Three airplanes Archives - Victor Romeo Formation

Echelon Break

VRF - PT - Echelon Break — Photo by Pierre Theuerkauf

The Echelon Break is one of the most fun formations to fly. We dive down in Echelon Formation, and then pull up sharply, one after the other.

<– This is what our dive looks like!

During this maneuver, the pilots must closely watch their speed. When diving down, the speed may not go over 140 knots, which is the highest speed our planes are allowed to fly. However, for pulling up we do need quite some speed. Our dive gets us to about 130 knots (240 kilometers per hour). And that while we see the beach and the sea get closer and closer…

Back to formations

The Pull

The Pull allows the formation to quickly gain altitude without the formation breaking apart. It’s not a maneuver performed during shows, since the planes are already at the right altitude prior to entering the display area. The formation does frequently perform this maneuver on Sunday mornings during training.

The departure route from Rotterdam The Hague Airport to Hook of Holland is situated at 1000 feet (about 300 meters). More than high enough to fly safely, but for practicing formations we prefer to start a bit higher. The Pull brings the formation to 1500 feet, just about 450 meters. This allows for more leeway to correct any mishaps. Besides, the higher we fly, the less loud we are for people on the ground. We do like to entertain you on Sunday morning, but we don’t like to ruin your lazy morning, and six planes do produce quite some noise!

Back to formations

Crossbreak

VRF Crossbreak by Gerritjan Huinink — Photo by Gerritjan Huinink

The goal of a Crossbreak is to create the illusion that the airplanes are flying directly through each other. Then they create a beautiful explosion with planes flying in all directions.

The Victor Romeo Formation flies crossbreaks with three, four, five, or six airplanes. It’s not an easy maneuver to perform and also not without risks. The formation has taken care of the risks though, by incorporating several safety measures that ensure that nothing can go wrong. The most important measure is separation: the planes need to keep enough distance so they can safely turn away in front of one another.

When the leader calls out “prepare for Crossbreak” over the radio, the planes start to form a line, alternating between flying on the left and flying on the right. The leader always flies left. Planes flying left will make a right turn and vice versa.

Because the leader is unable to see all the other planes from his frontmost position, he is relying on the last plane to check whether everyone is in the right position. Over the radio the last pilot will verify “in position”, and then the crossbreak can begin!

The formation will start a dive. They do this because they need to pick up speed to turn away (and sometimes pull up) sharply. When the formation nears the display line (when practicing in Hoek van Holland, this is the beach) the leader will count down: “three, two, one, go”. Then, all the planes will start their turn (or pull).

On our Instagram page you can find a pilot’s view of the Crossbreak, go to highlights > Pilot’s View. Have a look!

Back to formations

Two-Seventy

A Two-Seventy is a maneuver, not a formation. This means that it’s a pattern flown through the air, much like lazy eights or chandelles.

As the name suggests, a Two-Seventy refers to a turn of 270 degrees. Three-fourth around the protractor! Such a turn in itself isn’t very special. However, the formation incorporates altitude differences throughout the turn. From the perspective of the audience, it looks like the planes are performing a looping!

You can see the flown altitude differences in this schematic. At the beginning of the turn, the formation is flying relatively high. They then dive down, picking up speed. A bit later they pull up again, trading speed for altitude.

A fun fact about the Two-Seventy: only the leader knows about where he is throughout the turn. He also knows when to dive, when to turn, and when to pull up. The numbers 2, 3, 4 and so on certainly know what is about to happen but they rely on the leader for the commands to guide them. They are too focused on flying a tight formation to know how much of the turn has already been completed. The commands used for guidance by the leader are the following: “Two-Seventy, left-hand”, and “dive… start banking… and pull up”.

Back to formations

T-Formation

The T-Formation creates a T-shape. It can be flown with three, four, five, or six aircraft. However, there is a significant difference between a T-Formation with three aircraft and a T-Formation with more than three aircraft, as you can see on the two schematics above.

With three planes, the leader will fly either front-right or front-left. To tell the other two pilots which side he wants them on, he will call “Left-hand T-Formation” or “Right-hand T-Formation” over the radio. When flying with more than three aircraft, the leader will always fly in the middle. He will then simply call “T-Formation” without a left-right indication.

Back to formations

Vic Formation

Bovenaanzicht van de Double Vic Formation — Double Vic

Vic Formation comprises three, five, or six aircraft. When flown with three or five airplanes, they create a single V-shape.

In Vic, all planes that belong to one V-shape fly at the same altitude. Those ‘on the wings’ use their leaders’ horizontal stabilizer as a reference point, keeping their own wings on about the same line as the stabilizer they are looking at.

When flying the Vic Formation with six aircraft, it is no longer possible to create a symmetrical V-shape. In this case, the formation is split into two smaller V-shapes both consisting of three aircraft (see the top right schematic).

Back to formations