Dallice M Tylee: Pagosa Springs Formation Flying Clinic

And just like that, the clinic and the weekend, were almost over. :-(

All that was left to do was the flight of 10 ships to Durango. This was the closest thing to Bonanzas To Oshkosh one could expect before the actual Bonanzas To Oshkosh event... and unfortunately, B2OSH was not going to be possible for me in 2013.

We all arrived at Jim and Sheila's hangar, rested and enthusiastic. The weather was spectacular, again!
There was a pre-flight briefing and everyone was divided into elements of two. Going to Durango was fairly straight forward. Five elements of two ships, spaced appropriately based on aircraft capability.

First though, a "walk through" of the plan. I love this part. Formation flying is fairly intense.
These pilots took it seriously (as they should) and seldom got the chance to act a bit goofy and overly dramatic together during the practices. The walk through seemed to be the exception in my opinion!

I smiled as I photographed 10 pilots acting out run-ups...

and take off rolls.

Four elements of two were spaced 15 seconds apart, then Tom in the Baron was going to wait 30 seconds before beginning the take-off roll.

The plan was to clear aircraft to leave the formation and fly homeward, after taking off in elements of 3 at Durango Airport. This puts folks well on their way home, just before lunch. Sheila had us covered though... Each person had a little brown bag lunch to take away with them. So thoughtful!

Then we were off!

I rode right seat in Tom's Baron. We were in charge of bringing up the rear... which is just perfect for taking pictures.

While our spacing at Durango might have been a bit tighter, I felt it was a well done flight, all told.

My only question was about the end. We had briefed that all 10 would shut down engines at the same time on cue, but by the time the Baron was taxied into place on the Durango ramp, not only were most of the planes shut down, some pilots and passengers were already wandering outside the cockpits.

It was already pretty hot. I could see why there rush to get inside. The FBO at Durango was an air conditioned pilot's haven. Clean bathrooms, free chocolates and a spacious meeting room made for a very comfortable debrief.

And before too long, it was time to go.

The order of aircraft for the Durango 3-ship element departure was specifically chosen so that pilots could be cleared to depart the formation and go home, starting with #10. There were just two airplanes and pilots (and me!) heading all the way back to Pagosa Springs. I rode right seat with Jim Lane in his A36 and listened to the goodbyes as each man was soon lost from sight. It was bittersweet.

Then along came Michael!

You might remember my blogging about being right seat passenger in his Glasair in 2012. He caught up in the blink of an eye, appearing at my side of the A36... ready to have his picture taken. He was long overdue and I had promised.