7 Good Reasons
If you like the idea of always striving to be a better pilot, then there are plenty of good reasons to convince even those of us with the healthiest of aviator egos to give formation flying a crack. From tweaking our technical skills, to developing our discipline, and learning as a group, formation flying offers a plethora of opportunities to improve and learn; not just about ourselves as pilots, but about our aircraft and others in the air.
It really does make you a better pilot. But why is this so?
Aside from improving your technical prowess, it’s the upgrading of non-technical skills that sorts the galahs from the peregrine falcons. When ICAO asked experienced pilots what constitutes a “good pilot”, more often than not the reply included words related to human factors: airmanship, assertiveness, professionalism, calmness, knowledge, discipline, teamwork and so on. Being technically good at flying a plane (aircraft management) didn’t rate highest on the list of priorities.
Competency is all about knowledge, skills, and attitude. However, understanding how formation improves your technical skills is a good place to start.
1 Technical tweaks
A great solo flight may lead you to believe you possess excellent piloting abilities. Your aircraft certainly doesn’t care or notice when you’re 30 feet
