In the hazy skies over the Pacific visibility can be a bigger problem than usual. One way to minimize losing your mates is to slow down and fly parallel to your charges. If your ego can't handle that or if you must move 'round simply to stay awake, make your turns level and standard rate. Here's the formula for standard rate turns. It just takes a few minutes to calculate ...
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Angle of Bank formula for a specific True Airspeed (TAS) is:
\tan(bank)=\frac{TAS^2/r}{g}
where r is the radius of the turn and g is the acceleration due to gravity. For a rate one turn and velocity in kt (nautical miles per hour), this comes to
\tan(bank)=\frac{TAS(kt)}{364}.
A convenient approximation for the bank angle in degrees is
Angle\ of\ Bank \approx \frac{TAS(kt)}{10} + 7
Radius of Turn formula
To calculate the radius of a Rate 1,2 or 3 turn at a specific TAS.
Radius\ of\ turn\ in\ NM = \frac{TAS(kt)}{rate\ of\ turn\ (1\ or\ 2\ or\ 3) \times 60 \times \pi}
Use this formula to calculate the radius of turn in feet given velocity in knots and angle of bank:
Radius\ of\ turn\ in\ feet = \frac{velocity^2}{11.29 \times \tan(bank)}
This is a simplified formula that ignores slip and returns zero for 90 degrees of bank.
The constant 11.29 is calculated:
11.29 = \frac{9.8 \times 3600 \times 3600}{1852 \times 6076.12}
9.8 = gravity\ in\ metres\ per\ second\ per\ second
3600 = seconds\ per\ hour
1852 = metres\ per\ nautical\ mile
6076.12 = feet\ per\ nautical\ mile
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or just use ~ three degrees/sec,~180 degrees/minute or ~20-22 degree bank,
whichever is easier for you.
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Base your turns on the bombers course and maintain two headings; 45 deg to the right and 45 deg to the left of bomber course.*
Leads should wake up their fli ... erm, notify their flight when the turn is made. (Ex: "... to the left now ...")
Falcon
* Your results may vary, open at your own risk, many will enter, few will win, some parts are edible, not available in Montana, Florida or North Malden.
May be you not believe me it was my first cooperate flight (team work) exept two flights before as a gunner. I tried to keep my lider in sight it was sometimes not easy... and of course I haven't real ability for scan air to find enemy planes. Later in track I find out that in attack moment on the Catalina all fighters were far. So I think at least one group should be very close to bomber(s), then one group should be higher and possible one fighter group lower (depends on bomber level). Also when each groups will have its level we can know that we haven't other planes on this level => if I will find other planes I be sure they are enemy. As I said I haven't expirience in coop flights but I have small expirience in free hanting (in different servers) - often pilots fly on very low level and you cann't find they from high altitude.
. Monitor res maybe part of the problem but SA practice is needed definitely.