Does it have specific tactical advantages or is it just cool?
Edit to add: what about specific types of formations, like a Flying V vs a Diamond vs whatever else they can do?
In: 797
It also makes fuel economy more predictable and consistent across the entire squadron. In WWII there were instances where newbie bomber pilots who hadn’t yet mastered formation flying used up all their fuel by constantly accelerating and decelerating in order to keep up with the larger group.
Consider how much more exhausted you would be if you had to sprint to catch up with the group, pause to catch for breath, and then sprint forward again instead of just running at everybody else’s pace.
And when you run out of fuel in the middle of a mission, that can literally be a death sentence. Those pilots often had to ditch into water or over enemy territory because they couldn’t make it back home.
Latest Answers