Presidewnt reagan's Missing Man Formation

[much cut]

All of us know this poem, but from time to time it's worth rereading.

"High Flight"

I've come to prefer works such as:


An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
by William Butler Yeats

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.

Although I appreciated reading this, the mental attitude it suggests is
inconsistant with most pilots I've been privilged to know.

My thoughts flow more to how amasingly lucky I have been to live my life in
these times.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
nk.net...


Is the missing man formation a tradition for Presidential funerals at all?

No. The tradition in America dates back to 1938 (the RAF invented it for the
funeral of Manfred von Richtofen), but it did not become popular until the
1970s. Reagan is the first President to have died since then and requested
military honors. No doubt it will become a permanent tradition for those
Presidents that request it.

As Commander in Chief of all the armed forces the President is entitled to
honors from any branch of the military that he wishes.

Not all Presidents request a military funeral like Reagan's; in fact the
majority of them do not. Reagan felt that Presidents have a certain
ceremonial obligation to honor their office this way, even though in life he
was a rather private individual. He felt that the President has a role in
society that the individual serving in that office must honor despite
personal preferences. Some other living Presidents undoubtedly feel the same
way. Both Carter and the elder Bush likely feel that way about the dignity
of their office.

As for flying the missing man formation with the lead plane missing, it
would look odd and possibly be dangerous.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

No.


I didn't think so.

For this man, this president, tradition should have been broken. The missing
man was a Leader. The lead position should have been the vacant one.

If the leader were missing, would anyone know it was a Missing Man, as
opposed to two planes flying alongside a third plane at some distance?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! www.vivabush.org

On a side note: I can't claim to be one of Regan's political fans, but
watching his draped casket come down the stairs with his widow waiting was
indeed a somber moment,, looking at Nancy standing in the rain under the
umbrella.

Evidently you're not the only one. In the daily Rasmussen tracking
poll, Bush & Kerry had been stuck at 45/45 for days. Two days ago that
changed to 47/44 in favor of Bush, and it was the same yesterday. I
can't think of anything else to explain the bounce save Reagan's death
and the consequent TV coverage.

Por mi parte, I haven't watched the TV since Baghdad was secured in
April 2003.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! www.vivabush.org

For political reasons, it would have been appropriate for the RIGHT WINGman to
be the one that departed.

Isn't it always? I think of a finger-four as the fingers of my right
hand, with the lead being the middle finger. The Missing Man is the
leader of the second element, flying to the right and behind the
leader of the flight--the ring finger of the right hand.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! www.vivabush.org

On 13 Jun 2004 01:25:41 GMT, emoove (tony)
wrote:

inconsistant with most pilots I've been privilged to know.

Well, Yeats was a poet, not a pilot


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! www.vivabush.org

On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 05:11:38 -0400, Cub Driver wrote:

Por mi parte, I haven't watched the TV since Baghdad was secured in
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
April 2003.

well, there happened some things in the meantime .... :-)

#m
--
Martin!!! Maaaaartiiiin!!! Can you please flame this guy for me?
'HECTOP' in rec.aviation.piloting

If the leader were missing, would anyone know it was a Missing Man, as
opposed to two planes flying alongside a third plane at some distance?

Symbols are like that.

The two element formation approaches, all four aircraft in view, and one exits.
If you know about "Missing Man Formations" you'd probably understand. If one
doesn't, perhaps it would have to be explained.

With respect to the questions about safety without the lead element leader, I
suspect nearly any three of us could fly a the first element wingman slot
safely keying on the leader of the second element.

I can accept traditon as the reason to fly it as it had been flown, but in that
it's symbolic I rather liked the idea of the lead aircraft going absent.

Others didn't.

It lead to an interesting thread, though, esp the poster who wrote of the
Reagan's sense it was a requirement of the office that such a funeral be held.
Back during his term, it had been written he always went to his office with
coat and tie, as a mark of reverence for the place.

Another thought -- even better. Didn't President Reagan fund the B1B?

Now, that would be a fly-by!

About my comment for the mid air refueling flyby for former President Clinton
-- I'm thinking now three supersonic bombers, at perhaps mach 2, would also be
fitting.

Where are my flame proof pants?

If the leader were missing, would anyone know it was a Missing Man, as
opposed to two planes flying alongside a third plane at some distance?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Perhaps the presentation is when the "missing" aircraft pulls up and
out of the flight of four? Or perhaps you've never experienced the event in
person.