I know many of the fans of the VTB really love the diamond formation (including myself) but let me let you all know that the Solo's are also no stranger to hard work and show stopping performance. My intention in this post is to lay down the basics and ground rules for our audience and those interested in becoming a solo.
"Jockey the Jet"
Being a solo means fast and especially crisp moves. That means some serious roll rates with precision turn angles. Little room for error in this department so if you are trying to execute the 4 point roll for example a good roll will consist of actually yanking the stick left and then all the way past center to the right, then center to get that crisp and sharp 90 degree turn. This stick movement will also be effective on most maneuvors.
"Situational Awarness"
Remember, once wheels up untill Delta you are your own formation! F10 is your best friend especially if you are #6 and trying to run opposite lead. I recommend trackIR for those who have it to gain the "Ultimate" in sit. awareness but for those who dont have it F10 Map view works great. Timing is the key for any airshow and is no exeption for Solos or the VTB. Lead Solo is constantly monitoring the diamond while Opposing Solo relies on 5 for setups/calls and overall position. Once 5 calls for the setup/position and manuevor its 6's job to form up as best on him. Solo's are the only folks that use the rollouts and the end of the runway so dont think that just cause you got the manuevor down its all good. Aim to perfect the rollouts, setups and overall position in the air show arena!
"Delta"
The Delta formation is in my view the pinnacle formation for the VTB. It represents the whole teams pursuit for excellence and precision. Basics for Solos in the delta will require alot of sweat and death grip practice to gain proper formation. You can use the screenshots in the reference section of the screenshot gallery to see where you should be but I like to put it like this. Try to position yourself on the delta where if you were to shoot the left/right wings head it would go through him and hit the lead pilot as well. That tells you that you are in positon on the vertical/horizontal seperation. Remember, being on the inside of a whiffer or roll you need to throttle back more than normal, likewise on the outside you need to push the throttle up a notch to catch the outside of the turn like at a racetrack.
More to follow!
I sure hopes this helps those folks interested in the Solo side of VTB. These basics sure have helped me out on my flying.
Flying the Friendly (Inverted),
#5 PART I
Whomever thinks the solos have an easier job, needs to take a closer look! Having flown a lot in the right solo profile lately, what I previously considered "good stuff" by my own standards, being a pilot and also leading the diamond in our virtual squad, I quickly came to realize that there's a whole other level of precision involved by the Thunderbird solos - real or virtual! What you'll read in this post I have taken from a story from within the team and a few words of my own, but I think it truly describes the Thunderbird solos and why, at the beginning of each season they say: "Two of the teams members have the farthest to go..."
With every bit as much difficulty required in learning to fly the diamond, the solos will also need to fly inverted at 75 feet, perfectly level; perform crisp 8-point rolls; hold knife edge straight down the centerline when the aircraft wants to do anything but that; crunch through an 8.5G max performance turn in full afterburner while holding the radius and speed for the immediate half Cuban-8 that follows; hit show center simultaneously while passing head-on each other at 800 feet per second; and hold a tight formation during the calypso pass where the aircraft are diametrically opposed in attitudes as the lead solo flies inverted. While this is only a partial list of the solo's routine, it is indicative of the type of performance they demonstrate. When it's time to take a "break" from such maneuvers, the solos join up with the diamond, flying on the outer wings to form the delta formation. To fly the show as a solo is to understand great contrasts in speed and maneuvering.
Everything the solos do with their aircraft is precisely when and where they do it. The Thunderbirds try to have an aircraft or formation in front of the crowd every thirty seconds. The solos are constantly working in coordination with the diamond's exits from show center, timing their entries to allow for minimum time between maneuvers as they are still within a very small tolerance of speed, altitude and angle as they enter. Far from being a separate portion of the show, the solos are very well integrated and linked to the diamond through a blend of callouts, formations and timing!
What the crowd sees at show center is the culmination of a maneuver which began several miles from the field during the solos "run-in". At speeds ranging from 350 to 600 knots, the solos use landmarks at specific locations from each end of the runway to help with their alignment and timing (just like the Boss does in the diamond).
As the trail-to-diamond roll is nemesis to the diamond (the maneuver every diamond wingman gets tense before and the maneuver that usually has at least one pilot sounding a: "Whoa!" at some point), there's the delta formation for the solos. Bringing their solo routines to exacting levels of skill and timing leaves little time for #5 and #6 to get really comfortable in the six-ship delta formation. For the solos the "trauma" of joining the delta is very dramatic and being on the outer most wings also different from flying on lead's wing.
Two examples: When lead floats the formation over the top of a loop, the aircraft behind him needs to make a slightly larger loop. While lead might have 0.5G's on the stick, #2 and #3 could be seeing 0.2G's. Compounding this matter even worse for the wingmen further back in the formation, when the solos join up for the delta loop. They are in and out of a true 0G environment, which means lead has to fly the delta slightly different compared with how he flies the diamond, but it also means the solos need to be very sharp formation fliers as well. During the delta roll as #3 arcs around lead, #6 has to make his arc not only twice as big around the whole formation, but it also requires greater throttle movement/control. #5, just like #2 has to exert a forward push during the roll, although #5 has to make a negative-G push in a much bigger fashion than #2 to stay in formation.
These are just some scenarios where the world of high-speed thrills meet the most graceful maneuvering accomplished on this team and the solos need to cover that whole spectrum, from "jockeying the jet" with absolute precision to holding a steady formation in a position that requires real finesse to make it look easy during those graceful delta maneuvers.
After a normal flight debriefing with the diamond, what is mostly looked at is symmetry and positioning as well as show center hit. The solos will spend added time reviewing the actual parameters flown during each of their maneuvers, looking for the smallest deviations and adjusting a maneuver to look right for the crowd.
In contrast to leading, I enjoy this extreme level of precision flying and not at all unlike lead's job, you have to have good SA (like Striker mentioned) but also be in full control over your wrist movements!
LD
With every bit as much difficulty required in learning to fly the diamond, the solos will also need to fly inverted at 75 feet, perfectly level; perform crisp 8-point rolls; hold knife edge straight down the centerline when the aircraft wants to do anything but that; crunch through an 8.5G max performance turn in full afterburner while holding the radius and speed for the immediate half Cuban-8 that follows; hit show center simultaneously while passing head-on each other at 800 feet per second; and hold a tight formation during the calypso pass where the aircraft are diametrically opposed in attitudes as the lead solo flies inverted. While this is only a partial list of the solo's routine, it is indicative of the type of performance they demonstrate. When it's time to take a "break" from such maneuvers, the solos join up with the diamond, flying on the outer wings to form the delta formation. To fly the show as a solo is to understand great contrasts in speed and maneuvering.
Everything the solos do with their aircraft is precisely when and where they do it. The Thunderbirds try to have an aircraft or formation in front of the crowd every thirty seconds. The solos are constantly working in coordination with the diamond's exits from show center, timing their entries to allow for minimum time between maneuvers as they are still within a very small tolerance of speed, altitude and angle as they enter. Far from being a separate portion of the show, the solos are very well integrated and linked to the diamond through a blend of callouts, formations and timing!
What the crowd sees at show center is the culmination of a maneuver which began several miles from the field during the solos "run-in". At speeds ranging from 350 to 600 knots, the solos use landmarks at specific locations from each end of the runway to help with their alignment and timing (just like the Boss does in the diamond).
As the trail-to-diamond roll is nemesis to the diamond (the maneuver every diamond wingman gets tense before and the maneuver that usually has at least one pilot sounding a: "Whoa!" at some point), there's the delta formation for the solos. Bringing their solo routines to exacting levels of skill and timing leaves little time for #5 and #6 to get really comfortable in the six-ship delta formation. For the solos the "trauma" of joining the delta is very dramatic and being on the outer most wings also different from flying on lead's wing.
Two examples: When lead floats the formation over the top of a loop, the aircraft behind him needs to make a slightly larger loop. While lead might have 0.5G's on the stick, #2 and #3 could be seeing 0.2G's. Compounding this matter even worse for the wingmen further back in the formation, when the solos join up for the delta loop. They are in and out of a true 0G environment, which means lead has to fly the delta slightly different compared with how he flies the diamond, but it also means the solos need to be very sharp formation fliers as well. During the delta roll as #3 arcs around lead, #6 has to make his arc not only twice as big around the whole formation, but it also requires greater throttle movement/control. #5, just like #2 has to exert a forward push during the roll, although #5 has to make a negative-G push in a much bigger fashion than #2 to stay in formation.
These are just some scenarios where the world of high-speed thrills meet the most graceful maneuvering accomplished on this team and the solos need to cover that whole spectrum, from "jockeying the jet" with absolute precision to holding a steady formation in a position that requires real finesse to make it look easy during those graceful delta maneuvers.
After a normal flight debriefing with the diamond, what is mostly looked at is symmetry and positioning as well as show center hit. The solos will spend added time reviewing the actual parameters flown during each of their maneuvers, looking for the smallest deviations and adjusting a maneuver to look right for the crowd.
In contrast to leading, I enjoy this extreme level of precision flying and not at all unlike lead's job, you have to have good SA (like Striker mentioned) but also be in full control over your wrist movements!
LD
Last edited by Lawndart on Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I'd have to strongly disagree that it is easier to fly as a solo. In many aspects I'd say it is the hardest position to have (no disrespect to the diamond), especially when you factor in the precision, setting the timing for the whole show and also flying in the delta formation as well as line abreast formations. It's definitely a position of great contrast and by no means easier than the job of number 2, 3 or 4. Every single member of this team has a tough job! While the solos don't fly as much formation, the times they do, you find them on the outer wings where every movement #2 or #3 makes will ripples down to that position. Similar to what #4 experiences flying at the very back of the trail formation. In trail, if #2 isn't rock solid, #3 would make corrections that would only become exaggerated by #4 who's getting the tail end of it. Many times you also have to fly without lead in sight and the same goes for the solos while they do formation. By no means any easier of a job, but at the same time you're only as good as your wingman. In other words every position requires extraordinary skill and no single position on this team can be considered any easier than the next.SilverOne wrote:lol ... yeah it's easier to be a solo , you don't have that stress of failing it all ... but it is still hard since it requires the same precision.
Like they say, the average crowd wouldn't know there is a thing wrong with the show, but most military aviators and especially former members and true Thunderbird fans alike (our selves included) could probably identify the smallest details of the show that's under par during a performance. No one is as hard on their performance as themselves and everyone is held to an extreme level of attention to detail. They never fly a perfect show, but the goal is and has always been to do that and the solos are no exemption from those standards.
LD
Last edited by Lawndart on Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
-
STRIKER
- Virtual Thunderbird Alumnus
- Posts: 826
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 2:02 am
- Location: Amarillo, TX
Solo's have it easy? NO ONE ON THE THUNDERBIRDS HAS IT EASY...Period! Everyone on the team; solo's or diamond flyers equally work very hard to put on that perfect show. Thats what makes our team so great; no one particularly stands out but as a team we comprise a great show. I wouldnt dream of comparing who is the best on the team...we are about teamwork and in my opinion we are all equally skilled and dedicated.
Five's Clear,
Five's Clear,
Although skill level and sometimes dedication may vary between us, that's all irrelevant when you fly as a cohesive squad that either rises or falls with the contributions from each of its members, regardless of pilot. We're only as strong as our weakest link!STRIKER wrote:...we are about teamwork and in my opinion we are all equally skilled and dedicated.
LD
