The 115th National Day celebration of the Republic of China was arranged in the air. The slow-speed fleet consisted of a mixed formation of P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and C-130H transport aircraft. (Photo by reporter Chen Yikuan)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and C-130H transport aircraft sent by the Sixth Wing of the Air Force formed a slow-speed aircraft formation and passed over the Presidential Palace during the National Day ceremony today. Pilots participating in today's flight mission said that in order to enable the formation to complete the demonstration mission in an accurate time sequence, the participating pilots conducted independent training before the mission. They repeatedly practiced the route, airspeed, altitude, weather and formation formation, minimizing errors during the run-in, and demonstrated to the Chinese people the results of the Air Force's daily diligent training with safe and accurate flight.
The Military News Agency reported today that Captain Lin, who flew the P-3C anti-submarine aircraft mission, said that during the National Day display mission, multiple types of aircraft entered the target area at similar times. Therefore, each fleet must fly at different altitudes according to the plan and do a good job in air layer separation. The P-3C and C-130H must also consider the operating characteristics of the two types of aircraft and jointly coordinate appropriate airspeeds to ensure formation safety and formation stability. If the wind field changes, the lead aircraft must maintain stable operations and inform the wingman of subsequent actions in advance to avoid excessive attitude changes that may affect the formation.
Captain Lin, who flew the P-3C anti-submarine aircraft mission, said that accurate time control is an important issue in the National Day display mission. (Photo: Provided by Military News Agency)
Captain Lin pointed out that accurate time control is an important issue for this mission. Before the mission, the longitude, latitude and regular passage time of each waypoint will be input into the relevant system. During the flight, the turn lead will be calculated based on the actual airspeed and the course will be corrected in a timely manner so that the aircraft can pass each waypoint as planned. She said that through each training review and correction, and by working with the crew and the C-130H transport aircraft formation, she achieved the goal of stable formation and accurate timing in official missions.
Major Li, the pilot of the C-130H transport aircraft, said that this type of aircraft usually performs a variety of missions. The biggest difference in the National Day display is that it must fly in formation with different aircraft types. Therefore, in addition to internal coordination among each crew before the mission, it is also necessary to discuss the route, airspeed, relative position and formation method with the P-3C anti-submarine aircraft crew, and continue to build a tacit understanding through multiple independent training and simulations.
Major Li, the pilot of the C-130H transport aircraft, pointed out that before the mission, in addition to internal coordination among each crew, it was also necessary to discuss the route, airspeed, relative position and formation method with the P-3C anti-submarine crew. (Photo: Provided by Military News Agency)
Major Li said that compared with the familiar mission environment, when flying over downtown Taipei, the crew must not only accurately grasp the route and timing, but also pay close attention to surrounding terrain, buildings, and weather changes. During the execution, the captain focuses on flight operations, while the rest of the crew assists in mastering information such as surrounding ground obstacles, altitude, and speed, and jointly maintains flight safety through team division. He said that being able to perform the National Day performance represents the chief's recognition of the team's ability, and also allows each participant to shoulder more responsibility and a sense of mission.
