggs gave me some great feedback on some areas I could improve on, especially concerning how I debriefed the flight.  I acted on his advice and it really helped me on my checkride.

Dubes didn't waste any time scheduling for my next checkride.  The next flight was it.  I was lead on a four-ship of experienced form pilots.  The checkride pilot, Wiz, flew his own RV and shadowed our formation as #5.  I had never met Wiz before but I had seen him debrief a flight Friday and knew he was thorough.   I briefed the flight, then we went flying.  I led the flight through all the maneuvers:  finger four turns, crossunder, close trail, extended trail, echelon turns, diamond, breaks and rejoins.  We came back in and landed.  I had tried hard to note things during the flight so I could do a good debrief and did reasonbly well.   Then it was Wiz's turn.  He pretty much hadn't said anything at all so far, but now he proceeded to deliver a comphrehensive review of the flight in detail, all good comments.  Then he finished by congratulating me for passing my flight lead checkride.  All right!  Afterwords, Wiz gave me some excellent suggestions on some things I can improve upon, which for sure I will work on.

 
   
The FBO building was relatively new and was the nicest I have ever seen.  The inside "lounge" area was positively ornate with dark wood paneling and plush dark leather sofas.
 
Sandwiches were delivered for lunch, then it was back to the flight line.   Being fairly well drained from the first two flights, I was happy to see I was a safety observer for the third flight.   Unfortunately, our plane couldn't go because of an oil pressure issue.
 
I was assigned as flight lead for flight #4.  None of those in my flight had Wingman cards so I worked them pretty hard and I think they got some good work.  The weather was getting pretty bad but we got the flight done.
 
 

 

 

 

  

We got rained on mid-day Saturday.

After the fourth flight, Dubes asked me if I would lead another flight and I said sure.  It was just a three-ship this time.  The weather was getting marginal -- a low, misty overcast -- so we stayed close to the airport and ended up cutting the flight shore.  One of the wingmen was struggling so I just kept doing turns to give him the practice he needed.
   
 
Because taking photographs in close proximity to three other airplanes is not good headwork, all my pictures are on the ground.
 
However, Pablo is a senior editor at AOPA and he and some others did this nice video on the Clinic:  Link.   Here is Pablo's written story as well.  Link
 
 
   
Pablo's RV-4.
   
Yobo's sleak Harmon Rocket.
 
All of had dinner at the Sagebrush Steakhouse and then retired to the bar for a lot of draft beer and trading flying stories.  I was pretty happy about earning my flight lead card.  Mugsy, Jerry and Pablo all earned their Wingmen cards.
   

The next morning I looked out the window and the weather was horrible.  Instrument flight conditions.   We checked out of the motel and went to the airport and sat around.  Around 10AM they did the brief for the "All-Up" flight in case the weather changed.   I think there were 28 planes in the flight.
   

Unfortunately the weather never cleared up enough to do the All-Up flight so it was cancelled.  But we did get the all-important Form Clinic picture!
   
Mugsy and I were amongst the last to leave.  The weather wasn't the best but it was flyable.  And it would get better up north.
   

Despite the less than optimum weather, I thought the Form Clinic was a big success.  I think everybody who attended got a lot out of it.  As far as organization, the thing was superbly organized and run by the Team AeroDynamix folks.

For me personally, even though I had been flying as lead for the past year, I was amazed at how much I learned at this clinic about being a flight lead.  I learned things you can't learn from a book or just flying with your friends at home.  Form flying at the clinic takes you to another level.  There are a lot of other planes and formations in the sky, and you are flying with people you havn't flown with before.  And, of course, there is always the weather.
   
Stanly County Airport is right next to Badin Lake and Yadkin River.  You can see how crummy the weather is here.
   
But as we proceeded northeast, it started clearing up.
   
It's amazing how forested this part of the country is.
   
There was just a scattered layer by the time we approached the Chesapeake Bay from the west.
   
Some fancy houses on the Eastern Shore.
   
Safe on deck back at Essex Skypark.
   
 
   
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