The weather briefing we had reviewed a half hour earlier promised a 20-knot headwind that would require two fuel stops on the 130-mile trip from our home airport in Kennett, Missouri (KTKX), to Little Rock Air Force Base (KLRF) in Arkansas. The windsock promised that getting the little yellow bird into the air would be a white-knuckle affair. We knew the flight would be anything but smooth.

The J-4 differs from its more recognizable cousin, the J-3, in that it features side-by-side seating instead of the tandem arrangement more commonly found in tailwheel aircraft from the prewar and postwar era. It went through several variations between 1938 and 1942 before the attack on Pearl Harbor brought to an end any future iteration. The J-4’s cockpit is wider than the more common J-3, and the second generation brought about the replacement of the open cowl with exposed exhaust ports with a fully enclosed cowl.

I watched the stick flutter to and fro in sync with the rudder pedals as Wilkins fought to maintain the centerline, all the while pushing in the throttle. The little plane leapt into the air almost immediately as the wind seemingly swirled from every direction along the 5,000-foot runway. Wilkins guided the craft along the invisible roller coaster, working to keep the wings level while maintaining a crab as the Cub climbed the first 500 feet. Once there, he put us in a slight right turn toward our first fuel stop 60 miles ahead, continuously fighting the stick as the gusting left crosswind did its best to push us off course. 

Twenty minutes into the flight, he called, “Your plane,” and I gripped the stick, doing my best to maintain 2,500 feet, where we had found just a slight respite. The sun had already reached its apex, creating invisible waves of air as the flat farmland of southeast Missouri gave way to the forested hills of northeast Arkansas. We were delivering the J-4 to Little Rock, where it would be on static display throughout the weekend at Thunder Over the Rock, an airshow that had been dormant since the COVID-19 pandemic three years prior.

In its early life during World War II, NC32775 had served as an industrial courier with the Civil Air Patrol at Reading Courier Station in Pennsylvania and was owned by Frances Nolde, who would go on to become station commander and one of the first female colonels in CAP. Nolde, the wife of wealthy hosiery manufacturer Hans Nolde, was fascinated with flying and set out to earn her certificate with her husband’s encouragement. She was completely seduced by aviation, and when the U.S. entered WWII, Nolde joined the CAP, ferrying cargo and personnel around the country. Efforts like this freed male pilots for combat missions, and her dedication led to her appointment as commander of Reading Station. After the war, she remained active with the group and was promoted to the rank of colonel, having logged some 4,500 hours of flying for CAP.

It was because of this CAP history that the plane we were now flying had been invited to participate in the airshow where it would share ramp space with more modern glass panel Cessna 172s and 182s operated by the Air Force’s civilian auxiliary. Wilkins, a captain in the Civil Air Patrol, had shared photos and history of NC32775 with Lieutenant Colonel Marchelle Jones, who immediately began making preparations for the J-4’s appearance at the upcoming event.

The discovery of the aircraft’s pedigree almost did not happen. The J-4, also known as a Cub Coupe, had been dropped off in Kennett for annual in 2008 by its then-owner and ended up becoming a permanent resident when Hurricane Ike stretched inland all the way to the Missouri Bootheel, lifting it from the ground and depositing it on top of the FBO’s maintenance hangar. Airport manager Sam Jewell agreed to purchase the damaged plane and set about fully restoring it. Both wing’s spars had been damaged, requiring them to be stripped down to the skeleton for repair. Fabric on the fuselage also had to be replaced. (In more recent years, the original 65 hp engine had been replaced by a Continental 85 hp engine with Stroker conversion that provides 100 hp, and an electrical system had been added to eliminate the need to hand-prop.) 

By the time it was ready for the paint shop, its previous CAP lineage had been discovered, and the CAP livery was affixed to the fabric body, but little else was known about its service in WWII. That is, until Colonel Frank Blazich, former CAP national historian, discovered it was the same aircraft flown by Nolde. In his book, An Honorable Place in American Airpower, Blazich chronicles the legacy of the Civil Air Patrol and how the use of civilian aircraft in the war effort was the first step in the organization becoming a vital component of the country’s air power. 

Arranging for the delivery of civilian aircraft to a military airbase takes considerable time, but that would not stop Jones, who cut through the layers of red tape with the efficiency of someone familiar with the inner mechanisms of bureaucracy. Further complicating matters was the fact that the plane would be delivered by civilian pilots. Wilkins’ service with CAP proved valuable in that he would not have to provide anything other than his credentials. His copilot (me) had to be properly cleared before the Air Force granted permission for a nonmilitary pilot to land at a military installation.

Nearly an hour and a half after takeoff, having traveled only 60 nm, I turned the controls back over to Wilkins as we plodded through the prelanding checklist for our first fuel stop in Newport, Arkansas (M19). The plane has no internal radio, so cockpit and external communications were running through a portable intercom plugged into a portable radio. The single push-to-talk button had been mounted onto my control stick so that I could handle communications while Wilkins focused on landing the tailwheel plane in the expected gusty crosswinds.

Hearing no other traffic in the area, Wilkins opted for a relatively straight-in approach to Runway 22, once again dancing on the rudder pedals and wrestling the ailerons as the gusty winds threatened to shove us off the pavement. Knowing that even a favorable forecast could change quickly, Wilkins had spent several weeks preparing for the worst, practicing takeoffs and landings at our home airport on days when most pilots in more modern aircraft chose to stay on the ground. The landing was uneventful, and we were soon taking on fuel for the second leg of the journey.

I announced our departure intentions, receiving well wishes from the airport attendant who had come out to admire the plane, and Wilkins once again pointed us down the runway and into the blue sky. Such would be our routine for the next three hours. Wilkins would handle takeoff and landing duties, and I would, thankfully, only handle cruise. 

The remainder of our flight would follow U.S. Highway 67, a four-lane divided route boasting a 75 mph speed limit. We joked as we watched the traffic below zoom past us, wondering whether we might actually be moving backward. With an average cruise speed of 70 mph while sipping 5 gph, the Cub was barely making 50 across the ground as it struggled against the headwind. Due to our limited speed and the fact that we had an assigned 15-minute window in which to land at the Air Force base, we made plans to make one final fuel stop at Searcy, Arkansas (KSRC), which was only 30 miles from the airbase.

Once again, Wilkins mastered the landing, ballooning once before settling down on Runway 19 and taxiing to the fuel pumps. We took a much-needed 20-minute rest and then briefed the final leg. Our plan was to fly to the eastern edge of the restricted airspace surrounding the airshow center and hold until contacted by the tower. Knowing a B-52 was scheduled to land behind us, we were abundantly aware of the need to precisely time our arrival.

As the sun began its descent, we began the final leg of what would end up being a four-hour trek. The afternoon turbulence had subsided a bit, making it easier to maintain a holding pattern over the town of Cabot, located 6 miles from the approach end of Runway 25. We notified the tower of our location, mainly for the benefit of the two F-35s practicing maneuvers nearby, conscious of the fact that we would never be able to avoid them—and that they would never see us—if they did come our way. Without a transponder, we were hiding in plain sight, all other aircraft oblivious to our presence, a sobering fact that became all too apparent when we noticed the KC-135 passing 3 miles in front of us as we circled counterclockwise around the town.

Just before our appointed entry time, a privately owned performance jet somehow missed the approach to the 12,000-foot-long runway and then declared a low-fuel emergency. We were asked to hold our position a few more minutes before finally being cleared to begin our approach after the jet made a successful landing on the second attempt. Not knowing the B-52 had arrived ahead of schedule, the four minutes that passed during the 5-mile final seemed like an hour, and when the mains touched down just inside the threshold, we both let out a sigh of relief. It was only after exiting the runway that we noticed the B-52 ahead of us awaiting its own taxi instructions.

Finally, after being marshaled to parking and completing the shutdown checklist, we exited the aircraft for the last time that day with big smiles and a high-five, euphorically congratulating each other on completing the exhausting mission.

Throughout the weekend, the little canary-yellow airplane with a wooden propeller proudly posed for photos with old and young admirers alike, her much younger and far more advanced siblings in the background. Little girls, especially, were enamored with the aircraft after hearing Jones tell stories and show photos of the woman pilot who flew it in WWII. 

The monstrous cargo planes and nimble fighter jets soaring overhead could no doubt travel faster, but only the little Cub could offer a journey back in time.  

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Plane & Pilot.

The post When Flying a ‘Little Yellow Bird’ Became a White-Knuckle Affair appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Bolinger, a pilot, aircraft owner, and aviation enthusiast at heart, brings more than 30 years of experience in developing a voice for leading aviation brands, including Cirrus Aircraft, Gulfstream Aerospace, Civil Air Patrol, and other aviation/aerospace brands through CAP. 

During his time at Gulfstream, one of Bolinger’s many responsibilities included  leading content development for Nonstop magazine, its premium global aviation lifestyle publication. In his most recent role with CAP, he executed a complete rebranding of the 80-year-old organization, helped grow the pilot population through a recruitment strategy, and led the redesign and content strategy of its in-house publication, Volunteer magazine.

“Randy’s relationship with FLYING is a long and prosperous one,” said Lisa deFrees, Firecrown’s aviation group lead “We have worked with him in all his previous roles and partnered with him on past events. We are excited to bring this full circle and put his creative genius and competitive drive directly to work for FLYING’s content strategy.  His diverse background makes him uniquely qualified to lead FLYING into the future and will undoubtedly contribute to the success of our family of aviation media titles.” 

“I’ve been fortunate to turn a lifelong fascination for flight into a dynamic career, and FLYING has been a significant part of that journey every step of the way,” said Bolinger. “Working for powerful world-class brands fuels my passion, and in the realm of aviation journalism, there is no more powerful, prestigious, or familiar brand than FLYING, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.” 

The post ‘FLYING’ Announces Hiring of New Editorial Director appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Jackets on Display

Aviation museums have become repositories for flight jackets, including one of the most storied, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. According to Alex Spencer, curator of European, British, and Commonwealth military aviation, military flight clothing, and memorabilia, the museum boasts 25 flight jackets in its collection, most from World War II and a few from later conflicts and wars.

Three of Spencer’s favorites are the A-2s worn by Claire Chennault, Thomas Weems, and Kenneth Williams. Chennault was a U.S. major general who commanded the U.S. Army Air Forces in China during World War II and created the American Volunteer Group (AVG), best known as the “Flying Tigers.” Weems served as a navigator aboard Martin B-26 Marauder Winsockie in the 69th Bombardment Squadron at the Battle of Midway in 1942. Winsockie was one of five B-26s sent to attack the Japanese carrier fleet. Only two of the aircraft returned. Williams was a member of the crew of the B-17 Murder Inc.

“The B-17 was named after a mafia group in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s,” says Spencer. “The guys on the airplane thought it was a good idea. When the airplane was shot down by the Germans, the propaganda arm took the name of the aircraft to show they had ‘absolute proof’ [that] the Americans were terror fliers out to murder civilians. It became an international incident and, when it got back to General Hap Arnold, he ordered a review of all airplane names. Anything to do with murder or killing or such were ordered to be erased and renamed.”

Williams was captured and sent to a POW camp.

“He scratched the name of the airplane off the jacket. After the war he had the jacket repainted,” says Spencer, adding that it is not uncommon for the families of the veterans to visit the museum to see a flight jacket that belonged to a relative.

The WASP Jacket

The latest jacket to be placed in the care of the Smithsonian Institute is an A-2 that belonged to Janice Christensen, a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) class of 43-W-5.

According to Dorothy Cochrane, curator for general aviation and aerial photography at the museum, Christensen flew many aircraft, including the B-24, until the WASP program was disbanded in December 1944. After her WASP service, Christensen worked at the U.S.

Airway Traffic Control Center in Chicago and at various weather stations in Ohio, then transitioned to a career in medicine. She continued to fly as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, and in 1949 she joined the Air Force Reserve with the rank of first lieutenant. She received an honorable discharge with the rank of captain on November 7, 1963.

Christensen died in 1965, so she did not live to see the WASP granted veteran status. Her jacket, donated to the museum by her sister, Dagmar Joyce Noll, is scheduled to undergo preservation and restoration before being displayed.

Museum of Flight Jackets

One of the challenges of exhibiting flight jackets is deciding how much history to share, says Matthew Burchette, senior curator at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The MOF has several jackets on display in the Personal Courage wing that include details of what company made the jacket.

“Not many people realize that there were several manufacturers of A-2s during World War II, ” Burchette says.

Burchette’s favorite jacket on display comes from Richard Jacobson, who was the copilot of the B-17 5 Grand.

“The aircraft was the 5,000th B-17 built since the attack on Pearl Harbor, and nearly every Boeing employee signed it as it rolled off the line,” Burchette says. “Covered in signatures, it flew 78 missions over Germany. I love how the Boeing workers took such great pride in their work that they were willing to sign an object that might not come home. 5 Grand did come home but was scrapped after the war.”

Burchette believes it is important that people realize flight jackets are more than just clothing or protective gear for pilots and crewmembers.

“They are an extension of the planes they flew and took pride in,” he says. “The flight jacket is an item of uniquely American clothing, and the artwork painted on many is even more so. Looking at the jackets on display, it is clear that the owner was proud to wear them. Some show signs of much wear after the war, while others are nearly pristine, showing they were treated with respect and reverence.”

Post-WWII Jacket

Leather flight jackets were still worn up through the Vietnam War. Many military pilots kept their jackets when they separated from the service. Rusty Sachs, a flight instructor for airplanes and rotorcraft, and executive director of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) from 2004 to 2007, is one of those. Sachs still has the leather jacket issued to him when he was a cadet in the U.S. Marine Corps. He enlisted in 1964 and became a helicopter pilot. According to Sachs, the jacket was handed to him in Pensacola, Florida, in February 1965 upon completion of preflight training.

Sachs, who served in Vietnam, tells the story of an enemy attack that had the soldiers running for cover in the bunker. Sachs left his jacket in the tent. A few weeks after the attack, he noted his jacket “had a few small holes in it made by shrapnel.” He had the jacket relined in 1969 when he entered the Marine Reserve, making the holes more difficult to find. After Sachs separated from the Marines in 1970, the jacket went into the closet but was recently sent out for restoration.

Family Heirlooms, Legacy

John Niehaus, a 5,500-hour airline transport pilot and the director of development for NAFI, wears a jacket that belonged to a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam who was a good friend of his uncle.

Niehaus decided on a career in aviation while in high school and received the jacket as a graduation gift.

“The note inside read, ‘I know I haven’t been the uncle you always wanted or needed, but this jacket was earned by my best friend who was a pilot in the military. It served him well, and he left it to me after he passed away. He would have wanted me to pass it on to you. I hope it serves you just as well. Good luck living your dream.’”

Unfortunately, the uncle died before he had the opportunity to share more about his friend. The name “Barthel” is stenciled inside the jacket.

Niehaus says he is very careful about where and how he wears the jacket because he doesn’t want people to assume he served in the military. “I never wanted to misrepresent myself to be something that I am not,” says Niehaus. “When I wear it, people ask questions to which I reply that it is continuing a family legacy of honoring a family friend. The person was special to my uncle as a friend, and…knowing that my uncle parted with something of such high sentimental value as a show of support to me was so incredibly special.”

Someday, the jacket will likely be handed down to Niehaus’ son, who, at age 4, already loves aviation and wears a jacket that looks very much like his father’s.

Receive and Bestow

I have been on both sides of the heirloom equation. In my collection, I have jackets given to me by gentlemen who will never be a size 40 again but who want theirs to be appreciated and occasionally worn on “military days of remembrance and obligation.” A recent acquisition is a pre-WWII A-2 that belonged to Captain Jack L. Martin, U.S. Army Air Forces pilot and father-in-law of Anne Palmer Martin, a college friend and my chosen family. Captain Martin went West in 1970 decades before his son Robert married Anne Palmer.

We’re still trying to determine what Captain Martin did in the war. We’ve been able to figure out that the patch on the jacket is the early version of the 760th Bombardment Squadron, but we don’t know if Martin went overseas. We do know after the war he flew for Flying Tiger airlines.

Recently, I gifted my first flight jacket, a 1980s era distressed leather A-2, to my niece Sophie Keene. My aviation and journalism careers began concurrently. My first “big paycheck” was used for flying lessons and the purchase of the jacket from the Smithsonian catalog. Top Gun had been released, and leather jackets were in style, worn by reporters in the Persian Gulf War. I was known in that small market as “the reporter who flies.” A few years later when I decided to make aviation a career, I upgraded to a new A-2, putting the distressed one into the closet. The day Sophie was born, I packed away the jacket for safekeeping. The jacket was gifted to her for her 18th birthday.

Since we are an aviation family, Sophie grew up hearing stories about my flying adventures and about grandma Kay (my Mom), who took flying lessons during WWII and loved the P-38 Lighting. I am hopeful Sophie values the jacket as more than a fashion statement.

Tribute Jackets

Most vintage jackets are too valuable and fragile to wear every day, but if you are set on sporting a piece of history, consider a replica often known as a “tribute jacket.” Kevin Wisniewski, a skilled artist from Milwaukee has been painting these jackets since 1987. According to Wisniewski, tribute jackets are often designs commissioned by someone to honor a person or commemorate an event.

For replica jackets, he often works off photographs because the original jacket has long since disappeared. Pinup girls are popular.

“They painted these on their jackets and aircraft as good luck, reminding them of what they were fighting for back home,” says Wisniewski. “We have to remember these were young boys in their late teens and early 20s who, if not for the war, would be courting these women and planning futures. Other paintings of aircraft or cartoon characters depicting giving the enemy what they had coming were also a morale booster.”

He has two favorite reproduced jackets.

“One…I painted a while back with the likeness of my wife, Beth, in a classic period ‘nose art’ pose as was on an original aircraft, Bottom’s Up! The other is a jacket that was given to me by a fellow reenactor and friend, George Bruckert’s estate. He had painted it himself quite well and very authentically. He passed from cancer way too young, and I think of him when I see it.”

Wisniewski uses only hand brushes and brush-texture techniques.

“This is how they were done during the war,” he says. “Airbrushing is a bad word in my dictionary. One modern improvement is that I use acrylic leather dyes that, unlike original acrylics, won’t crack over time or chip off.”

Another Kind of Tribute

The A-2 that I wear today falls under the heading of a “tribute jacket,” but instead of paint, it has patches to honor a person and commemorate an event. The first patch was Fifinella, the mascot of the WASPs, and a gift from Florence Shutsy Reynolds, WASP class of 44-W-5. The next patch is from the “Lost Squadron” P-38 Glacier Girl, gracing the jacket to honor Mom and cover a hole I acquired when I rescued a kitten from a tree. There also are multiple patches for my mentors. For Dean Boyd, the man who made an instructor out of me, I display the 8th Air Force. Boyd enlisted at the age of 17 and made a career of it.

There is also the Tico Tiger from the USS Ticonderoga in honor of aviation journalist and retired naval aviator Captain Thomas F. Norton, who flew off the carrier during Vietnam and taught nuggets to fly. There are patches from Lockheed to honor Dad, as well as ones for every B-17 I have been aboard: Memphis Belle, Texas Raiders, Yankee Lady, and Nine-O-Nine. And there are patches for Red Tails and Hemlock Films, which continues to share the stories of vintage aviation.

Aviation education is marked with a patch from the Society of Aviation Flight Educators, as I am a founding member of the group, and it was from it that I earned the master CFI designation several times over. On one pocket there is a vintage Moffett Field (KNUQ) patch to commemorate attending Zeppelin NT school in California in 2009. We are also an airship family, and putting that patch on was a must. I have found the jacket to be an excellent conversation starter. It encourages people to share their aviation stories with me. And I gladly listen.

Protecting Your Jacket

No matter how old the jacket is, if it means something to you, it’s valuable.

Protect it by nourishing it with professional leather care products. You can get these from shoe repair stores. If it is an heirloom, consider storing the jacket flat in a box or footlocker. It will last you a lifetime or more.

If you intend to sell it, have the jacket appraised by a reputable dealer. Authentic World War II jackets in good condition can fetch $1,500 or more.

If you want to buy one, modern flight jackets are not cheap. Expect to pay close to $300 or more for a basic A-2 and as high as $2,000 for an RAF bomber jacket. Beware of scammers who claim to have new authentic A-2 and shearling-lined RAF jackets for ridiculously low prices (less than $200). They may have the design of the jacket, but the materials are subpar. Instead of leather with a sheepskin lining, it looks more like someone tore up a faux leather couch and skinned a muppet.

Save your money and go for the real deal.

Where to find vintage? Prowl swap meets and even garage and estate sales near military bases.

This feature first appeared in the November 2023/Issue 943 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post All Flight Jackets Tell a Story appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The new additions, which were handed over at Textron Aviation’s location in Independence, Kansas, included four new Cessna Skyhawks, one Cessna Skylane, and one Cessna Turbo Stationair HD. The aircraft join a fleet of 540 Cessnas currently owned and operated by CAP.  The organization also has a contract for an additional 14 172S Skyhawks and one 182T Skylane, which it awarded to Textron in September.

“Civil Air Patrol is thrilled to welcome these new Cessna aircraft to the world’s largest fleet of single-engine piston aircraft,” said CAP national commander and CEO Major General Edward D. Phelka. “CAP is proud to continue to partner with Textron Aviation as we utilize their outstanding products in executing complex and varied missions for America.”

• READ MORE: Civil Air Patrol Responds to Wildfires on Maui

Founded on December 1, 1941, as the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, CAP now counts its membership at more than 60,000 volunteers organized into 1,414 squadrons across the U.S. According to its annual report, the organization flew more than 95,000 hours and is credited with saving 151 lives last year. CAP’s missions include joint training and other military operations, assisting federal, state, and local agencies, search and rescue, disaster response, and emergency services.

“From search and rescue to disaster relief and homeland security, the missions CAP undertakes daily are as broad as their footprint across the U.S.,” said Bob Gibbs, Textron Aviation’s vice president for special missions sales. “We are honored that Cessna aircraft continue to be the organization’s platform of choice for these crucial operations.”

The post Civil Air Patrol Expands Fleet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The fire broke out on Tuesday, August 8, and is being pushed by strong winds generated by an approaching Category 4 Hurricane Dora. The cause of the fire has not been determined. However, state officials and the national weather service note that Hawaii has been under a red flag warning because of dry conditions and high winds, which heighten fire danger.

On Tuesday, the winds were so high aerial support was not an option. When the winds died down, the Hawaii wing of the CAP conducted two aerial surveys of the devastation to look for changes in fire behavior that may threaten other communities.

Aerial photography captured by the missions shows streets reduced to ashes. The fire appears to have destroyed much of the town of Lahaina, a popular tourist destination. State media reported the fire moved so quickly that people ran down to the harbor to escape the flames. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued them.

According to the CAP, the photos “are being used to document and provide detailed information for damage assessment and search and rescue operations at various locations on the island.”

According to the Seattle Times, Maui County officials say more than 270 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and dozens of people have been injured. The Maui fire is the deadliest in the U.S. since the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise in California in 2018 and killed 85 people.

About the CAP

The Civil Air Patrol was established in 1941 as an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. The CAP operates a fleet of 555 single-engine aircraft and 2,250 small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). The CAP is a non-profit organization that performs 90 percent of search and rescue operations in the contiguous U.S. The organization is also a leader in aerospace education, offering STEM-based courses (science, technology, engineering, and math) to cadets under 18.

This is a developing story that FLYING continues to follow.

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CAP flew two flights Monday—one at daybreak and a second in the late afternoon, according to CAP Hawaii Wing Commander Colonel Stacy Haruguchi. 

The first flight, piloted by 1st Lt. John Bassett, took off at 6:45 a.m. from Hilo International Airport (PHTO) accompanied by a volcanologist and CAP photographer 1st Lt. Susan Bassett. The aircraft overflew the Mauna Loa summit and the North East Rift Zone.

A second flight—also piloted by Lt. John Bassett—launched at 4:42 p.m. Also onboard were 2nd Lt. Jason Dzurizin, aerial photographer, and 1st Lt. Jason Ozbolt, mission observer. The purpose of the flight was to gather photos and video as the aircraft circled around the Northeast and Southwest Rift Zones.

• READ MORE: Hawaii’s Volcano Eruption ‘An Exciting Thing’ for Pilots

The images collected are assisting the USGS in monitoring the lava flows with regard to possible danger to downslope communities. There is concern that if the lava flow continues it may block Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road, which is a main east-west road that goes across Hawaii Island.

“No flights were requested for Tuesday and Wednesday, in part due to how close the lava flow is to the highway, which allows scientists and other observers to closely monitor,” Haruguchi told FLYING. “We are monitoring the request channels as well as daily coordination meetings between Hawaii County, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and USGS, for additional tasking and are currently on standby should the need arise.” 

According to Haruguchi, flying in the vicinity of an active volcano is more challenging than regular mountain flying as the aircraft must stay well clear of the ash and smoke plume as well as possible flying lava. The hazards are not always clearly visible, even with weather overlays on ForeFlight, ADS-B or via normal FAA webpages, he said.

“Another hazard is the presence of sUAS [small unmanned aerial system] being flown in the area that will not show on ADS-B,” he continued. “Although sUAS are not supposed to be flown in national parks without authorization, are not supposed to be flying above 400 feet agl without authorization, and are supposed to land/stay out of the way of manned aircraft, this is not always the case. Even if the sUAS stay outside the TFR, they are still a potential fence line like obstacle for helicopters transporting emergency personnel into and out of the TFR.”

The post Civil Air Patrol Assists In Monitoring Hawaiian Volcano Lava Flow appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Recently, I’ve seen a question surface which I’m perhaps uniquely qualified to answer: Is there an advantage to starting flight training before graduating high school? How young is too young? Is there an ideal age?

Technically there is no minimum age to start flight training, a fact I discovered as an aviation- stricken 13-year old who had just taken the stick for the first time on an EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Young Eagles ride. I called the local FSDO (Flight Standards District Office) and managed to get a hapless inspector on the phone; he confirmed that one must be 16 years old to solo and 17 to earn one’s private pilot certificate in an airplane (14 and 16, respectively, in a glider), but there is no minimum age to begin dual instruction with a flight instructor. 

“Can you reach the rudder pedals in a Cessna 150?” he asked. I didn’t know. A week later, an introductory flight confirmed that I could, with the aid of a pillow. I started taking lessons, scrimping and saving $56 (!) for an hour of dual at the end of each month. I soloed on my 16th birthday and passed my private pilot check ride on my 17th. Today, at the age of 41, I’ve been flying more than two-thirds of my life and have some 15,000 hours of flight time—nearly two full years spent airborne.

In retrospect, I’m a little ambivalent about the path I took. It worked for me because I was utterly obsessed with flight at 13 years old and too impatient to wait a few years—actively flying kept me focused through my teen years. Considering the fact that I was a broke kid paying out of pocket, starting early helped spread the cost over four years. Had I waited, it’s quite possible my interest and my scant earnings would have wandered. And yet I’m keenly aware that the way I did it was less than efficient, and isn’t necessarily the best path for every interested youth.

Law of Recency

Any flight instructor will tell you that a month between lessons is way too long (“law of recency”).

You forget a great deal over a month, particularly when the skill is so fresh, meaning that each subsequent lesson wastes time reteaching things. In my opinion, the most efficient pace for learning to fly is one to two lessons a week. Starting early means that even if you retain the information well, you are likely to exceed the required hours by a good bit. In 1997, I soloed at 32.4 hours (having averaged 11 hours a year until then), and the next year, I got my private at 71.6 hours. Those were well above-average numbers back in the pre-TAA (technically advanced airplane) age. If you’re looking for maximum efficiency, I would not start as early as I did—I’d wait until 15 or 16.

That said, I do think that taking flight training before graduating high school is an excellent idea for any youth interested in a flying career (including those planning on a military track). I’ve taught primary students in both traditional and accelerated settings, and I rather strongly feel that the private certificate shouldn’t be rushed, because it introduces so many new skills and fundamental knowledge that will be built upon over the course of one’s career. 

For anyone considering a pilot career, private pilot training should afford one the chance to fall in love with flying and assess whether you’re well suited to it, without the pressure of having already entered a collegiate program or aviation academy. I’ve come across too many recent stories of primary students getting utterly burned out before they’ve even experienced the magic of their first solo cross-country flight.

Now, it’s true that some programs won’t give you full credit for a private certificate earned outside of a Part 141 or collegiate setting. In my case, a local community college gave me full credit for my private while I was in high school, which allowed me to transfer into the University of North Dakota’s flight program without taking their private pilot test course. If this is not an option for you—and you have your heart set on a program that is not transfer-friendly—consider training at your local FBO just through your first solo, perhaps during your senior year of high school. It will give you a good taste of what flying is about, and will likely allow you to go through your subsequent school’s private pilot course in the minimum allotted hours (a rarity these days). If you are aiming for a military flight slot, prior flight experience will give you a leg up over other applicants in the ultra-competitive selection process and rigorous initial training.

Sustaining Motivation

Looking back at my early flight training, I realize that those first few years of monthly lessons served more to keep me interested and motivated than anything, and there are cheaper ways to do that. One of the best is the Civil Air Patrol’s cadet program, so long as you don’t mind its quasi-military flavor (which varies considerably by wing and squadron, according to the tastes of the local commanders). Another is the Experimental Aircraft Association; most chapters involve youth in building and restoration projects, which is an excellent way to gain aviation knowledge while meeting local pilots and getting invited to fly in their airplanes. Many chapters also offer scholarships for youth flight training. For those who live near a soaring club, gliders offer a fantastic introduction to the fundamentals of flight in a communal setting. And lastly, flying with friends and family who are not instructors can be a cost-effective option in one’s early teens and prior, even if you can’t log the hours. Any prior experience will make subsequent flight training more effective, giving you more bang for your buck.

All this said, if you or your child is an aviation-obsessed early teen or preteen who just can’t wait to start lessons, and you can make it work financially, there is nothing in primary training that a reasonably intelligent kid can’t readily grasp. Learning to fly delivers a great deal of enjoyment and confidence at an age when “grown-up” activity options are generally limited. I’m grateful that my parents gave me the freedom to fly as early as they did; as a result, I have a lifetime of flying to look back on, with many fond memories throughout.

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CAP, which has 58,000 volunteers, operates the world’s largest fleet of single-engine aircraft for the purpose of search and rescue and disaster response, as well as for aerospace education and youth aviation initiatives, according to the organization.

The partnership agreement to provide weather capabilities on new and existing aircraft expands the use of SiriusXM beyond the more than 200 CAP aircraft currently equipped with the service, to 36 new aircraft, according to a CAP spokesperson.

SiriusXM aviation weather provides CAP pilots with high-resolution composite radar that updates every 2.5 minutes, as well as providing updates for lightning strike locations every 2.5 minutes, including cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground. The service also provides METARs, TAFs, and TFRs.

“The 36 new aircraft we purchased from Textron already have the Garmin GDL 69 installed, and we currently have 221 aircraft in the fleet equipped already,” CAP spokesperson Randy Bolinger told FLYING in an email. “This partnership with SiriusXM gives us the capability to essentially equip more aircraft for less money.” 

The partnership extends to 36 aircraft purchased by CAP in fiscal year 2022 that will be delivered throughout 2023 and 2024:

• 21 Cessna 172S Skyhawks
• 9 Cessna 182T Skylanes
• 4 Cessna T182T Turbo Skylanes
• 2 Cessna T206 Turbo Stationairs

Onboard weather capabilities offered by the satellite service enhance pilot safety, CAP officials say.

“SiriusXM’s satellite-provided weather service is an ideal tool for Civil Air Patrol missions,” Michael Nunemaker, chief of safety for CAP, said in a statement. “SiriusXM Aviation is especially valuable as a part of our strategic weather information toolset where ground-based services may not be able to provide the weather information our pilots need to make decisions.”

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Barb Clevenger of Mesa, Arizona, donated the milestone blood at an emergency blood center at the patrol’s Falcon Composite Squadron 305.

“My mom gave blood, and that was something that was very important to her,” Clevenger said. “I just started giving, and I’m so excited to be doing this in honor of my mother.” 

Since World War II, the CAP has been part of the nation’s emergency infrastructure, conducting search and rescue missions and organizing blood drives and transporting blood during times of medical emergency. The CAP was created in 1941 as an auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force. Transporting blood by land and air is part of the CAP mission, with more than 500 trips to remote hospital locations by CAP aircrews and drivers. 

American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern called CAP “an incredible partner in responding, not only to the urgent need for critical blood products, but also the need for facilities to host blood drives.”

Today Barb Clevenger of Mesa, Arizona, donated the 10,000th unit of blood collected during Civil Air Patrol’s Operation Pulse Lift mission. Operation Pulse Lift Collects 10,000th Blood Unit During Pandemic https://t.co/tCWcGSyHlr

— Civil Air Patrol (@CivilAirPatrol) February 10, 2022

About the Mission

According to Lieutenant Colonel Bob Ditch, CAP incident commander for Operation Pulse Lift, the mission was launched in Arizona before the start of the pandemic and kept going because the need for blood donations hasn’t stopped.

“Since the evening of March 17, 2020, when the surgeon general noted the critical need for blood donations during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, and the closure of nearly 7,000 blood donation centers, Civil Air Patrol has been engaged in the coordination, planning, and execution of the longest series of blood donation center operations in the nation by a single organization,” he said.

Since April 2020, CAP has sponsored 146 emergency blood donation centers to support the COVID-19 humanitarian assistance mission.The donation centers are located in:

• Alabama
• Colorado
• Kentucky
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Virginia 

Blood collected at these locations has been used to support hospitals in California and Oregon during wildfire season, Texas and Louisiana for hurricanes, and the Southwest for a major winter storm. The mission’s emergency blood donation effort collected 222 units of blood in response to the December 2021 tornados in Kentucky, Tennessee, and surrounding areas.

In addition, the mission has also supported blood collection activities at six U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force installations through the Armed Services Blood Program. This included blood going to hospitals in Washington, D.C., and Germany that treated casualties from the August 2021 Kabul Airport suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

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When the Great Lakes Region Civil Air Patrol received a request from the Defense Coordinating Element at FEMA’s Region V office in December 2020 to transport the COVID-19 vaccine by air to several locations in Wisconsin and Michigan, the unit was poised for action. The request? To deliver the first and second rounds of the vaccine on behalf of the Indian Health Service—a Department of Health and Human Services agency responsible for health care, covering roughly 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, belonging to 574 recognized tribes in 37 states.

While vaccine transport by air on a large scale (think FedEx and UPS) has splashed through the news, that kind of aerial cargo service paints with a broad brush—in order to get the needed vaccine into remote areas, a more precise tool is required. Enter general aviation, and specifically, the CAP.

“Put us in the game,” said CAP Maj. Rod Rakic, one of the pilots detailed for the mission. “We want to be utilized. We want to be the force multiplier.” After all, that’s why the CAP was created back in the 1940s, to supplement and aid the US Air Force in a wide variety of critical tasks best suited for light, civilian-style aircraft.

The Coast Guard for Air Station Traverse City in Michigan transported the first round of the vaccine, and the CAP was selected to transport the second round—100 pounds of cargo and two passengers from the IHS office in Bemidji to several locations in Wisconsin and Michigan. The CAP crew used a Gippsland GA8 Airvan to execute the flights.

But the task was far from straightforward—especially when you factor in the vagaries of winter weather in the North Central US. Air transport was chosen because of its relative speed—once the vaccine was loaded into the freezer containers required for its safe conduct, the pilots had a 12-hour window in which to get the vaccine to the clinic at the other end of the flight. For at least one segment, the commensurate travel time by truck would have been 30 hours. The crew had to incorporate one other requirement into their flight planning and decision making: If an intermediate stop or diversion was required because of weather or mechanical issues, the clock would still tick on that window. If the time elapsed, a 24-hour pause would be required to recondition the coolers. According to Rakic, “Once we made the decision to go, it was important for us to continue if we could.”

Rakic was joined by Lt. Col. Robert Bowden to crew the mission, which launched on January 4, taking them from Indianapolis Executive Airport (KTYQ) to Bemidji, Minnesota (KBJI), with a stop in Mankato, Minnesota—a 600-mile flight planned for eight hours total. However, once northwest of Dubuque, Iowa, the Airvan encountered a wall of clouds—and with freezing temperatures and no known-icing capability on the airplane, the crew had to make a serious dogleg in order to continue to Bemidji.

Weather deteriorated overnight at Bemidji, triggering a one-day delay, before the crew soldiered on during the morning of January 6. With poor weather lingering over Wisconsin, that portion of the mission had to be set aside for the moment, and the crew continued on to Saul Ste. Marie, Michigan (KANJ), a four-hour flight. The corresponding commercial flights—if the vaccines had been shipped as air cargo—would have taken nine hours because of the required connections.

“The vaccine cold-chain is a big logistics challenge,” said Rakic. “While there are about 300 airports in the US with scheduled airline service, light fixed-wing aircraft, such as the aircraft Civil Air Patrol uses, offer responders access to more than 5,000 public-use airports. Delivering vaccine closer to where it’s needed gives planners more flexibility.”

The next legs, to Traverse City (KTVC) and Ann Arbor (KARB), Michigan, took one hour and 90 minutes, respectively. Ann Arbor was the final stop on the mission—which delivered roughly 600 doses to hundreds of people across the upper Midwest in a short period of time.

Capt. Melissa Wentz Opsahl, from the IHS, said, “Civil Air Patrol was ideal for the intent of this mission which was to safely and successfully redistribute COVID-19 vaccine from Minnesota to a total of eight tribal and urban Indian organizations within the State of Michigan in as short of a timeframe as possible.”

Rakic summed it up as a pilot: “I feel honored to be able to do what we did. I’ve lost family to COVID-19; I’ve had friends with it, too. This is the fight of our generation.” He credited the collective effort by several agencies that came together to execute the mission, and he emphasized the role that the CAP—and general aviation as a whole—plays in making that fight successful. With the wide range of cadet programs and pilot development opportunities available, CAP has a lot to offer those who want to serve.

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