Precision Formation Flight

Precision Formation Flight

This group of Austrian RC builders and pilots takes flying with friends to a new level! Check out their dramatic formation flight, complete with in-air footage from strategically mounted GoPro cameras. Unfortunately the Spitfire in the video comes to an untimely end. Watch the video, then tell us what you think happened! Thanks to RCScaleAirplanes for taking this great video at the Mini Airshow at Barone Rosso in Fagagna, Italy.

Updated: February 18, 2016 — 11:36 AM

16 Comments

  1. It is hard to tell with limited views. Did the bump with the P-47 damage the right wing? Did he stall it on the turn around? Was the plane off-balance due to the camera? Well, at least in Europe you can stand on the runway in close formation with your buddies while flying giant scale models!

  2. The Spitfire pulls up and gets slow going over the top. The pilot tries to pull out too quickly and causes an accelerated stall. You can see the amount of up elevator being used in the video from the tail cam.

  3. This F raptors formation flight is much more precise… LOL !! https://youtu.be/daPgrlnlr9I

  4. This F-22 Raptors formation flight is much more precise… LOL !!

  5. Definitely NOT precision formation flight. No more so than the gaggle of funfighters all flying around together at E-week. The definition of formation is not a gaggle of planes generally flying in the same direction. At no time do any of them hold a specific place in the formation. In fact, they were lucky not to have several mid airs according to the video footage. None held a specific place or speed in a formation and all were generally running all over each other without any discipline whatsoever in their flying. Looks more like a bunch of buddies went – hey y’all, watch this. Will leave the dangerous aspect up to the viewer.

  6. I second what appears to be a stall condition right to the ground. That vertical pull likely was held too long and the up elevator input kept it from regaining enough airspeed.

    Another problem may have been distance, but I cannot understand why the pilot looks to have turned away while the plane was still airborne.

  7. Good thing I keep a pack of Sic-Sac’s at my workstation!

  8. It appears that there was a midair on the last pass over the airfield looks like the JUG bumped the right wing of the Spits. You can see it in the slow mo. I can’t tell if this contributed to the crash or not. The high speed stall is also a possiablity,if there was indeed a stall.
    Sorry about the crash . But a good video.

  9. looks like the stab is fluttering also. who knows maybe the other side was folded up out of view. I have seen many guys give up before the auger in.

  10. Definitely “not a formation flight” by any means.A bunch of “friendly friends” having fun trying to keep up with each other just fallowing in the same direction.
    As for the reason for the Spits to go down, it is also my opinion that was caused by stalling the plane by slowing down on the throttle while turning. If you notice ,during the on board video recording, every time the spits came into a turn, the pilot was cutting back on the throttle stick for a second or two. Too far down the field, cutting back speed during the turn and at the same time adding steady up elevator (to use as rudder),all this together contributed to the loss of that gorgeous airplane. Plain and simple: STALL TURN.

  11. Actually going over the top he was fine and he is not creating a stall angle on the wing, regardless of airspeed, as you can see there is very little elevator applied. On the way down he probably gets disorientated and you can see he rolls it inverted and the aileron shows that. He then panics and pulls hard and goes into a high speed stall.

  12. great vidio

  13. Hey Rob! What a downer you are. Some of the prettiest video I have seen. Beats the H— out of the US stuff that has a turbine flying overhead with a two cycle revving up near by spoiling the sound effects. Just video of guys having fun. Beautiful countryside – I love it.

  14. I agree, no precision at all. I have seen much better formation flying at the warbird meets in the U.S. As a CD of such events, their high speed passes that start heading directly at the pit area would never be allowed at an event in the U.S. Energy is never allowed to be directed at the flight line, pilots or spectators at any airs show event, including full scale. Not a good presentation of how it should be done.

  15. Looked like the P-47 clipped the right wing on a close pass…. then it looked like while at the top of his climb, the engine may have sputtered a little, causing a loss of airspeed and a wing stall, maybe due to the bumped wing, and he never recovered from the stall, and also may have gotten below the tree line and lost sight of it

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