Talk:Missing man formation

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[edit] As seen from below?

What in the world is that distinction supposed to mean?

If the flight is northbound, and I am facing north, the orientation for me is the same as for the flight. Only if I am facing south does it reverse, as the most recent change would have it!

And if I am facing west, the description makes no sense at all.

If Wiki is not to be a laughing stock, better revert that last change :)

[edit] WWII flyovers

Flyovers of airfields became standard practice in the Royal Air Force, to show the ground crews how many survivors had returned from a mission.

This passage has no place here. This article is about flyovers in one particular formation, and very few air units, particularly bomber units, would be able (or willing) to reform into formations after a mission. They usually put down as they arrived (with priority given to machines with injured crews or severe battle damage). The mass flyovers one sees in movies such as "Memphis Belle" and "Dam Busters" were the result of the narrowness of WWII-era runways. Units couldn't put down all at once. Aircraft stooged around until they had clearance to land. 172.163.76.254RKH

[edit] Description

I think the description could be better... Witnessing a missing man formation is a very, very impressive moment if it is well performed. I think some reference or explaination should be made to that fact. Maybe a quote like this one could be used: "Looking heavenward you cannot help but shed a tear... mournful... lonesome... a hole that screams out almost as loudly as the roar of the engines that pass overhead." source: http://www.aiipowmia.com/histories/histformation.html.

In the "finger four" formation the aircraft that pulled up (often?) also flies away to the west. See http://www.teamrv.us/mediagallery/album.php?aid=3&page=1 for a document called "How to execute the Missing Man Formation"

Also, this formation is (at least in the Netherlands) performed for both civil and military pilots. The article seems to suggest this is a military honor only. 145.94.73.50 (talk) 15:45, 19 November 2007 (UTC)WoutR