Flying in close formation by well trained and safety conscious pilots in appropriate aircraft is safe and great fun
Ultimate High is widely recognised as THE UK FLYING SCHOOL to learn formation skills.
Formation training with us focuses heavily on safety, including efficient breaks & rejoins, formation changes and treatment of emergencies.
Legally, all that is required to fly in close formation is the prior agreement of the aircraft commanders whilst on the ground. However, we strongly recommend that graduates of our formation training ONLY fly in formation either with other Ultimate High graduates or pilots who have received recognised formal formation training.
Untrained, unpractised, non-current formation flying can be a very rapid route to collision
Formation Course Information:
Courses take place in the T67 Firefly and comprise 5 flying hours (4 trips), and a minimum of 3 hours of ground training. Courses take 2-3 days and normally start on a Monday/Tuesday, continuing through Wednesday/Thursday.
Prices are per person, but courses must be booked as pairs or threes. A deposit of £200 per person is required. If you are unable to find a second person we will endeavour to find someone for you, but please give us at least 2 months' notice as it can be difficult/time consuming to match up schedules. If a participant drops out at late notice, we will have to cancel the course if no alternative partner is found.
Formation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are provided at the time of booking, so that students can prepare in advance of the course commencing. Please see our price list for costs.
Basic Formation Course:
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Formation sorties 1, 2, 3 & 4 (course syllabus available on request).
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Introduction to formation theory, SOPs, collision avoidance, safety, references, breaks and joins.
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Line astern and echelon, formation changes. Intro to tailchasing.
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2-3 days, 4 sorties (5 hours). At least 3 hours of ground training.
Intermediate Formation Course:
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Participation requires successful completion of Basic Formation course or a Basic formation skills test with CFI/QFI.
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As Basic course but with accelerations between ½ g and 4g. Formation changes and turning joins.
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Intermediate tailchasing.
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Students may attain solo standard at the end of this course (but this is not guaranteed).
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2-3 days. 4 Sorties (5 hours). At least 3 hours of ground training.
Formation Lead Course:
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Participation requires successful completion of Intermediate Formation course or pass Intermediate formation skills test with CFI/QFI.
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All aspects of formation lead, including planning, briefing, operations, positioning, lead changes and emergencies.
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2-3 days. 4 Sorties (5 hours). At least 3 hours of ground training.
Formation Training (Customised):
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Tailored instruction as required, for students who have already successfully completed the Basic Formation Course.
