by Julie Tizard
As the plane approached the threshold of the runway, Kathryn saw the nose of the jet smoothly align with the runway centerline followed by a flawless touchdown right on the runway numbers.
“Sweet,” the RSU controller remarked.
“Major Inman is the check pilot in that jet. He’s going to ask for a closed pattern to the left runway. You might want to coordinate that for him,” Kathryn whispered to the RSU controller.
“Thanks, Captain Hardesty. I don’t need another butt-chewing from him.”
When Major Inman’s gruff bass voice came over the radio, they were ready for him.
“Tango 37, closed approved to runway three-zero left. Contact Mojack control. Good day, sir.”
Kathryn stayed a few more minutes to watch Major Inman’s overhead pattern and landing.
“Watch what this guy does,” the RSU controller told his fellow T-38 IP.
Major Inman was barely abeam the runway numbers when he dumped the nose and dove the jet toward the ground. It looked like a crash was imminent when he rolled out wings level as he crossed the runway threshold, then pranged the jet on the runway right in front of the RSU. The nose of the jet pitched down as he braked hard and made the first runway turn-off.
“That guy is crazy,” the RSU controller remarked.
“That’s how he thinks a fighter pilot should fly. Fortunately, the Tweet is a tough jet. Good job, guys, see you later.” Kathryn was pleased as she left the RSU. Casey had passed her instrument check ride with the toughest check pilot on the base.
Chapter Twenty
After celebrating her check ride victory with Rhonda and Trish, Casey was ready to start the final phase of T-37 pilot training—formation flying. This was something unique to military pilots, and she was excited about learning flying formation with another jet. Casey hit the books hard to be ready for her first formation ride. She learned the hand signals used to communicate with each other without the radio. The videos of the new maneuvers made her heart race. She couldn’t wait to see this in a real plane with the other jet flying only three feet away from her.
It was a challenge keeping her thoughts on flying and not on Captain Hardesty. Casey had been disappointed when she wasn’t in the flight room after her triumphant return with a grade of Excellent on her instrument check ride. She was still happy with the accolades she’d received from her fellow classmates and the flight commander, but she really wanted Kathryn to see how well she’d done.
There was a subtle shift in the way her classmates treated her after her check ride performance. She was one of only three students in the flight to earn an Excellent on her instrument check ride, and she sensed a new grudging respect from them, like maybe she was an okay pilot after all, even if she was a girl. They even invited her to join them at the O Club on Friday afternoon.
She walked into the flight room anxious to see her name on the schedule board for her first formation flight. Jeff was flying with Lieutenant Carter, and she was in the other jet but with a blank space for the IP name. She hoped Kathryn would fly with her. At that very moment, she strolled into the flight room like she owned it, as usual.
“Captain Hardesty, glad to see you! Ready to fly a beginning formation flight today?” Captain Arnau said.
“Captain Arnau, my favorite scheduler, I live to serve,” Captain Hardesty answered her.
She walked behind Captain Arnau’s desk into the sacred space of the head scheduler. Casey overheard her whisper to Captain Arnau, “Barb, I’m not flying against Carter. That idiot almost killed me and my student the last time I flew a formation flight with him. I’ll do anything else you need, but I’m not flying against him.”
“Got it, Kath. Give me a minute to fix this.”
“Lieutenant Carter, you and Parsons are now flying against Captain Stavros and Lieutenant Peters. Lieutenant Tompkins, you are with Captain Hardesty against Montgomery and me. Be ready to brief up in fifteen minutes,” Captain Arnau called out across the flight room.
“Our call sign will be Tango 27 Flight. Radio check-in will be at 0930 hours on ground frequency followed by engine start. We will taxi out together. I will be the lead for the first half of the flight, then we will position change and Captain Hardesty will be the flight lead for the second half. Final briefing item, Lieutenants Tompkins and Montgomery, what are the only two things the wingman is allowed to say over the radio?” Captain Arnau asked.
“Um, I’m not sure, ma’am,” Montgomery answered.
“The wingman is only allowed say, ‘Two’s in’ or ‘Lead, you’re on fire.’ And it’s not ‘two,’ it’s ‘toop’—sharp and crisp. Now let’s get out there and slip some surlies.”
Casey had butterflies in her stomach. She completed the preflight inspection of the jet and they were listening on the radio for the flight check-in.
“Tango 27 Flight, check,” Captain Arnau called over the radio.
“Toop,” Captain Hardesty answered sharply.
“Start ’em up.”
“Casey, I’m going to be doing a lot of the flying today to demonstrate formation position. Whenever I’m flying, have your hands on the stick and throttles with me to feel how I’m moving the controls. I’ll be making constant, small corrections and I’ll tell you where to look to maintain position. The first thing you’ll see is a wing takeoff.”
At the end of the runway, Casey saw Captain Arnau look over at them, then she reached up and tapped the edge of the canopy. They brought their canopies down together and Captain Hardesty replied with a sharp nod.
“Tango 27 Flight, ready for takeoff,” Captain Arnau called on the radio.
“Tango 27 Flight, cleared for takeoff,” the RSU answered.
Captain Hardesty lined up on the runway with their wing tip barely a few feet behind the other jet’s wing. Captain Arnau tapped the side of her white helmet and gave a big head nod down to command brake release and power up for takeoff.
“Only look at lead, Casey. Glance at the engine gauges to check they are good, then look back at lead. I’m looking to see their nose wheel strut extend, then we rotate with them.”
Casey saw the lead jet’s nose wheel gently lift off the ground and she felt Kathryn pull back slightly on the stick. Both jets gracefully rose into the air like they were a single being. It was an amazing sight.
“Watch for their gear to come up, then we raise our landing gear. Their flaps come up, our flaps come up.” Captain Hardesty reached for the gear and flap handles without even looking at them.
“Safely airborne, we slide into fingertip formation position. Your eyes need to be constantly moving to stay in position.”
Casey tried hard to listen to Captain Hardesty as she talked, but she fell silent at the sight of this other T-37 jet flying in the air only three feet away from them. They were so close it looked like they would smash into them at any second. She felt Kathryn’s hands through the stick and throttles. She was moving the throttles up and back in tiny increments and she was making small, rapid movements of the stick. Even though she was constantly moving the controls, they stayed in about the same place relative to the lead aircraft. Casey was mesmerized and scared at the same time. How am I ever going to do this? This is way too close.
They climbed up through a layer of puffy clouds. Everything went white, but Captain Hardesty stayed next to lead’s wingtip like she was glued there. The clouds whizzed past them at incredible speed. “Are you ready to try it, Casey?”
“I think so.”
“Your jet, Casey.”
Casey was sure she would hit the other jet and she jerked back on the stick, sending them wildly above and behind the lead jet.
“My jet, Casey,” Captain Hardesty said calmly. She smoothly glided back into position like it was the simplest thing in the world. “You have to relax. Keep your eyes moving on the whole jet and make small corrections. Try it again.”
This time Casey made a conscious effort to relax and breathe. Small corrections, keep my eyes moving. She
stayed in position about two seconds before falling hopelessly behind lead.
“My jet, Casey.” Again, she smoothly flew right back into position as before. “Try it again. Your jet.”
They continued this pattern of Casey flailing out of position, then Captain Hardesty flying them back in for some time. Captain Arnau made the symbol of a check sign with her hand against her white helmet.
“That symbol means we check our fuel and oxygen before we enter the practice area. We slide a little wider away from lead so we can safely check our systems without having to worry about hitting them. When lead rocks their wings, we come back into position.”
Casey was completely disoriented. She had no idea they were even close to the practice area. She’d been concentrating so hard on trying not to crash into lead she had totally lost her situation orientation. Crap, this is scary and so much harder than I thought it would be.
“Casey, I’m going to demonstrate some formation maneuvering with Captain Arnau. Look at where we are in relation their jet. No matter what kind of maneuvering lead does, we stay in the exact same position on their wing. Follow along on the controls with me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Casey saw a vision of flying she’d never even dreamed of. She relaxed knowing Captain Hardesty would keep her safe. Captain Arnau put one finger up with a little spinning motion, banked her jet hard, and they pulled away fast from her plane. “Tighten up, Casey.” Captain Hardesty snapped the plane into a ninety-degree bank turn and yanked back on the stick, pulling six Gs of force. The lead plane was barely visible ahead of them and looked like it was the size of a fly.
“There’s the wing rock, so now we are cleared to rejoin on them. They will go into a thirty-degree bank turn, then we fly to the inside of their turn with full power and aim right at them.”
Casey heard a tinge of glee in Captain Hardesty’s voice as she described what she was doing. They were closing on lead very rapidly. It looked like they were going to smash right into them, then she pulled the power to idle, popped out the speed brake, and banked the jet hard. She stopped the collision course just ten feet from lead, then smoothly slid into perfect position. Captain Arnau maneuvered the formation, and when she went to ninety degrees of bank, it looked like lead would slide right into them, but Captain Hardesty kept her position. How does she do that?
“Tango 27 Flight, go trail,” Captain Arnau called out over the radio.
“Toop,” Captain Hardesty replied as she pulled the power back and slid back behind lead. When she was about one hundred feet behind the lead jet, she called, “Toop’s in.”
The lead jet rolled upside down and Captain Hardesty followed them like she was their shadow. Captain Arnau yanked, rolled, and dove her jet in abrupt acrobatic maneuvers, trying to shake them off her tail. This was better than the wildest roller coaster Casey had ever been on.
After having their lips G-ed off, Captain Arnau gave the change lead signal, and now Casey and Captain Hardesty were the formation lead.
“Look around, Casey, and get your orientation in the practice area, then think about what maneuvers we will put them through.”
Casey had no idea where they were at the moment but looked down at the ground and saw the two big dry river beds that formed an X in the middle of the practice area.
“The most important thing we have to do as lead is fly a smooth jet and think ahead. You cannot abruptly turn a formation flight, and we have to protect our wingman at all times since they only look at us and they trust us. We have to work them through the maneuvers plus watch the fuel and our position in the practice area. Flying as a good lead is actually much more difficult than being the wingman. I’m going to lead them through formation maneuvering so she can demonstrate wingman position to her student, then I’ll have you fly lead.” She touched her fist to the front of her helmet visor to show she was flying and Captain Arnau replied with the same gesture.
It was the most beautiful sight Casey had ever seen in her life. Blazing blue skies with puffy white clouds beneath them as they rolled and climbed with the other T-37 so close she could almost reach out her hand and touch them. She heard music in her head. It was magnificent.
“You ready to be lead, Casey? Just hold the wings level for now so Montgomery can try to stay in position. Your jet.”
“My jet,” Casey answered. She knew immediately when Montgomery took the controls as he flailed next to them looking like he was about to crash into them, then he got completely spit out of position. Captain Arnau flew them back in, then Montgomery flailed out again. This went on for several attempts with no noticeable improvement by Montgomery. Was I that bad?
“What do we do now, Casey? We’re coming up on the border of the practice area. Make a decision.”
“Um, I’m not sure what to do, ma’am.”
“My jet, Casey. This is why you have to think three maneuvers ahead. The only way to quickly change directions with a formation is with a pitchout—like this.” Captain Hardesty put up one finger, made a little spinning motion, then yanked the jet into a hard ninety-degree banked turn to fly away from the wingman. She pulled hard until they were headed back into the middle of the practice area, then rolled wings level and the wingman was gone. “I’m going to rejoin the formation, then give Captain Arnau some close trail acro maneuvers and return to Willie for a wing landing.” Captain Hardesty did a giant wing rock then put the airplane into a thirty-degree bank turn. “You should see the wingman at the eight o’clock low position.”
Casey looked back over her left shoulder and saw the wingman as a small speck in the sky. The number two jet was getting bigger fast as they closed rapidly on what looked like a collision course. Crap, it looks like they’re going to ram right into us. Fear started to clutch in her chest as the other jet came screaming toward them. Just as she thought death was imminent, she saw the big speed brake extend, they banked, then rolled out about thirty feet away and gracefully slid into position. “Wow, that was close.”
“Not really, Captain Arnau just likes to show off. Now we’re going to have some real fun with them, Casey.”
“Tango 27 Flight, go trail.”
“Toop.”
“Tighten up, Casey!” Captain Hardesty rolled upside down and pulled five Gs hard into a split S maneuver headed straight toward the ground. “The objective is to shake them off our tail any way we can with abrupt maneuvers,” Captain Hardesty grunted between quick breaths. “They are in our high six o’clock position behind us. If this were a combat situation, we would maneuver to get behind them and shoot their brains out.” Captain Hardesty yanked and banked so hard it was all Casey could do to not black out from the Gs. It was also the most fun Casey had ever had in her life with her clothes on. “Your turn, Casey. Your jet.”
Casey took the controls and did three aileron rolls followed by a Cuban eight right into an Immelman.
“Come on, shake them off your tail—they are trying to kill you! Pull hard!”
Casey checked the throttles at full power, put both hands on the stick, tightened up her legs and abs, and flew as aggressively as she could. She didn’t think about the entry parameters for each maneuver, only about getting away from a bad guy. She and the jet were one, and she was controlling it with her mind and her body.
“Good job, Casey. My jet. Time to go home now,” Captain Hardesty said.
Casey was reluctant to give the plane back. Her heart was racing, her muscles tingling, and her breathing fast, as she watched the other jet slide smoothly back into position next to them. Captain Arnau gave them a big thumbs-up.
They flew back to Willie, where they would land together. The approach was smooth and flawless with an amazing view of the other jet right next to them. Casey held her breath as both jets gracefully touched down together on the runway. It was the most amazing flight Casey had ever experienced in her life, and she couldn’t wait for more.
They did a formation debrief and Captain Arnau complimented Casey on her form
ation lead and claimed she won the close trail maneuvering. There was good-natured ribbing between Captain Hardesty and Captain Arnau in addition to critique. It was obvious they had great respect for each other’s flying skills.
“What did you think of your first formation flight?”
“It was amazing, ma’am.”
“You didn’t do too bad for your first ride. You were beginning to get the hang of the wingman position a little toward the end. You need to push yourself to get in position and stay in position. Don’t be satisfied with flying wide because it feels safer.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Casey took notes on every word she said.
“Visualize what you saw today, practice staying in position, and know your hand signals cold. Formation flying is the one area where you will see how your flying skills and mental ability stack up against your classmates. More than anything, formation flying is about leadership, mutual support, and trust. Good job today.” She filled out the grade sheet and gave Casey a grade of Good.
Casey stood at attention when she left, but she felt like she was floating. She’d been scared out of her wits flying that close to another plane at two hundred and fifty knots. Captain Hardesty made it look so easy and she obviously loved it. Casey got a small amount of praise from both Captain Hardesty and Captain Arnau and she got to see the most incredible sights from the air. She went right over to the learning center to review more videos on formation. She was determined to know everything she could about flying formation and she wanted to get really good at this. This was the way her male classmates would respect her. She would simply fly circles around them.
Chapter Twenty-one
As formation flying continued, Casey felt a small amount of lightness in herself. She was progressing well, especially her ability to lead, and she was getting better at staying in position on the wing. The last hurdle was to fly solo in formation. She could not wait.
She hadn’t flown with Captain Hardesty recently and the flight IPs were flying with lots of different students. Casey was comfortable flying with any IP now, even Carter. He was doing less screaming lately. When she flew against her classmates, she realized she could stay in position better than most of them, and she had no trouble staying mentally ahead of the formation when she was the lead. Some of her classmates struggled with formation and were close to getting washed out. If you couldn’t fly formation, you couldn’t be an Air Force pilot.