2-4-CIX is the section of the club dedicated to display flying. We fly with FSX, our "Aims and Objectives" being:-
This display flying includes (but is not necessarily limited to):-
We provide an annual autumn display. We can also provide other displays as and when requested by club members, or indeed by other members of the VATSIM community. For example we have taken part in the birthday celebrations of our sister club in Germany - “Die Friesenflieger”.
Any CIX VFR Club member can join 2-4-CIX. Previous experience of display flying is not necessary – the fact that you fly virtually with the Club is the only entry requirement you need! However, CIX VFR Club has a deserved high reputation for GA flying and this is continued by its 2-4-CIX operations through training and regular practice.
You can give as much time to 2-4-CIX as you wish. If you have a reasonable amount of free time, then you can join a team. The Chipmunks/CATs practice on Thursday evenings; the Tigers on Wednesday evenings and the Javelins on Friday evenings. Other practice days are arranged among the teams as necessary. Other practice days are arranged among the teams as necessary.
If you are part of a formation group, then that group will have an appointed Flight Group Leader. He will organise practices and design the display routines for his team. The Club publishes a Guide for Flight Group Leaders.
If you have limited availability then you may wish to consider performing a solo display, maybe of a classic British aircraft. Solo performers include, or have included, the Avro Lancaster, S for Sugar, a De Havilland Dragon Rapide, a Supermarine Mk XIV Spitfire, a Hawker Mk I Hurricane, an Airspeed Oxford, and a Douglas C41. So the choice is wide and varied. For display flying, and practices, the Club's normal aircraft weight category limit (5700Kg) is waived.
Our displays are created as videos of the complete display, compiled from individual videos and recordings made by each of the teams and solo performers. This is necessary because using one of the online flying networks, the data transmission lag, (up to 7 seconds), makes it impossible to fly the complex and highly skilled manoeuvres our display pilots have now achieved, and which the spectators so much enjoy. Displays are also carried out very close to the "crowd line" to get the best visual performance possible.
Spectators watch the performance on the Display date by connecting to a private YouTube channel. They simply click on the link provided on the forum, on the website or on TeamSpeak just before the show starts, or at a time convenirnt to themselves. Members can gather on TeamSpeak and watch the show together after a count-down to synchronise the start, so that everyone is watching the same display elememt at the same time.
We also have a CIX VFR Club version of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Flight Simulator has a variety of the classic aircraft which make up the flight, so members can select their favourite variant. As well as the Avro Lancaster R5868 (S for Sugar) which in reality is a static exhibut at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, we have various Spitfires and Hurricanes which act as escort, plus a Douglas Dakota and, thanks to our friends the Friesenflieger in Germany, sometimes a pair of Messerschmitt 109s.
Detailed instructions for setting up computer and software for Pilots and Spectators is provided. Just click on the links in this paragraph.
Any Club member can join 2-4-CIX as a pilot. There are rarely too many for a good show! You can also come along and watch the practice sessions, performed using JoinFS. Simply contact one of the 2-4-CIX Team Leaders for details. These are listed under Management.