First F-35A four-ship flies over Eglin. Amazing photo.

First F-35A four-ship flies over Eglin

2/5/2013 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Increasing capability is becoming routine for the F-35 Lightning II team.

The 58th Aircraft Maintenance Unit produced a four-turn-four for the 58th Fighter Squadron flying Jan 31.

"The pilots flew four F-35As in the morning and the maintainers performed routine maintenance for airworthiness after landing. Then the crew chiefs 'turned' them around so the four jets could be flown in the afternoon," said Col. Andrew Toth, the commander of the 33d Fighter Wing and one of the aviators in the formation.

That was the first F-35 four-turn-four at the wing. Following up the successful flights, the team did the same Feb. 1 with a four-turn-two. During the Jan. 31 training flights, the pilots were using their advanced radar systems to track F-16 "adversaries" over the Gulf of Mexico.

Additionally, the maintainers had spare F-35As ready to go in the event of any issues in flight proving their ability to prepare the Air Force's newest fighter jet for basic pilot training.

While turning jets and flying multiple aircraft in formation is standard operations at an established flying training unit, for the 33d Fighter Wing, it was another step forward to self-sufficiency. Subsequently, it boosted morale.

"It was good to pull that off last week knowing recent weather can cancel flights," said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Wheeler, the production superintendent with 58th AMU. "I can't control the weather...everything else I control. The jets took off without any issues, the pilots flew their scheduled times. They all landed safely and the aircraft downloaded correctly."

Unique to the JSF, the downloaded data is inputted into the autonomic logistics information system that tracks the health of the jet in a computer based diagnostics and logistics system.

Contracted logistic support by Lockheed Martin is steadily giving way to 58th AMU crew chiefs as the Airmen become more proficient in maintaining the F-35A. LM will continue to support other variants and international partners.

http://www.eglin.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123335153





cool...

Saved as desktop wallpaper.

Do youse Yanks call that formation 'Finger Four Right'? With 'Finger Four Left' being the other one.

Wicked. Thanks orkss

spazsinbad wrote:Do youse Yanks call that formation 'Finger Four Right'? With 'Finger Four Left' being the other one.

Indeed, you Aussies are observant.

'observant' yes - but NEVER subservient. Go Figure. AND... quite capable of giving anyone the finger. Yes we know the RAAF will operate with minimum of four F-35As - but I digress.

Impressive.

Man....That had to be LLLLLLLOUD!!

Cool
AF-09,AF-10,AF-14,AF-16 roarrrrrrrrring
the B's grounded and the A's having fun

A darn shame they couldn't do a better job of retouching the photo...they all have halo's around them.

What's the reason for this formation (not just this time, but all the other times it's been done before)? It looks strange.

--1
2---3
-------4 Doubtless there are alternative explanations however this is one I am familiar with (the origins of this formation again could be many and varied). As shown in the diagram it is an efficient way for Leader (1) to lead a tight formation of four aircraft with (in these circumstances) maximum maneuverability. If you keep in mind that No.2 is the least experienced and is next to leader on the left, whilst No.3 is the deputy leader and on the right but close to leader to see any hand signals and able to take over the formation if Leader has a problem. Then No.4 is the third most experienced so able to deal with being on the outside of the formation during a turn to the left or more troublesome perhaps on the inside in a turn to the right. This will be an especially useful formation in cloud where the leader may penetrate cloud via radar to get the formation below cloud quickly but not by doing an instrument approach.

IF the formation needs to reconstitute into what I would call 'Battle Formation' when No.1 & 2 go left as a pair while No.3 & 4 go to the right as a pair to be horizontally apart by about 1,000 yards (this distance can vary depending) then they are able to visually keep a lookout behind the other pair. In the days of ONLY WVR combat with missiles perhaps coming from astern from beyond a mile or so this was one way to be able to 'battle' forward in that era, especially at low level loaded with bombs. But I digress...

--1 --------------- [1,000 (vary with threat) yds ] --------------- 3
2-----------------------------------------------------------------------4

Different eras after this time will find other uses/names for these formations. Equally this spread formation can get together again quickly and break apart again as described depending on the circumstances. Specifically you asked about the finger four and NOT the battle formation but here is some more about that I have not explained (not really relevant in tight finger four): "...Both the flight leader and element leader have offensive roles, in that they are the ones to open fire on enemy aircraft while the flight remains intact. Their wingmen have a defensive role — the flight wingman covers the rear of the second element and the element wingman covers the rear of the lead element...."

http://www.answers.com/topic/finger-four
___________________

GOOGLE 'Finger Four' to find any number of explanations:
http://content.answcdn.com/main/content ... 275-01.gif

Here is a more 'uptodate' (with F-16s) look at tactical formations in all their diversity/rationales:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/docs/16v5.pdf (4.5Mb)

"Flying Operations F-16 COMBAT AIRCRAFT FUNDAMENTALS 1996
This handbook provides F-16 pilots a single-source, comprehensive document containing fundamental employment procedures and techniques that may be used to accomplish the various missions of the F-16....

...3.2.4. Formation Responsibilities
The flight lead assigns responsibilities for each flight member. Dividing responsibilities ensures each pilot has a manageable number of tasks to perform. Flight member normal responsibilities are:

· Number One: Primary planner and decision maker, primary navigation and radar lookout, visual lookout for mutual support of #2, and primary engaged fighter, if practical.

· Number Two: Maintain formation position, visual lookout, mutual support of number one. Navigation position awareness, and radar awareness as other responsibilities allow.

· Number Three: Support number one. Secondary planner and alternate decision maker, maintain support position for lead element, secondary navigation and radar monitor, visual lookout for number four, mutual support of the entire flight, and secondary engaged fighter, if practical.

· Number Four: Maintain formation position, visual lookout for the flight, mutual support of number three. Navigation position awareness, and radar awareness as other responsibilities allow...."

HEAPS of detailed formation (+ ACM + Weapon Delivery) diagrams and explanations of same in this PDF.

LARGE Pics of series above:
http://www.eglin.af.mil/shared/media/ph ... 99-805.JPG
&
http://www.eglin.af.mil/shared/media/ph ... 99-804.JPG

LARGE Pics of series above:

well pics in open post already large
sorry for traffic, i was in a hurry to share the news.