CAPblog

The Cessna, The Sky ... and the Cartoonist

via AVweb:

We walked out to the aircraft, something called a Cessna 152. She had 'NSC' painted in blue on her side and I liked her at first sight; I couldn't have sketched a more impudent and saucy-looking craft. She appeared eager to please someone, and I swear she wagged her tail the moment she saw me. Alastair said later that this was not possible, but I know what I saw.

The Cessna, The Sky ... and the Cartoonist: Introductory Flight

:: What do you get when you put a former Disney animator into the left seat and teach him to fly? A nice looking book, documenting the whole thing. John Ewing, a fine story teller, gives us his take on being a Student Pilot... AVweb will serialize several sections of his book.

I look forward to it.

Upon Encountering a Snake in the AO

Came across this post by Sgt. Stryker via Air Force Pilot. Thanks Captain!

Here's a fun way to understand what makes each and every branch of the US Armed Forces unique in the own special way...

This is illustrated by the example of what happens "Upon encountering a snake in the Area of Operations (AO)"

I'll just quote the Air Force ones...

Air Force, O-6 and above: "Get that damned snake off the fairway!"

Missileers, Air Force: Lays in target coordinates to snake in 20 seconds, but can't receive authorization from National Command Authority to use nuclear weapons.

Para-Rescue: Lands on snake upon descending, thereby injuring it, then feverishly works to save the nake's life.

Pilot, A-10: Has Global Positioning Satellite coordinates to snake. Can't find snake. Returns to base for refuel, crew rest and manicure.

Pilot, Air Force, B-52: Pulls ARCLIGHT mission on snake, kills snake and every other living thing within two miles of target.

Pilot, Air Force, F-15: Misidentifies snake as enemy Mil-24 Hind helicopter and engages with missiles. Crew chief paints snake kill on aircraft.

Pilot, Air Force, F-16: Finds snake, drops two CBU-87 cluster bombs, and misses snake target, but gets direct hit on Embassy 100 KM East of snake due to weather (Too Hot also Too Cold, Was Clear but too overcast, Too dry with Rain, Unlimited ceiling with low cloud cover etc.) Claims that purchasing multimillion dollar, high-tech snake-killing device will enable it in the future to kill all snakes and achieve a revolution in military affairs.

Pilot, Air Force, Fighter, Generic: Mis-identifies the snake as a HIND and engages it with missiles. Crew Chief paints snake on airplane.

Pilot, Air Force, Transport: Receives call for anti-snake equipment, and delivers two weeks after due date.

SSDB:
The Ultimate Differential Theory of US Armed Forces

:: Go read the rest. They are all pretty damn funny.

Emergency Alert System : Broken?

On Sept. 11, 2001, the Emergency Alert System in New York City -- the same one that annoys listeners and viewers with test alerts -- didn't go off. Nor did the same system warn Southern California residents in time to escape a deadly wildfire last year.

Not that everyone would have heard the messages in the first place. Even if the president were to declare a national emergency and take over the nation's airwaves for an announcement, cumbersome alert systems and the glut of unmanned radio stations would make it hard to get the word out. Never mind if the warning came in the middle of the night when most Americans aren't paying attention to TV or radio.

In short, many experts conclude, the Emergency Alert System is a mess. And as federal officials begin to launch efforts to expand emergency alerts to cell phones and the internet, critics say they need to spend time and money to preserve the creaky existing system and, perhaps more importantly, put someone in charge nationally.

Wired News: Crisis Alert in Critical State

The Emergency Alert System is a mess. The infrastructure has simply atrophied... Nobody has kept on top of keeping the system up to date.

On the morning 9/11 my cable blew out. (rain the night before killed the local head end.) I first learned about the attacks from Yahoo!'s homepage. It's a good thing too, since if I had been able to turn on a TV the dumbass local TV news guys were busy telling everyone we were the target of the next highjacked aircraft. Big help.

Good News & Bad News

First, the good news...

A 3-year-old boy reported missing for three days from a campground was found safe and unharmed.

Lightly clothed and without food, Kenneth Gerken survived three nights with temperatures dropping into the low 40s. He was found Sunday by a volunteer searcher.

"If you believe in miracles, folks, Missoula got one today," Missoula County Sheriff Mike McMeekin said Sunday night. "You never give up, but I was really getting oriented toward a recovery (of a body.)"

Kenneth was reported missing Thursday evening at the Kreis Pond campground near Missoula. His mother, Karinda Gerken, had been staying there with the boy and his infant brother, awaiting a move into a residence.

The boy was reunited with his mother late Sunday, a "very happy — and lucky — little boy," McMeekin said.

The searcher who found Kenneth, Tony Kasauskas, said he was sitting on a logging skid trail near the top of a knob.

"He was shivering. He was pretty wet," Kasauskas said.

Officials said the boy was about a half-mile outside the widest area previously searched by more than 100 people.

Yahoo! News: Yahoo! News - Missing 3-Year-Old Found Safe in Montana

now, the bad news...

Meanwhile, in Utah, the full-scale search ended Sunday for a 12-year-old Boy Scout, Garrett Bardsley, who disappeared Aug. 20 in the Uintas mountains some 50 miles east of Salt Lake City.

Officials say they will continue to return to the area monthly and will ask hikers and hunters to keep an eye out for the remains of the boy, who is presumed dead.

:: These cases are examples of how Missing Person Search is more art than science... frustrating, and rewarding.

I'm happy for the family of the little that was found. My heart goes out to the family of the boy who wasn't.

CAP Featured on Armed Forces Network

From those wags over at News of The Force:

The Civil Air Patrol National Board Meeting and Annual Convention in Tampa, Fla., was broadcast through the Armed Forces Network last weekend. More than 8,000 people watched the General Assembly, awards, and banquet ceremonies on the Web.

The Armed Forces Network has reportedly agreed to air Civil Air Patrol TV and radio spots on all of their stations around the world.

Wisconsin Wing Evaluated

Holding a small box the size of a one-pound chunk of cheddar cheese, Matt Vaughn watched a needle on the box swing back and forth, and heard it go "whoop, whoop, whoop," which meant an emergency transmitter was close.

Vaughn, 24, of Germantown, and two other Civil Air Patrol members were looking for the small orange plastic device - called an ELT for emergency locater transmitter - that's inside most aircraft to help searchers find missing planes. They're often found in wreckage and sometimes in water when a plane goes down.

The exercise - under the watchful eyes of a group of U.S. Air Force evaluators - was part of a weekend-long schedule of simulations for the Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol to test its mettle for search-and-rescue missions. About 70 people from around the state participated in the evaluation.

JS Online: Civil Air Patrol tests its skills

:: The cheese reference just slays me.

Burglar Ordered to Pay Search Costs

Ross Humbracht -- who claimed to be lost in the prairie for a week but was actually burglarizing buildings near Powder River -- received a suspended prison sentence of 24 to 30 months, three years supervised probation and was ordered to pay back the nearly $22,000 it cost the county to search for him...

Humbracht claimed he got lost while rock hunting near Powder River. But investigators discovered he and a partner, Gary Neske, were actually hunting for antiques and oil field equipment by burglarizing buildings, Natrona County Circuit Court records state.

Humbracht, his wife Nicole, and Neske were all criminally charged after the plot was discovered.

For more than four days, the sheriff's office and the Civil Air Patrol spent hundreds of hours and $21,984 unsuccessfully searching at least 150 square miles on the prairie and in the air. They gave up on Thursday, July 24.

Star-Tribune: Humbracht ordered to pay search costs

:: Idiot. Complete Idiot.

Destroyed CAP Hanger Still Supporting Recovery Ops

Mopping up puddles of rain from inside the damaged building Wednesday, soldiers quickly prepared a dry area to greet their general.

After touring devastated areas of DeSoto and Charlotte counties, Maj. Gen. Douglas Burnett spoke to some of the 2,220 National Guard soldiers under his direction -- now deployed at the Charlotte County Civilian Air Patrol in Punta Gorda since Hurricane Charley hit Aug. 13.

Burnett praised guard members of the 930th Army Liaison Team of Homestead, Fla., for securing the damaged air patrol building so the governor, senators and other dignitaries could converse before leaving the airstrip. He also thanked soldiers for their humanitarian efforts and security measures.

Sun Herald: National Guard general visits area, talks to troops

:: The Guard units have never been more a part of the "Total Force," then they are today. Go read about all the young Guardsmen who have been refusing to leave their units, which means having to put off restarting college classes until January.

Idaho Helo Crash Victims Identified

The names of the five people killed after an Access Air Ambulance helicopter crashed into a mountain peak Saturday were released Tuesday...

The crash of the helicopter on 9,775-foot Mount Tobin southwest of Battle Mountain is under investigation by a team from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The helicopter had landed in Battle Mountain on Saturday to pick up the baby and her mother.

The Bell-407 helicopter crashed at about the 8,700-foot level of the mountain near the Pershing-Humboldt county line, about 25 miles southwest of Battle Mountain and 100 miles southwest of Elko.

Search and rescue operations were initiated at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Those involved in the search included the Humboldt County Composite Civil Air Patrol Squadron, Lander, Humboldt and Pershing County sheriff's offices, REMSA, and the Fallon Naval Air Station.

Elko Daily Free Press: Mother, baby crash victims identified

Hangar a Beehive After Hurricane

Volunteer group found itself at the fulcrum of state emergency support efforts in Southwest Florida

Members of the Marco Island Senior Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) found themselves at the center of state emergency response efforts after Hurricane Charley blew through Southwest Florida on Aug. 13.

All 45 members of the Marco squadron pitched in when the Florida Emergency Operations Center needed aerial support to assess damage and get help to stranded victims in the worst-hit areas north of Collier County.

Naples Daily News: Civil Air Patrol Hangar a Beehive After Hurricane