In the late 1980s, the RAF had just introduced the Tornado ADV to service. The squadron boss of the OCU displayed the jet with a Spitfire of the BBMF. This dissimilar formation caught my attention at the time. This was repeated in the 2000s when the RAF repeated the idea with a Typhoon and Spitfire display. However, I think I saw something that trumped both of those combinations at the Shuttleworth Military Air Show. The combination of a Great War SE5a and Spitfire was really something else. You might think that a fast jet and a Spitfire is a tough combination, but jets can fly slowly quite well, and Spitfires are no slouch.
However, an SE5a is not a speedy plane while a Spitfire is still no slouch! How to make this work then? Some very clever use of speed differentials and spacing is the answer. The SE5a would fly some curving passes closer to the crowd line while the Spitfire offset further out – slowing into the pass and then accelerating away. The result is a view from the crowd where both planes are quite well aligned.
The idea was very interesting. I won’t say it is innovative because I’m sure someone has done something like this before, but it was the first time I had seen it. The result was surprisingly effective, and they did it on a few passes. I don’t know just how precise the initial points have to be and how much scope the pilots have to adjust on the run in to make it work. I assume the SE5a pilot just flies the pass, and the Spitfire pilot has the power and control to make the adjustments. Whatever the approach, it worked well.
