Civil Air Patrol

[JusticeAK]

I'm a part of cap here in anchorage, and my experience has been outstanding. The Alaska wing has c185s beavers And c206s in addition to the skyhawk and skylanes. The opportunity to train in a beaver for $50/hr plus fuel is not traditional FBO fare. This summer I plan to get my glider rating in the ASK-21 that is available for basically the cost of the tow plane.

Our squadron is staffed by retired army and air force pilots, and just recently picked up a couple active duty pilots looking to stay current in piston singles. I thought is was funny when a f-22 guy was asking if anybody had a gauge for the 206.
Basically you just have to find the right squadron and get through the initial checkout procedures then it's no problem to jump in a plane and go.

 

[sfgiants13]

When I was part of a squadron that had an aircraft, the pilots never had to pay out of pocket for "official business" flights like Cadet O-Rides or flights to get members trained and mission qualified. There were almost always money in some account to get that done. The biggest issue was getting the flights scheduled since it was always "Oh, I have to work that day..." or something like that. This is a volunteer organization, after all.

You can "rent" the aircraft, but there are many restrictions on what you can do with the aircraft. Many times it is cheaper than FBO rates, sometimes not. Another option that hasn't been mentioned yet is access to an Aero Club at an Air Force Base. As an active CAP member, I can join the Aero Club here at Kirtland AFB and play with their toys. When I can afford it, that is. Last time I checked, the Aero Club was cheaper than the local FBOs.

If you're looking for a time building, CAP isn't the place to do it.


And yes, there are tools in the organization. We make fun of them too and try to "encourage" them to go away.

I was able to join a navy flying club just for having a CAP membership. I'm not at all involved with them but still get the benefits of having dirt cheap planes to fly. I talked to a local CFI about Seattle's CAP and he just quit doing it because apparently there are a few problems there. Said something to the effect that one of the guys running it treats it like a boot camp. Not my cup of tea since I have a short fuse already and since it's not the military there's only so much I would put up with myself. I can't stand people on power trips and find myself speaking up about it far too often. Guess I should fix that before I go out hunting for jobs.

 

[Mark815]

CAP members are not permitted to initiate their own searches, they can only provide services under specific approved purposes and every flight must be pre-approved with a release.

Should a decent human being do it anyway in that case and risk getting in trouble? I would, but that's just me.

Well that's the whole thing, a decent human would help. In fact the gentleman I used to work with that was there that day was a Huey driver in Nam, and was so disgusted that the guy didn't help (seeing as he JUST landed and was taxiing to get some fuel) that he went out and talked to him. He told me he asked the guy if he was a father, and how he would feel if there was someone in uniform nearby that was supposed to be representative of SAR but denied helping a frantic parent on a clear and a million day to help find their son. I and many others thought it was pretty sad. Not permitted to initiate their own SAR to help find a kid who is a mile from you? If a CAP member were to get in trouble for helping in that situation, than I REALLY wouldn't want to be a member.

And like I said before, I don't think that CAP is a disaster all over the country, in fact I hear they do some GREAT work out west, however my experience has been nothing short of sad and dangerous.

 

[tomokc]

Proficiency flights are out-of-pocket, and they can also include instructional flights toward advanced ratings (non-PPL) with a CAP instructor pilot. At no cost to the pilot was anything with a mission number, whether it be an aerial search, SAREX, Cadet O-rides, delivery of equipment or personnel, aircraft ferry/repositioning flights, maintenance flights, photography, drug interdiction, inter-agency training exercises, or other.

 

[BillErvin]

The cadet program is a large part of CAP, so all adult members must be vetted, submit a set of fingerprints (usually obtained through a local police department) and participate in the Cadet Protection Program.

Although I knew some exceptional pilots and leaders in CAP, as Roger mentioned in post 6 above, there are far too many who will argue all day long about the uniform regs, that it's legal to fly in a bright blue, short-sleeved overall known as the Smurf Suit (instead of green Nomex), and that being 100 pounds overweight is also OK (sorry to leave you with such a horrible visual!).

But if I'm lying in a mountain pass - trapped in the wreckage of my airplane - and a 300 pound guy in a Smurf suit finds me, I suppose that I'm OK with that.

Actually, the "Smurf Suit" is no longer a uniform in CAP..... Thank God. But we still have the over weight yahoos. Believe it or not you can make some really good aviation and non-aviation networking contacts in CAP, but as others have said YMMV

 

[BillErvin]

The CAP doesn't go and chase ELT's any longer. They stopped doing that several years ago.

Joe

Sure they do...... even more so now that AFRCC has stopped monitoring 121.5. When someone reports that they hear a signal on guard, not many folks out there that have the capability to find it, other than CAP. Its a bit easier nowadays with the new digital locators.

 

[Houston]

Just to reiterate what several people have already said, a lot depends on the particular unit. They run from very good to very bad. Also, what fits one person's personality may not fit another. I recommend visiting the squadrons that are within your area to decide which one is most suited for your desires.

I have found that there are a great many things wrong with CAP, and that almost all of those things can be traced back to one root problem. They are under the control of the Air Force. But there are a lot of good people in CAP with a desire to contribute to the community and they suffer through the senseless bureaucracy to accomplish the mission anyway.

As far as what the CAP does, the mission of ELT searches is a smaller percentage of the missions than it used to be, but with the satellites no longer monitoring 121.5, the mission is more critical than ever. Today's CAP has some very sophisticated equipment capable of performing a wide range of mission.

The best advice is to locate some squadrons in your area and go visit them.