24 August 1937
To Mother
Dear Mother:
This is the last week at the No. 3 Armament Camp for us. We return Thursday to Wittering to clean up aeroplanes and rehearse for passing out parade.
Sometime early in the first week of next month we are posted to Squadrons. Yesterday afternoon Flight Lieutenant Gosnell led Robinson (Pilot Officer Royal Australian Air Force) and myself in a formation practice - take off, line abreast, line astern, echelons, etc. and then we landed.If you don't know echelon, I shall explain, e.g. Right Echelon,
Drawings with apology to Fury single-seater interceptor fighters.
Flt. Lieut. Gosnell insists upon doing tight vertical turns in formation just over the aerodrome. Very spectacular, but I was on the bottom of the turn and will admit the sweat poured from my brow yesterday when he nearly slipped down onto me. Oh! Pleasant thought. Imagine figure B stacked vertically at 200 M.P.H. in a tight turn. Flt. Lieut. Gosnell is to leave soon to be Chief Ground Instructor at Point Cook Australia with the R.A.A.F.
Have I ever explained how we change positions in formation?
Here is the V To change
No. 2 to No. 3 place and 3 to 2. Change is made clockwise. Number 2 machine goes down across and comes up in No. 3 position. No. 3 goes up like an elevator across and down into vacated No. 2 position. Very neat and exact.
In line astern No. 2 goes down, behind No. 1 and below it. No. 3 goes behind No. and below it. Planes have to be stepped down so that you don't get into slip stream of machine forward.
Good formation flying takes many hours of practise and plenty of skill. It calls for more concentration than one would think. The air, being very bumpy, calls for extra care.
There is a fog all over the aerodrome this morning and we cannot fly. No see, no fly as Chinaman say. Next week, as I will be back at Wittering, I shall attempt to send you that picture of our course as promised - some years ago.
Love to all the family
Bill