L O S E S I G H T, L O S E F I G H T | 83 Never take for granted the relationships you have with your current suppliers and partners. In today's business, sad as it sounds, it's "here today, gone tomorrow." You never know what's going to happen. As the old saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind." And once out of sight, you will lose the fight. Today, with the tough competition out there and rapidly changing demands of prospects and clients, you can't afford not to be seen or heard by your current partners and customers. LOST WINGMAN There are times when pilots fly in very close proximity (about three feet) in a formation called "fingertip." We do this when the weather gets really bad or if a wingman loses navigation ability or has some other type of system malfunction. Flying in fingertip provides mutual support and minimizes the tasks for the pilot experiencing the problem. The lead aircraft guides the wingman to the target or back to the airfield to land. But if the weather gets so bad that the wingman can't even see the aircraft he's flying off of, he should then switch to instrument, turn away from the last known position of the other aircraft, and call out "Lost wingman." While this can be quite confusing and disorienting for the wingman who is lost, it's critical for maintaining safety. The flight lead's job is to stay in contact with the lost wingman, get rejoined on him again (in clear skies), or make sure air traffic control can get him on the ground safely. In your personal life, have you ever gone "lost wingman" on a friend or wingman? You haven't seen this person in a