San Angelo to Host Formation Flying Clinic

The M20 is famous for its aerodynamic performance. The laminar-flow wings and retractable gear allow the sleek airframe to cruise at speeds exceeding 170 mph with a small engine like the Lycoming O-360 180 hp that is carbureted. More modern Mooneys can exceed 250 mph with a Continental 280-hp turbocharged engine. With only small modifications, however, the basic design of the M20 has remained relatively constant since the first all-metal M-20B was manufactured in Kerrville back in 1960.

San Angelo’s airport enjoys a shared history with Kerrville’s Mooney. In the 1960s, Mooney setup shop in one of the hangars at Mathis Field to assemble the Mitsubishi MU-2, a two-engine turboprop. Mooney won the contract with the Japanese manufacturer to assemble the new twin. When Mooney experienced financial trouble towards the end of the 1960s, Mitsubishi took over the San Angelo assembly plant and operated at Mathis until 1986. Among the customers who owned the MU-2 was Modesta Williams, wife of Midland oilman Clayton Williams. Much of the infrastructure used by Mooney and Mitsubishi during those two decades remains at Mathis, including the aircraft painting facility now operated by Ranger Aviation. Ranger was a Mooney dealer for a long time. John Fields, who owns Ranger, still flies a Mooney M20E and an MU-2 out of Mathis.

Flying formation in the Mooney dates back to the late-1990s when a group of Mooney aircraft owners and pilots organized a mass formation to fly into the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual convention at Oshkosh, Wisconsin called AirVenture. The fly-in usually occurs at the end of July each year. The group became known at the Mooney Caravan. Today, the Caravan is organized into eight wings across the U.S. In Texas, Caravan group is called the Texas Wing.

In order to qualify to fly in the mass formation into Oshkosh each year, each pilot must certify as a Caravan formation pilot. In regional clinics across the country, Mooney owners and pilots assemble to learn, practice, and earn certification as Caravan ready. This year, the Texas Wing will host about 30 Mooney aircraft, along with its owners and pilots, for a three-day formation clinic. The pilots in the Caravan range from doctors, lawyers, and airline pilots to former military pilots who would otherwise miss formation flying since leaving the services.

During the clinic, newcomers learn the basics of formation flying, like close-in fingertip formation and formation approaches and landings. The syllabus demands two or three two-hour flights per day where formation maneuvers will be practiced in a ring of practice areas located about 20 miles around the San Angelo navigation aid called the SJT VORTAC that is located about 1 mile northeast of the main runway.

On Sunday, April 24, the final day of the clinic, if all is going well, the Texas Wing will perform a mass formation takeoff, flight, and landing at Mathis. The practice Caravan departures and landings will likely start at around 11 a.m.

San Angelo was chosen as the new base for the Texas Wing because of its great weather and unbusy airspace. In previous years, the Texas Wing was based at San Marcos Regional Airport. Air traffic along the I-35 corridor was making the formation training flights dangerous there. Jonna Gaddy at San Angelo’s Destination Marketing Organization reached out to the Texas Wing and convinced them to move to San Angelo. Nacho’s Restaurant Cantina and Grill, Packsaddle Barbecue, and the Springhill Suites Marriott will provide the food and accommodations. Ranger Aviation will serve as the base of operations. Emergency Management Coordinator Jerry Huffman is hosting the first mass formation briefing at the San Angelo Emergency Operations Center at the airport on opening day.