Flight Lieutenant Ed Drane, a Royal New Zealand Air Force Black Falcons pilot. Photo / Bevan Conley
Flight Lieutenant Ed Drane, a Royal New Zealand Air Force Black Falcons pilot. Photo / Bevan Conley
The Black Falcons pilots fly a “fine line” every time they take to the skies to perform complex manoeuvres.
“For me personally, the hardest one is the mirror corkscrew, which is where the lead will go inverted and I’ll slot in underneath him and I have to mirror what he’sdoing, and it felt very close the first time I did it,” Flight Lieutenant Ed Drane said.
“It’s a fine line of what we’re looking to achieve.”
The six pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s aerobatic squadron work as flying instructors alongside their training schedule to practice routines for display shows.
Drane joined the Air Force in 2011 and completed his pilot’s course and basic training. He said he was surprised to have been shoulder-tapped to join the Black Falcons as a relatively junior Qualified Flying Instructor.
“I never really thought I’d be doing it. It’s pretty awesome to get some feedback on my own flying after concentrating on teaching others.”
The six pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s aerobatic squadron work as flying instructors. Photo / Bevan Conley
Each manoeuvre the pilots learn for the routine requires its own qualification, and Drane said the start of his training had a “steep learning curve”.
“It is a lot of work as I was quite junior and not qualified, but it’s cool to see the progress quite evidently as you’re filming each routine, and we watch the routines back and pick them apart.”
There were challenges to overcome in learning how to fly the T-6 Texan, because the plane can pull up to seven Gs of force, which can cause pilots to temporarily lose vision or throw up and, in rare cases, pass out.
“It’s a slow build-up phase, rather than throwing us in the deep end to see how much G-force you can handle.”
The Black Falcons will be soaring above Feilding for Central Districts Field Days.
The display shows the Black Falcons perform around the country ensure the pilots are locked into a busy schedule, although this year, shows in Auckland, Masterton, and Napier had to be canceled due to the impact of flooding and Cyclone Gabriele.
Drane said the display shows were a good way for the Black Falcons to profile the Air Force and show what the pilots are capable of.
“I think there’s often a misconception within the New Zealand public of what the New Zealand Air Force does. It’s a good way to put us on the map and show what we can achieve.”
Drane said the crowd-favourite manoeuvre was usually when the planes fly in a formation to form a heart.
“It might look like we’re just throwing it around and having a bit of fun, but it is quite controlled.”
The Black Falcons will be soaring above Feilding for Central Districts Field Days from about 12pm on both Thursday and Friday this week, with the best viewing spot being at the field days event in Manfield.
