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From the first paragraph:'Drafting' and riding the vortex (happens at low speed too) are two different things.
Could passenger planes begin flying in formation to draft each other's wingtip vortex effects?
My thoughts -I think one mile separation on landing would get very very interesting very fast.
That would work out to less than 30 seconds separation at the piano keys and does not give much tolerance for differences in deceleration and distances to taxiways -- which differ for different types of aircraft and even aircraft of the same type and different landing weights.
Or, LAX...
During the war, the contrails from the bombers were a homing beacon for the Luftwaffe.Also similar to brds I have heard more than one airline captain admit that a terrific navid is simply following the contrail in front of you that is heading for the same destination. When the 747 came out, with its INS, it became standard practice for ocean crossings to follow them. One captain admitted that he was enroute to Puerto Rico and lost a navaid. He asked ATC for a looping turn to the Right and got behind another airliner he knew was headed for the same airfield.
All blue paint not used on girders was wasted.Don't go wasting blue paint.
When approaching inbound you can request an overhead break to enter the pattern. I've seen guys in RVs do this at uncontrolled airports and cause havoc, especially if there are multiple aircraft in the pattern. At a controlled airport, this could be discouraged and possible not approved if the pattern is busy.I've only been in an airliner that actually flew a pattern a couple of times and once was at Santa Barbara when they apparently were using myna birds as controllers, but imagine what a pattern with that formation flight would be like. Would you overfly and then call a break?
Yea, there some issues there, but again usually no problems, but when I say I've flown in there, it was in a GA airplane and I was flying. The only time I ever flown in KSBA commercial was last AprilI have flown in there with no problems more than once too. But when you have a 737 enter on a crosswind to downwind and be halfway down a pretty tight base just before another 737 pulls out onto the runway - and thus have to go around and this happens almost TWICE in a row I can only assume the tower is saying, "Awk! Clearedtoland! Awk!" The second time I could not believe it but the pilot managed to practice some slowflight and squeeze in behind the other 737.