Aerial symphony

“Formation flight, you’re cleared to join,” Fizer tells the crew of B–25 Panchito on the World War II-era bomber’s intercom, and the co-pilot dutifully relays that message via the aircraft radio. “Come on in.”

A dozen Pilatus PC–12s make their move, gradually closing the distance as the B–25 circles in a gentle right turn.

“Roger, joining,” says Eric Zipkin, co-founder and CEO of Tradewind Aviation, an accomplished pilot, and aviation instigator who is leading the PC–12 formation in one of the company’s 26 turboprops.

Zipkin had dreamed up the idea of assembling and photographing a large group of PC–12s and convinced Pilatus to support the event for marketing purposes. Now, on a golden September evening, a series of flights that had been planned for many months is finally coming together, and conditions are ideal: Light winds, smooth air, and a piercing blue sky with just enough clouds to make a colorful sunset.

I’m surprised and delighted by how enjoyable it is to fly among like aircraft.Once the aerial rendezvous is complete near Tradewind’s home base at the Waterbury-Oxford Airport (OXC) in Connecticut, the group flies to Long Island Sound and maneuvers over the water at an altitude of about 4,500 feet. Fizer commands a long series of large and small adjustments. Sometimes he’ll tell a single airplane to move a few feet up or down, left or right. Other times he’ll have the entire formation to move as one.

I’ve been fortunate enough to fly with Fizer many times over the years, so I know what to expect. He’s relaxed, affable, and friendly on the ground and an autocrat behind the camera. He goes into each photo shoot with a clear idea of the images he wants to create—and he makes them a reality through tight aerial choreography and force of will. I’m flying the number four PC–12 in the “slot” position just aft of Zipkin—and my main goal is to avoid Fizer’s ire. The best way to be inconspicuous is to stay in position.

Click images to enlarge and view captions.

The PC–12 is a heavy hauler, not a ballerina, and this is only my second flight in one. But Tradewind pilot and instructor Jake Pohl knows the airplane intimately, and his expertise allows me to keep my focus outside. I do my best to keep my airplane aligned with Zipkin’s, but I can’t help sneaking a few glances at the B–25 just because the sight of it is so rare and remarkable.

The PC–12 is stable, yet small changes in airspeed require immediate changes in elevator trim to keep the elevator from becoming too heavy. I find myself making almost constant power and trim adjustments.

The wraparound windshield provides excellent visibility, and the big turboprop’s PT6A engine and four-blade propeller allow it to accelerate and decelerate almost instantly. I’m surprised and delighted by how enjoyable it is to fly among like aircraft.

Zipkin is no stranger to complex flight operations. He was a key organizer for the 2019 flyovers of Normandy, France, that brought 15 DC–3s there on the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day.

His company is one of the largest PC–12 operators in the world, and he expects it to be the largest once a recently placed order for 20 more are delivered. Tradewind has 280 employees including 120 pilots, and the company flies extensively in the Northeastern United States and throughout the Caribbean from a base in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Zipkin teaches other pilots to fly terrain-hugging short-field landings at Gustaf III Airport (TFFJ) on the island of St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean, and he and other Tradewind pilots and instructors take great pride in that nerve-wracking duty. Zipkin is focused on expanding the charter company, and he said putting the 12-airplane photography flight together seemed like a good way to promote the company, motivate employees, and perhaps recruit some talented and like-minded future employees.

“Some things are hard to justify on a spreadsheet. But you do them because it’s the right thing to do.” —Eric Zipkin“Some things are hard to justify on a spreadsheet,” he says. “But you do them because they’re the right thing to do, and you love it. I don’t know exactly what benefits will come to Tradewinds as a direct result of this—but I know there will be positive downstream effects.”

Videos of Tradewind airplanes landing at St. Bart’s have done a great deal, he said, to help prospective employees find his company.

“People see our planes on YouTube and get inspired,” he says. “They say, ‘I want to work for the company that does that!”

The formation photography flight ends just after sunset with a 12-ship flyover of the Westbury-Oxford Airport that has neighbors taking cellphone pictures and posting them on social media sites.

Pohl, one of the Tradewind PC–12 pilots who took part in the photo flights, says the two-day event (one for practice, the next for the main effort) was among the most enjoyable things he’s ever done on the job.

“This has been an absolute blast,” he says. “It’s an entirely new aspect of flying that I’d never seen up close before, and it’s a skill I’d love to learn.”

Zipkin says taking a dozen airplanes out of revenue service for two days and flying multiple practice and photo flights was a major effort and expense that he’s convinced was worth it.

“The photos and video from this event will show PC–12s flying in a way that people haven’t seen before,” he says. “These are truly extraordinary aircraft that enable our company to do the things we do.”

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