Blueskies wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message ...

I have no idea what the NTSB will find but from what I just saw on the film , the section looked too tight for a
section landing with Mustangs. Being too tight over the fence with the trailer a bit hot and producing a positive
closure rate on the lead would be a bad situation flying 51's.
Dudley Henriques


It seems like most of the 'formation' or section as you call them landings I saw had #2 touching down first then #1.
That way #2 could begin slowing as #1 touched down, then #2 could match #1 speed and both could then come to a safe
stop. #2 closing on #1 is bad indeed.

What is the specific meaning of a section landing? Is it simply 2 planes basically landing at the same time?




2 planes are a section; 4 a flight.
Normally for jets, or as is the case for nose wheel airplanes generally,
you do a section landing with the wingman directly back but not stacked
down. You touchdown with lead and maintain position through the roll out.
For tail wheel airplanes this is a whole new ball game because of the
peripheral visibility cues and lack of visibility directly over the nose
through touchdown. This issue is especially present in Mustangs.
I have never advocated section landings in Mustangs for civilian pilots
for the above reasons.
It is interesting to note as well that Warbirds of America and the
Confederate Air Force do not encourage section landings in P51's for the
same reason.
Dudley Henriques