Diamond Formation - Aircraft

Aircraft

A diamond formation is done by starting with one aircraft, and then increasing by one, the number of aircraft in each successive row, and then decreasing again by one until there is only one aircraft in the last row, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 2, 1. The flight position is such that there is no aircraft facing the tail of any aircraft in front.

At least four aircraft are required for this formation. The largest number of sixteen (1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1) is known as a "tight formation". Rarely attempted on jet aircraft, this feat was first achieved by the Pakistan Air Force in 1964 on U.S.-made F-86 Sabres. It is considered a difficult formation as the aircraft have to fly very close to each other, and the closer the planes are together, the more authentic is the formation. Similarly, the larger the number of aircraft, the higher the risk involved (as compared to other formations).