Return, Circuit Entry, and Landing

Multi-aircraft formations lack the manoeuvrability of a single aircraft. Restrictions on angles of bank and power settings, as described above, reduce a formation's manoeuvring potential. It is therefore the responsibility of the Lead to properly plan the return to home considering all the factors involved. Some considerations are:

• Radio changes;
• Weather at the landing base;
• Individual aircraft fuel state (if any in the formation is at or approaching minimum fuel, you may not be able to hold or extend track miles during recovery if ATC were to ask you to);
• Active runway (do you want following aircraft in echelon right or left for the pitch?)
• Possible conflicting traffic in the circuit area; and
• Each pilot's experience.

There are different ways of entering the circuit and landing.

Entering the circuit can be as an upwind join (in any formation configuration), a crosswind join, or a military initial and pitch.

Landing can be in stream (staggered or inline) or in elements.