Look out below!

Thanks to RiverAux, I have been informed of a proposal out in Oregon for CAP Aircrews. This article indicates the development of small survival packs our aircrews can drop to a survivor. The best part is they're easily adaptable to fill whatever needs the survivor(s) may have.

Personally, I think this is a great idea. As aircrew, I have often thought about our role in the greater response beyond searching. Rocking our wings as it were is not enough to give a survivor moral support. If I was a crash victim, and I saw a Cessna above me rock their wings, I wouldn't know what that meant. How should they if they're not in the community? At least this way they have proof.

Of course, if the victim is injured and can't move, it's useless. That's where medics would come in. Oh wait...

Gyros, please

I got my first issue of AOPA Pilot about 2 weeks ago. Although I have been a member for 2 years, I have been receiving AOPA Flight Training instead. I opened it up to find many good articles on many different topics. I particularly enjoyed the article on Aerial Firefighting (Hot Shots, pg 104); but the article that stands out most in my mind is the one on Gyroplane (Old Dog, New Trick, pg 143). You remember these things? Has a rotor on top and and a regular prop in front? Maybe has a pair of short, stubby wings?

Apparently, they're starting to make a comeback. It's understandable, because according to the arcticle they only cost $20 per hour to operate; 1/5 of the cost of the C-172 on a good day and at a cheap FBO. Additionally, the gyroplane doesn't stall, making it safer than a helicopter. There is no tail rotor, because the aircraft uses something called autorotation to power the blades. The principal is similar to those toys you can buy for kids; if you drop the rotor, it begins to spin and slow the descent. Because it is driven by air, it does not produce torque. Although there are rudders, they are not needed for turns because "there is no adverse yaw" as the article says. The Groen Brothers' Website has an excellent description on how these things work)

The article cites one modern, law enforcement gyrocopter: the Hawk 4 Gyroplane. The Hawk 4 apparently saw service during the 2002 winter olympics, and was a huge success. The aircraft's cousin, the Hawk 5's specs are online, and looks to be comporable to a 172 in terms of cruise speed and cost. Maybe something to consider?

Information for this article taken from "Old Dog, New Trick: The gyroplane is half-airplane, half-helicopter and 100 percent fun" by Patrick R. Veillette; AOPA Pilot, October 2007 issue.

UPDATE: I found this video on youtube that I figure is worth sharing:

CAP and Forest Fires

From CAP News online:

SOUTH DAKOTA -- The South Dakota Wing provided important fire-spotting capabilities in the early stages of a Black Hills forest fire that killed one person, injured two firefighters and destroyed 33 houses.

After lightning sparked the Alabaugh Canyon fire July 7, South Dakota Wing members made frequent fire observation flights in the early stages of the fire under the organization's memorandum of understanding with the state until the size of the blaze prompted the U.S. Forest Service agencies to bring in its own aircraft.

The wing essentially acted as an Air Attack platform for state fire officials to direct the aerial attack on the fire, using helicopters and single-engine air tankers, said Col. Mike Beason, wing commander.

"The state appreciates the availability of CAP," Beason said. "They had us on immediate alert status since July 1st so they could get airborne rapidly when a fire would break out."

The South Dakota Wing has made over two dozen flights since early May, logging many hours in the fire-detection role.

"Primarily, the state has had us fly fire-spotting sorties," Beason said, "especially after lightning storms, but also during the Fourth of July fireworks season."

Good Job SDWG! I have been working with the NJ State Park Service this summer between semesters, and know a person who was fighting the wildfire in Wharton State Forest. The NJSPS has it's own aircraft that fight fires, but I would imagine that many of these state agencies could use cheap spotting aircraft. Seems like a natural role for CAP.

Although CAP could probably not participate in actual bombings. That takes a lot of specialized equipment and training for the pilots and aircrews. Besides, as pointed out in this thread, CA would never allow it to happen. However here in Dirty Jersey and some of these other smaller states might be able to use CAP as a fire-prevention resources.

Expertise, Responsibility, Corporateness

There is much fear within the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Community about the reduced number of missions, compounded with increasing UAV's, Airborne Sherrifs and fewer crashes. Many have cited Technology as the cause of our loss of mission effectiveness in many of these areas, and the supreme reason that CAP is not receiving new missions on the National Level.

However, although Technology has played a part in turning the current CAP into something obsolete, it is not the overriding reason. Rather, it is the standards of professionalism that hold the modern Civil Air Patrol back.

In his book "The Soldier and the State", Samuel Huntington defines 'professionalism' as dependent on three characteristics: expertise, responsibility and corporateness. He says "The Professional man is an expert with specialized skill and experience" that he can use to achieve his aim. Doctors and Lawyers are the examples he uses to describe the professional man. Both are specifically trained in a specific area, and use the knowledge they learned in school, and that special knowledge acquired over time, to make decisions.

"Responsibility" Hutington says constitutes the use of the skill in a way to benefit society. "A research chemist" he says "is still a research chemist if he uses his skills in a manner harmful to society". However, using the methods in a way to benefit society does make one professional.

"Corporateness" is a way "the members of a profession share a sense of organic unity and consciousness of themselves as a group apart from laymen". In this way, the professional armed forces share a collective sense of self. Broken down further, each branch of service shares a personal identity with other members of the same service. This sense of belonging and teamwork further influence each other to uphold certain standards.

If one applies the above three to the modern CAP, it is discovered that the CAP does not have a high sense of professionalism. Although those who participate in Emergency Services are trained in the vocation, the training is simplified and basic. The Civil Air Patrol is behind many of the other Emergency Services organizations by not requiring any of the NIMS courses for it's members. Huntington says of the expertise of the professional "His expertise is acquired only by prolonged education and experience". Although Civil Air Patrol's training is good, it should continue beyond the initial phase of training, which many members do not progress beyond. The level 1 training for new members is incomplete, and the practice of making one an officer after 6 months probation does not help matters. Rather, there should be stricter requirements to become an officer, and a fuller initial training curriculum.

Responsibility is where CAP scores the highest. Emergency Services have been a cornerstone of the Civil Air Patrol since it's inception. The use of technology and skills to save lives is beneficial to society, and thus qualifies as a part of professionalization. Where the CAP looses points, however, is allowing member use of corporate property for their own gain. Although it is not detrimental to offer members the use of the airplane for currency, the same idea becomes dangerous when there is a sect that only uses the aircraft for currency. Sadly, this is a large sect within the greater Civil Air Patrol.

Additionally, this sect has deeply effected the corporateness of the organization. There are almost two Civil Air Patrols: the one whose members are dedicated to saving lives, and the one whose members are in it for their own personal gain. This schism does not give members the camaraderie needed to create "sense of organic unity and consciousness" to move CAP forward. In many ways, 'corporateness' is where CAP fails the most, and it is because of this schism.

There are many ways to solve this problem. Perhaps greater restrictions on who can and cannot use corporate property are needed to increase the corporateness of CAP, and create a greater sense of unity. Additional training of the membership would also increase the member's expertise and rate the organization as a whole higher on the professional chart.

These problems are solvable, but they go largely ignored. Although solving them will make many in the membership disappear, it will increase our mission-readiness in the personnel area. Greater standards will also attract a different sort of member: one who is willing to learn and move forward with professional training. It will also attract those in the Emergency Services field to a greater degree, and thus further increase CAP's expertise in the area. However, if these problems are not solved, the CAP will become trapped in the past, and lose all of it's Emergency Services missions.

References:
Hutington, Samuel P "The Soldier and the State: the Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations" Harvard University Press; Caimbridge, MA. 1957

Kodiak: Parte Deux

A week or so ago I blogged on the Quest Aircraft Kodiak and it's potential uses in CAP. After looking into it a little more, it looks more an more suited to CAP's role. According to the video "Corporate Intro" (Available here, along with pictures of the aircraft) the Kodiak was designed for operations "in the bush". Unlike the Caravan, Otter and C-172/182, which although rugged and durable, were not designed for back-country ops specifically.

In addition, the video says the aircraft was designed for slow speed and STOL. Given the fact that our searches take place at slow airspeeds low to the ground, the aircraft feels ideal for that situation. The aircraft was also designed for a quick recovery from stalls, with a lot of power. The discontinuous leading edge prevents the stall from moving further down the wing as the angle of attack increases. Secondly, it gives the aircraft better aileron control, especially at slow airspeeds.

However, let's also consider the fuel cost. Our GA-8 Airvans burn fuel at 14 Gal/hour at 118 kts (according to their Spec's page online). This is the killer, because the Kodiak requires 47 gal/hr to operate at 185 kts. What it is at 118 kts is unclear at this point. This would kill the deal, but since it is unclear, I will not rule out the aircraft yet.

And, as the video says, the purpose of the aircraft was to "build an aircraft that would cater to the humanitarian market...moving goods and services into [the country] to aide people". Isn't that what we do?

(all images are copyright Quest Aircraft, no infringement is intended)

Publicity and Toys

Lets face it, kids buy toys (no, really?). So as I perused my local pilot shop, I came across a rack filled with Hot Wings diecast aircraft. One of them was a C-172. And so being the big kid I am, I bought it as a tribute to the aircraft I can (almost) fly. It now sits on my desk as a tribute to my nearly earned private pilots license. Among the other aircraft on the rack was a US Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk. With movies such as "the Guardian" and other stuff, the Coast Guard has been getting a lot of great publicity lately.

And so, being obsessive with my beloved Civil Air Patrol, I lamented the fact that CAP doesn't have a model C-172 the same way the CG has one of their workhorse. And maybe that's part of the problem. We target kids for our cadet program, so let's make a toy. Even if 12 year olds are getting out of the toy thing, at least at a younger stage they can be aware of us.

Someone from national contact these guys and have them make a CAP 172.

New Plane: The Kodiak

I was sitting at my airport today taking a break from studying for the Private Pilot Practical, when I picked up the most recent edition of Flying Magazine. I flipped it open to find the Quest Aircraft Kodiak. Intrigued, I looked into it further, thinking of it's utilization in CAP.

Far sleeker and (dare I say it) sexier than any of our current aircraft, the Kodiak seems like a natural fit in our Search and Rescue missions. According to Flying, it was designed with STOL capability, and can fly for 5.8 hours without refuling. It does, however, burn fuel much faster than our Cessnas, but not more than our Airvans.

The aircraft itself is still awaiting certification from the FAA. With the possibility of new missions along the border, a rugged, larger aircraft might be on the list. If I were National Headquarters I would look into this aircraft further. (Now to figure out a way to bring in my beloved PC-12.)

By any Other Name...

I looked at the calendar today and realized that in less than 2 months I will no longer be a flight officer. That's right, on July 13 I will turn 21. In addition to the other benefits that come with age, I get to finally become an 'officer'. Of course , that means that I will no longer be a 'Flight Officer', which means that it will be time for a new blog name. Since I can't come up with anything witty, creative or fun, I figure it would be appropriate to open it up to suggestions.

Feel free to post any suggestions for a new name as long as it's appropriate. Nothing over PG guys.

The Squadron Library: An Idea

I was re-reading my post about "George Washington's Leadership Lessons" today. I also sent a message to my Cadet Command Staff about the book and how I recommend they read it (so much so, I bought another copy for the squadron). An idea then occurred to me; A Squadron Library. That is to say, a collection of books, owned by the squadron, that would be available to Cadets and Seniors alike, in various subjects such as Aerospace, Leadership, Writing/Communications skills (for help with those essays and speeches for Armstrong and Eaker), Books on SAR, DR, and other ES related subjects. Maybe even CAP/USAF History to round out the collection.

The use of such a collection would be simple: provide the resources for added study in the above areas. This would allow for better Cadets and better Seniors in all areas. This, in turn, would increase squadron productivity, and the added skill may help with recruiting/retention.

The only thing that could hold such a plan back is that our squadron doesn't have a place to call our own. We meet at an armory, which we share with the National Guard. Therefore, we will have to solve the problem of where to keep the books we place in the library. However, I'm sure this can be overcome.

Any thoughts? Please leave a comment with criticism. I plan to bring this up with my squadron tomorrow