Zen and the Art of Online Tacform
Guest Feature by John "NavlAV8r" Simon
October 11/2000

As many online fliers know, getting joined up, staying in formation, and maneuvering a tactical formation online is challenging.  This article is meant to give a very rudimentary understanding of the how’s and why’s of Tactical Formation flying, or TACFORM.  It is a basic building block skill of any tactical pilot and must be mastered to the point of second nature to allow a combat pilot to concentrate on his first priority, killing bad guys.   Certainly obtaining an understanding of TACFORM will allow the sim pilot a better feel for geometry, engaged maneuvering, and some of the issues real pilots are dealing with while flying tactically.  It is a critical tool for anyone who flies online or in a LAN with a wingman and wants to keep the section together and coordinated to maintain mutual support.  If maneuvering your formation is a near guarantee that you will get separated from your beloved wingy, this article is for you.  TACFORM is similar to a pilot obtaining an instrument rating;  even if he never flies IFR again he is a better pilot for it.
As I fly mostly F4, this will pertain directly to that sim but will be useful for most any simulator used to fly formation co-operatively.  I’ll focus mainly on combat spread, which is a ubiquitous and useful tactical formation.  For you Navy guys, here are some USN equivalent terms:

Section = 2 ship flight or Air Force "Element"
Division = 4 ship flight or Air Force "Flight"
Element = Single ship within a Section or Division

 
COMBAT SPREAD

We fly "spread" (or line abreast) because it is an excellent balance between offensive firepower, ease of maneuver, and defensive properties.  It allows both elements of the section to check each others blind spots equally and get their nose on a threat quickly, while still allowing both fighters unobstructed ability to launch at targets downrange.  The correct position is 1 to 2 turn radii or slightly more away from lead at lead’s direct 3 or 9 o’clock position.

Fig 1 – Combat Spread
This is referred to at the 90-degree bearing.  This position allows either aircraft to bring its nose to bear on a bandit closing on the other member of the flight.  The higher or faster your formation is, the wider it should be because true airspeed is greater and sustained g lower, resulting in larger turn radii.  Typically it’s about .75 - 1.5 miles, but variations abound.  The correct bearing of 90 degrees is directly abeam lead and is easy to see by noting the location on the canopy of an AI wingman when he’s in spread.  Alternately, you can center the lead/wingman in the 2d cockpit when looking 90 degrees left or right (I use Virtual Cockpit almost exclusively to look around, however).  A wingman altitude advantage is desirable to allow him more energy than lead;  1,000-3,000’ is fine but may be disregarded online, as it’s tough to do in simulators and still maintain sight.  When flying online, you should be checking visually (using padlock and virtual cockpits) your wingman’s six and your side of the formation often (about once every 30 seconds at a minimum).  Pan around in virtual cockpit and hit the padlock key to see if anyone is sneaking in on you.  After each turn, both pilots will normally check each other’s six on the new heading and report "six clear."

 
LEAD TECHNIQUES

The lead is critical to ensuring the formation is maintainable.  He must be reasonably smooth, fly accurately, and inform his flight of critical information such as changes in headings, airspeeds and altitudes.  The most important thing in online flying is for both members to always fly the agreed-upon heading and airspeed.  This will make life much easier for everyone.  The onus is on the lead in general to call the turns and changes in heading, but wing can do it if the tactical situation dictates.  Communication is key, otherwise section mutual support will disintegrate.  If both guys just fly the heading and airspeeds agreed upon, this thing gets pretty easy.  Note your power setting when at the appropriate airspeed.  After each maneuver, establish the agreed upon tactical airspeed if you’ve strayed, then set the previously noted power setting and fly the agreed upon heading.  Just cruising along, lead should strive for no more than about 2-3 degrees of slop in heading and less than 10-15 knots in airspeed;  less is better and you should find it easier as you go along.  You may see larger airspeed deviations during some of the maneuvers below, but strive to keep them less than 20 knots.  Some basic information about leading a flight needs to be understood.  Lead must always give his wingmen "some."  This means not going to full AB and leaving his wingman sucking jetwash 5,000’ in trail.  A wingman will require 1-4% reduced power from lead during takeoffs, climbs, and in cruise while in any formation, tactical or otherwise.  If the lead is at Military power (%100 or MIL), the wingy will likely not be able to maintain formation for long, as any error or deviation that requires a correction will leave him no room to do so without use of AB.  AB should be avoided as a formation-keeping tool due to fuel conservation issues.  So, for example, lead briefs that after separate 6-second interval takeoffs, he will accelerate to 350Kias for the climb.  Once he reaches 350, he’d need to pull the power back.  Just pulling power to MIL would likely require AB from the wingmen, so lead must give him "some" and pull his power to, say, 97%.  He then adjusts his nose to maintain 350Kias.  In general, any time lead is at or near MIL, he’ll force the wingman to use AB, so don’t leave your wingy in the dust, and give him a couple already!  Similarly, in a descent, lead should avoid going to Idle to keep from forcing the wingman out in front.  Give him a couple the other way by adding 2 – 4 %.  A smooth and predictable lead is critical.
NOTE: Don’t confuse simple joinups, climbs, descents and cruise while in spread with the maneuvers we’ll be discussing below, which will be done with both elements of the section at the same power setting as noted.
 

WINGMAN TECHNIQUES

The wingman must remember this: BDA (Bearing Distance Altitude).  This means prioritize the bearing first.  Use pitch attitude and throttle to hold or get back to the correct 90-degree (3 or 9 o’clock) bearing relative to lead as soon as a deviation is noted.  Allowing Distance and or Altitude to change in order to expedite this is acceptable and often useful.  This means get your nose down and go to MIL if you are aft of the correct bearing, referred to as being "sucked."  It’s preferable to go nose low and MIL power, trading altitude for airspeed while getting low and burning a little gas than to get sucked or take an undo amount of time correcting to bearing.  If you are sucked, get your nose down (zero g is best), power to MIL and accelerate the jet back onto bearing.  About 50-150 knots excess should be used to quickly correct back to bearing.  Do it yesterday!  As the bearing approaches, convert your excess airspeed back to altitude, match airspeeds and set the throttle as noted and continue.  Wingmen want to try to avoid using AB in most cases, but do what’s required.  If the wingman is ahead of the bearing, referred to as "acute," use S-turns to get back to the correct bearing.  Slowing down significantly is not advisable (tactically unsound).  A hard turn away from lead (and the agreed upon heading) of about 30-60 degrees heading change, followed by a hard turn back to original heading, will decrease your down range travel relative to lead, who continues straight ahead.  This will allow lead to move forward as your S-Turn decreases your downrange travel and acts to move you back towards the correct bearing.  Adjusting the magnitude of the turn in degrees away, and the amount of delay before turning back, will allow lead to drive further forward as needed to put you back on the bearing.  It’s OK to lose some airspeed, but don’t get much slower than tactical airspeed (about 400-450 KIAS in F4).  Some will note that the wingman will now be wide and that’s true, but the bearing must be fixed first.  If still acute, do another S-turn but this time into the lead and that should fix the distance.  If on the proper bearing and still wide, then on the turn back into lead, just continue and turn 10-15 degrees more into lead from the agreed upon heading and you’ll close the distance.  Once the distance is correct, match up headings, set the throttle, and get building SA and killing bad guys.  A slight climb while S-turning can help as well.  All this for straight and level flight;  now we need to be able to maneuver the formation.
 

ENGAGING TURNS

The following TACTICAL turns, along with IN PLACE, CHECK and SHACKLE turns are engaging type turns, which means they are sustained energy type turns, done without airspeed or significant altitude loss by the section.  If cruising in spread at tactical speeds in F4, you normally will not be at %100 power.  Engaging turns are normally made at 100% or MIL power (In F4 just get 99%-100% on the HUD and avoid AB).  Once at MIL power, the airspeed is maintained by the amount of pull or g you apply;  climbs and descents are typically avoided.  Each pilot will turn 90 degrees at MIL and use g to maintain airspeed and then will roll out, reduce power to hold briefed airspeed, and continue along.  If he finds himself getting fast, he must increase his pull (g) to decelerate to target speed and conversely getting slow means he pulled too hard, as the throttle is fixed at MIL during the turn.

Fig 2 – Tac Turn 1
This pilot must ease the pull and allow speed to increase.  Be smooth.  This is difficult at first and you’ll find staying within 50 knots is tough, but soon enough you’ll find you can do it within 10 – 20 knots easily.  Practice offline doing 360-degree turns until you can do this readily plus or minus 10-20 knots.  Use the cues provided in F4 like the sound of the wind, glance forward (if not in 2D view), and Shift 3 to get your instruments in padlock mode.  You eventually want to be able to do it without just staring at the front cockpit for airspeed, g, and heading, but doing just that initially is not a bad way to learn.
NOTE:  If at high altitudes or in a very heavy/draggy configuration, lead may brief AB TACFORM and AB may be used by both fighters during turns, but let’s stick to the basics or now.
 

TACTICAL TURNS

Tactical turns (known as Tac turns) are the bread and butter of combat spread maneuvering and are typically turns which change the base heading of the section by 90 degrees.  There are 2 types of TAC turns.  Turns INTO the wingman and turns AWAY.  These are delayed type turns, with one fighter turning while the other delays and then turns.  Lead will not always be turning first.  The OUTSIDE fighter (the fighter that the section will be turning away from) will always turn first, followed by the inside fighter.  This is not as complex as it sounds and becomes fairly natural.  An example: with lead on the left and wingman on the right, lead desires a left turn (away from the wingman) of about 90 degrees.  If both planes turn simultaneously, the wingman will roll out in a trail position, which is not desirable.  So, wing will turn first and after a delay, lead will follow.  This delay is typically until the fighter that turns first has his nose is pointed right at the other fighter or 1 –3 potatoes later (often hard to see, so use the "L" zoom view.  Some sense of timing will be required and the fighter turning first can make a call for the other fighter to turn until the new pilot gets that sense of timing down).  This is a rough guideline and must be adjusted as needed.  If the inside or second fighter to turn continually rolls out acute (in front of the 90 degree bearing on lead), then he should delay longer next time.

Fig 3 – Tac Turn 2
If he’s often sucked (rolls out aft of the 90 degree bearing on lead) when the maneuver is completed, then he’s waiting too long or not pulling as he should during the turn and getting slow.  Once on the new heading, however, it should be the wingman that maneuvers to regain correct position if he’s not perfect, while lead goes about his duties on the new heading.  (If the wingy is grossly out of position, lead may help out by briefly altering his airspeed.  Normally after rollout the lead will not help out the wingman, however).  Wingmen should not be afraid to put the nose down or up slightly if they see they’ll not roll out on the new heading in the correct spread position (on the 90 degree bearing).  Both fighters must do a reasonable job maintaining airspeeds, altitudes, and being smooth (basic airmanship or airwork).  If one pulls too hard and slows 40 knots, he’ll get around the turn sooner and turn tighter causing the other to go acute and possibly too tight or wide as well.  Smooth control of backstick pressure maintains airspeed;  don’t climb or descend significantly.  This is a bit hard at first, but rapidly becomes second nature.  You’ll find that around 5 g’s will hold 450KIAS in a 6 missiles configuration at 15,000’.  As you get lighter, you’ll get about 5.5 g’s or more at MIL without decelerating.
For turns into the wingman, lead will turn first and Dash 2 (the wingman) will follow when leads nose passes through him.  TAC turns are normally 90 degrees, but can be 90 degrees +\- 45, and anything other than 90 degrees should contain a new heading in the call for the turn (i.e. if lead is heading 270 and desires a non 90 degree turn then… "Cowboy 2, TAC Left 200").  If just 90 degrees, then "Cowboy 2 TAC left" and in this case the turn would be made to a 180 heading (90 degrees left of 270, the original heading).  For training, lead may call the new heading on every maneuver until the wingman gets good at it.  All TACFORM turns are executed on the wingman’s reply "Two."  This is very important and must be done for each command given by lead.
 

IN PLACE TURNS

These are engaging type turns of 180 degrees (+\- 30).  The Air Force refer to this as a "hook" turn.
It's the same as a Tac turn, but both fighters turn simultaneously and in the same direction for 180 degrees.  They will be in position if both do the right thing and fly the numbers (good airwork).  They must both maintain the briefed airspeed and altitude using MIL power and g to avoid airspeed changes.  The wingman must regain a tally early on and correct for any incorrect position he sees.  "Cowboy 2, In place left."  The reply is the execute command "Two."  If not 180 degrees, add a heading to the call.

Fig 4 – In Place Turn

CHECK TURNS

In turns of 1-30 degrees, lead turns to a new heading while maintaining airspeed and altitude, and wingman jumps through his ass to stay in or regain position.  If turning into a wingman, the wingman will tend to get acute and must S-turn hard away for 45-60 degrees more than the new heading, followed by a turn back into the lead and adjust as necessary for correct bearing, followed by distance and then altitude.  Check turns away from the wingman will normally put him sucked, so without delay the wingman should get his nose down, go to MIL, and turn to the new heading while accelerating (getting 50-150 knots excess) and drive back to the bearing, trading the excess airspeed for altitude as he reaches it.  This will often put him tight and once on bearing, he can make a 10-15 degree turn away to get the distance.  The wingman will be doing a good deal of maneuvering to stay in position;  don’t delay, as the sooner you get turning and compensating. the quicker you’ll be back in position and the less work it’ll be.  Think ahead and get correcting immediately.  A heading is normally called out.  "Cowboy 22, check left 210" (Any turn done greater than 30-40 degrees should be a modified TAC Turn)
 

SHACKLE

This looks like a shackle on a chain, and is used to swap sides, check sixes, or more commonly, to correct the formation if the wingy is excessively acute or sucked.  It can be used to change heading as well.

Fig 5 - Shackle
Typically both fighters start an engaging type turn into each other for 45 degrees of turn and go wings level.  They should pass right over each other (note how long from going wings level to the pass and delay the turn back to original heading for that amount of time, usually about 1-3 potatoes), and then turn back to original heading.  A swap of sides has been completed.  Be careful to maintain agreed airspeed throughout the maneuver.  If wingman is sucked, for instance, lead can call for a shackle.  Lead will then do most of the turning while the wingy drills almost straight ahead, going down range and making up for being sucked.  The guy out in front turns more than normal (50-70 degrees), the guy in back not at all or just enough to get on the other side of the guy out in front (10-20 degrees).  If the wingy is acute, then lead will help him out by turning only enough to swap sides while the wingman turns more than 45 degrees in an aggressive S-turn to stop his downrange travel and try to get back aft to the bearing.  When it’s all said and done, the formation is corrected, sides swapped, sixes checked, and ready to press on.  This can be done to a change in heading of up to 30 degrees or more often, just on the original heading.  It is used more often to redress formation.  "Cowboy 2, shackle" or "Cowboy 2, shackle 210."
 

CROSS TURNS

These are turns of 180 degrees, not an engaging type of turn, and is used when an immediate threat is found in the rear quadrant and will get the section turned around more quickly.  AB is used and the nose is placed above or below the horizon to maintain tactical airspeed for best turn (often nose low).

Fig 6 – Cross Turn 1
Both fighters turn at the same time and maintain airspeed with pitch attitude while holding max ‘g’ ( 9 g’s in F4).  The turn is made into each other, with the wingman normally passing over the top of lead and both rolling out on a reciprocal heading in spread.  "Cowboy 2, Cross turn."  If a turn other than 180 degrees is desired, add a heading to the call.  Remember to maintain airspeed by putting the nose down if required...and it often is.
 

GENERAL

When practicing, I recommend highly that all online player use smoke.  I think this is preferable to labels, which typically show everything within about 8 miles.  Smoke will help you visualize flight paths as well.  Oh yes, record your practice sessions.
There is a lot more to all this than is noted here, and military pilots spend many months learning this stuff, so don’t get discouraged.  Also, while most of this is pretty much how things are done at the most basic levels in real life, some of it is not real easy to mimic in simulators.  Therefore, my recommendations in this article are specific to simulators, even though they are usually applicable to real life flying.
Very Important:  One must remember these are not hard and fast rules but guidelines.  TACFORM is fluid and it’s hoped that the wingman will in time develop a sense of geometry and 3 dimensional awareness to just "do" what is right to maintain or regain position quickly and with a minimum of fuel usage.  He must always take advantage of geometry and change sides and use altitude as he chooses to allow a shorter and quicker path to the proper position.  His job is to always be there, no matter how hard lead makes it for him.  He must learn not to wait to roll out of a turn to see if he’s in position, but to anticipate errors and make corrections during turns to arrive IN position.  He must be the "magic" man and always be there, always correcting, and not waiting to get out of position before doing so.
For lead's part, it’s essential he communicate and direct the flight while flying a precise jet.  Heading and airspeed control will be critical and make the wingmen’s job much, much easier.  If lead is good, wingmen will find they don’t need to spend much time looking at lead and flying spread;  they just set the power and hold airspeed and heading.  This does not mean they should not be checking their and lead’s six often.

Fig 7 – Cross Turn 2
But don’t spend so much time trying to get into position you are not doing your job.  Remember, TACFORM is not the mission...killing bandits is the mission.  The less time and effort required by the wingman to hold position, the more time he has to develop SA, keep an eye out, and kill bandits.  If your section is spending tons of time trying to stay together, you will need to practice more before your section is combat ready.
Additionally, many times there are no bandits around and turns can be made "by the book."  But if a threat is seen 3 miles out and nose hot and it’s desired to turn 90 degrees quickly, it may not be wise to do a relatively leisurely TAC turn.  Lead may fly a much more aggressive TACFORM maneuver and accept AB and altitude loss.  The accomplished wingman will recognize this and just do what it takes, as there will be little time to talk about it.  If really threatened, then it’s often "Cowboy2, bandits left 9"...the lead will immediately turn hard left, and the wingman must use what he’s learned to try and get there.  It’s almost always better to take an extra second or two to turn as a section, but judgment must be exercised.
I have flown with wingmen and taught them these basics in 1/2 - 2 hours dedicated online formation flying time.  It is a real hoot to look out and see my wingmen just there in F4 all the time.  He does a great job and reports that it’s pretty easy to do if lead just helps him out a little by flying accurate headings, airspeeds, and by communicating.  It’s fun and rewarding to be able to maintain support for each other, and coordinate our actions.  Practice in a benign environment until you can go into a mission and still have enough time left over to do your job.  It’s tough at first and your performance might actually suffer initially, but once the light comes on you’ll be amazed at how well you’ll be able to do as a section and how much fun it is to fly as a coordinated team.  Have fun, enjoy...and kill MIGS.

 
AUTHORS NOTE:

Attached is a multiplayer section TACFORM ACMI.  It's pretty good, but does have some basic TACFORM errors in it.  It consists of 4 TAC turns followed by 2 In Place Turns, 2 Cross Turns, a couple of small 10 degree check turns and a couple of shackles to get the wingy back into position.  The first 2 TAC turns are textbook.  The next 2 you can see the wingman turn through desired heading and get slow and then tight.  He corrects with a nice turn away.  The In Place and the Cross turns are done pretty well.  View this file from a distant Satellite view with LONG wing trails, name, airspeed and altitude labels on.  You might then view it again from the tracking view after you understand the basic premise.  We agreed on flying 420 knots or so except when making big corrections.
I’ll be happy to answer questions...e-mail me at JFSimon@beast.toad.net
- John "NavlAV8r" Simon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Simon spent more than nine years in the US Navy.  After flight school, he flew E-2C's off the Saratoga and the Enterprise, out of Norfolk Virginia with CAG17 and VAW125.  After he finished up, he went to Kingsville, Texas to instruct in Advanced Strike Training with VT22, flying the T-45A.  He  was qualified in: 
ACM
Weapons
ONAV
Formation
Night Formation
Tactical Formation
Familiarization
Instruments
Night Familiarization
Carrier Qualification
John was designated section and division lead, Carrier Lead Safe, ACM lead, Carrier Demo, among others.   He had about 2,400 flight hours in the military and now flies for a major airline.   He also is a long-time sim pilot, was on the Falcon 4.0 pre-release Beta team, the post-release Beta team, and was an IBeta team member.  He is presently on the Realism Patch 4 team.

Agree?  Disagree?  Talk about it on the Tiger Talk - Air Combat Weapons, Maneuvers, and Tactics Message Board
 

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