After the 2003 CF WR we started the idea of grouping the formation in the echelon in rows with the wing as a leader of the subsequent lockers. Not only will the wing (row leader) brief the dock in more detail than the pilot of the formation, he will also lead the lockers towards the formation and monitor the process to be able to give valid feedback to the lockers (this is normally not on video).
During the starburst lockers must follow the wing towards the outside. This allows for a re-creation of the echelon with groups of rows, in stead of the confusion of an after startburst situation in which everyone flies all over the place.
The wing as a row leader concept is quite new though and can only be practiced in formations that are big enough (beyond 16-way). I think it holds the key to flying safer formations. Because wings are usually the more advanced flyers, they have time to look around and possibly discover problems.
From reading crew incident reports it appears to me that injured people under canopy are often top-docked and guided to a safe landing area. Top-docking is a very advanced maneuver that is mastered by only a part of the crew community (typically wings and pilots). A badly flown topdock can change a problem into a disaster.
So, a way to improve safety during a crew bigway is to train the wings to look after their echelon. Not just for a constructive debrief but possibly to discover problems at an early stage and deal with them.
- Updated 2006/06/01 -