Volume 2, Number 9

Squadron Commander Maj. Jim Gosnell Cadet Commander Capt. Cindy Bennett
Inside this issue: Commanders Calendar Safety Corner 1 2 3

September 2011

COMMANDERS CORNER . . .
From the Commander: Keep up the good work: I recently had the opportunity to attend the Southeast Region Staff College. One of the items on the agenda was a question and answer session with the Southeast Region Commander. This was a very informative session where we were able to get a great deal of insight into the vision and plans for the entire region. There were several things that were discussed. There are going to be some changes in the next several months that will affect the Region. Many of these changes are positive for Alabama Wing. This is due to the proactive approach that we have. Hard work and dedication to duty is noticed, and rewarded. While I will not go into detail about the changes that were discussed, they will be revealed in due time. The main thing to remember is to keep up the good work. Now is not the time to rest. We have to continue all of the training and work that we are doing. The saying Use it or loose it is very true in this area. If we dont fly, they will send aircraft to someone that will fly. If we dont use the vans, they will send them to someone who will. If we dont use the communications equipment, they will send it to someone who will. You get the idea. We have a lot of nice equipment because of all of the hard work that shows we need it. I want to thank everyone for all of your hard work. You are the reason that we have the equipment that we have. Jim Gosnell Commander AL-118

Standards and Eval 4

PAO and Character Development 5 Corner Awards & Promotions Lightspeed 6

Cadets Corner Did You Know?

8 9

WESS Information 1012 Iron Man Public Lands Day 13 13

2nd Lt. Elizabeth Shurbutt, PAO and Newsletter Editor LTooney@cableone.net

To serve America by developing our Nations youth; accomplishing local, state and national emergency and humanitarian missions; and educating our citizens on the impact of aviation and space.
- CAP Mission Statement

Calendar . . .

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September 2011
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Cadet Meeting P.T. 18:00 Lakeside Park 4 5 LABOR DAY (Federal Holiday) 6 7 8 Cadet Meeting 18:00

10

Happy Birthday Beth Taylor

Happy Birthday Donald Brown

16 17

11

12

13 Happy Birthday Andrew Dunscombe

14

15 Cadet Meeting 18:00

18

19

20

21

22 Happy Birthday Carrie Gamblin Cadet Mt. 18:00

23

23

Happy Birthday James House

25

Happy Birthday Alena Scott

26

27

28

Happy Birthday Cindy Bennett

29 30 Cadet Meeting Happy 18:00 Birthday Fun Night

October 1

Allaina Howard

Cadet Schedule and Uniform for September 2011:

September 1 P.T., Team Building (UniformP.T.) September 8 Inspection, Leadership, Lab, Drill (UniformBDUs) September 15 Emergency Services, Character Development, Mentoring (UniformDress Blues) September 22 Current Events, Aerospace, AEX (UniformBDUs) September 29Fun Night (Uniformcivilian)

Safety Corner . . .

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From Our Safety Officer . . .

SAFETY

A few days ago, Rich Burke and I were assigned a mission to assist law enforcement officials in the general vicinity of Montgomery, AL. When I do these types of flights, I always file an IFR flight plan to allow for any kind of suspect weather. You may wonder why law enforcement would even consider working in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) but, believe me; our law enforcement will do so in many instances. This day, the weather was clearly VFR and I elected to cancel my IFR flight plan and do Flight Following instead. Rich was dedicated to the mission radio frequencies so I was talking and listening to ATC and monitoring one of Richs frequencies just in case something came up that he might miss. I heard an aircraft send a transmission to Montgomery approach that did not include Mayday, Mayday but the pilot of the aircraft was relaying that he had lost power and was making an emergency landing. When ATC asked him if he had a site picked out he replied yeah, it looks a cattle pasture, if I can just clear the power line. I immediately called ATC to offer our assistance but ATC just wanted me to standby (dont call me, Ill call you). ATC called a Navy aircraft and told him to try to find the downed company plane which led me to believe the downed aircraft was also a Navy plane. Shortly thereafter, the Navy pilot called ATC to say that he had found the downed plane and both crewmembers were unharmed. The pilot gave ATC the GPS position and relayed a phone number for the grounded aircrew to call to get assistance out of the field. Only then did ATC return my call, thanked us for offering our assistance but declined since the situation was under control. This experience brought two things to my mind: First, always be aware of such an opportunity to help when you are in the air. Several times similar events have happened when other squadron members were in the air and they were able to immediately respond. Secondly, this power failure appears to have occurred shortly after the aircraft had departed Montgomerys Dannelly Field. How well would you have performed under a similar loss of power? Do you routinely survey the areas around airports as you are landing to discover a possible off-airport landing site? Have you practiced a power off landing lately as you are coming into an airport? Do you know the best glide speed of the aircraft you fly? Are flaps advisable in off-airport landings and if so, when do you deploy them? All good questions and the right answers may make the critical difference if you find yourself in the situation that the Navy pilot did that day. Stay Safe! Ron Harlan, Unit 118 Safety Officer

Reminder: Read the newsletter and receive a Safety Briefing Credit. Please email Ron Harlan at - reh1685@aol.com

STANDARDS AND EVAL . . .

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FREE
What is a word that can catch the attention of almost all of us? Free. I think for some it is a favorite word. But like the old saying goes that nothing is totally free. However, the Alabama Wing Standards and Evaluation DOV is in the process of making all form 5 and form 91 check rides free. Now, heres the catch you must be a mission pilot. This is another great reason to complete all qualifications to become a mission pilot. Once you have accomplished this goal, all future check rides will be funded (free). Check out my qualifications in e-services and see what you need to complete the mission pilot qualifications. Remember that fall (cooler weather) is just around the corner so make plans to do more flying soon. If you are a mission pilot each time you fly it should be on a B mission. Review the profiles for B missions and begin to work on completing them. If it is time for your check ride be sure to conduct the check ride as a B17 and not a C17. This provides much more insurance for you and your family. One very important note is that effective immediately all funded A mission flights will be refueled from the fuel truck at the PLR airport when refueling at Pell City. This means that we no longer will turn in receipts from the self serve pump for reimbursement on A missions. Fly Safe, Maj Chris Iddins ALWG Assist DOV / AL-118 Stand/Eval officer

Looking for Writers!!!

The Flight Log needs writers who would be willing to submit articles that pertain to the mission of CAP. Cadets, wed love to hear about your trips to WESS, Encampment, NESA, special training, volunteering ventures, etc. . . This applies to all senior members as well. Photos always add a lot to the articles. Please consider writing an article for the next newsletter.

PAOs CORNER . . .

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Character Development
In addition to being the PAO for our squadron, Ive recently acquired the job of Character Development officer. It has posed a very difficult dilemma for me because the field is so big and the topics so numerous. In July, we discussed the importance of setting goals. After a goal has been chosen, one must keep in front of them at all times. Recruit positive-thinking people to help you work toward your goal. Make reasonable, smaller goals that can be achieved in realistic time frames. Dont wait for someone else to make choices for you. When you experience failure, own it, learn from it, and move forward. Dont give up! Setting goals is not a youth exclusive activity. Us old-timers need to realize that we too can better ourselves and strive to reach for the stars. One should never stop trying to learn and expand horizons. What are your goals? What are you doing to see them become reality? I challenge you to be a goal setter and achiever!!! Who knows what you can do and where you can go!
2nd Lt. Elizabeth Shurbutt, PAO

WHERE TO FIND US ON THE TERNET:

Civil Air Patrol
www.gocivilairpatrol.com/

IN-

CADET PROGRAM EMAIL GROUP:

A Yahoo Email group has been set up to make communication between members easier. Invitations were sent to all the cadet members. If you are not receiving updates and reminders from the Yahoo Group, you most likely are not a member of it yet. Please contact Beth Shurbutt at: LTooney@cableone.net and request that she add you to the group. You can also go to the Yahoo Group site and join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ PellCityCAP/

Cadet Services
http://www.capmembers.com/

Alabama Wing of Civil Air Patrol

http://www.alwg.cap.gov/

Pell City Civil Air Patrol

http://www.pellcitycap.org/

Wing Emergency Services School (WESS)

http://wess.alwg.us/

Photo Files on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethshurbutt/ collections/72157615727997818/

On Facebook: Civil Air Patrol, AL WingCivil Air

Patrol, Pell City Composite Squadron, SER-AL-118, Civil Air Patrol

Awards and Promotions . . .

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SENIOR AWARDS
Congratulations to Major Christopher Iddins and Major James Gosnell for their work in achieving the Charles E. Chuck' Yeager Aerospace Education Achievement Award And Cpt. (P) Eddie D. Shurbutt In his work achieving the Benjamin O. Davis Award.

CADET PROMOTIONS C/A1C David Thompson Daniel Smith, Billy Mitchell Award WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
New Cadet Members:
Logan Carter Zachary Swafford Gabriel Sweatt

New Senior Member:

Donald Brown

Lightspeed Aviation Foundation . . .

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Civil Air Patrol is one of 20 nonprofit aviation organizations nominated for the 2011 Lightspeed Aviation Foundation gift and grant program. The 20 organizations, selected from hundreds of nominees, will benefit from grants to be awarded this year. The foundation is in its second year of partnering with the pilot community to identify worthy causes, giving pilots a voice in which organization they believe should get a grant. People are invited to vote online at the foundation's website. The top five charities, as chosen by the aviation community, will each receive a check for no less than $10,000. Gift recipients will be announced via webcast on AOPA Live at the Pilots Choice Awards at the AOPA Summit in September. Lightspeed Aviation customers will also be able to participate by registering their Lightspeed headset and designating a portion of their purchase to one of the nominated charities. Designated gifts will be distributed to the finalists no later than January 2012. Civil Air Patrols candidacy in the 2011 Lightspeed Aviation Foundation gift and grant program has been boosted by a video summarizing the organizations core missions and achievements. The 77-second video contains multiple images of CAP members and missions. The accompanying narration outlines the organizations successful record in carrying out its congressionally mandated missions emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education as well as its role as a major partner in the annual Wreaths across America campaign honoring U.S. veterans every December. You can view the video on Lightspeed Aviation Foundations website: http://www.aopa.org/aopalive/?tch=tia2dqMjrilhmzMGOYet1wn4H1p3EYaz#search=lightspeed Please take a moment to vote now for CAP to receive one of the five grants from Lightspeed.

Cadets Corner . . .

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CADET OATH
"I pledge to serve faithfully in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program and that I will attend meetings regularly, participate actively in unit activities, obey my officers, wear my uniform properly and advance my education and training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community, state and nation."

Pell City Cadet Volunteers

This year begins the 4th year that C/1st Lt. Rachel Shurbutt has volunteered for the MGH Arena Special Equestrians Program in Talladega. She will be spending five hours each Friday helping students from the Talladega Schools for the Deaf and Blind learn how to ride and tend to horses. The students range from elementary school through high school with varying levels of physical challenges. Rachel enjoys seeing the smiles on the students faces as they reach new levels of skills and grow in confidence. She also enjoys taking care of the horses, which includes brushing, cleaning hooves, and saddling the animals used for the classes. Occasionally she is allowed to ride the horses and for Rachel, that is wonderful. (The horse in the photos, Dutch, is Rachels favorite horse with which to work.) Volunteers must be 14 years of age to work with horses and students. If youre interested in volunteering at the Horse Barn, please contact Courtney Carbone at: carbone.courtney@aidb.state.al.us

Did You Know? . . .

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A lot of you may have gone to NESA this year or in years past. Some of the Senior members may have even gone to the Air School at some point. I know that none of the cadets have attended the NESA Mission Air School (MAS).

After having attended WESS and getting my Ground Team Leader rating, I decided to take a look at the other side of the mission. Mission Scanner and Arial Photography (MS/AP) sounded interesting. So I went to the NESA website, completed the forms and started the approval process. After a few days, the squadron commander and wing commander put their approvals on it (all online) and in no time I was approved to go for training. Unfortunately though, I missed something in the process. Somewhere on the site was a list of things you need to bring to NESA for your class. (Just like with ground team training.) I still have not found that list but, believe me, the next time I go to a class, I will ask someone if there is anything I need to take. I got to NESA and we began right away to be filled with facts, and information about what to expect during the week. I didnt even have time to check in. That is when I found out that I needed a couple of Sectionals of the local airspace, a plotter, headphones, colored pencils and a knee board. Had I checked with the other senior members before I left for NESA, I might have avoided some embarrassment. All was not lost, I was able to buy some of the things I needed and borrow the rest. I also found out that I could not wear my new flight suit if it didnt have all of the patches on it. How was I going to look cool without a flight suit? Instead, they actually recommended that we wear khaki shorts and the black NESA shirts that they had given us. So off to the store I go to get the shorts. That turned out to be a blessing because it was really hot in the plane. Our first day of class was spent learning more about how to read a Sectional and how to look for things on the ground. We took a flight in a 7 passenger CAP plane and took a written test. After that, we were qualified as Mission Scanners. Then the real work began. We learned more about finding our way around the sky by what was on the ground. We also learned a lot about how to use the very nice Nikon cameras that each wing is supposed to have. We had to be able to safely remove them from the container and assemble it. Once assembled, we needed to know how it functioned. Just like anything else that is complicated, we had a manual to help us. These cameras even come with a GPS that is attached to the camera flash mount. In a pinch, you can even attach a handheld GPS to it. All of this was very interesting and all during the rest of the week we were instructed on various techniques of taking pictures from a moving aircraft. And just when you were really busy doing something, they would shout, get you gear! We are going flying. That could be a lesson in being always ready. The fact is, on some days you had to wait on the weather or possibly for an available pilot or plane. There were three schools going on simultaneously, so it was quite busy around the airport. Did I mention that it was a lot of fun flying and taking pictures? Well it was but, it wasnt all fun and games. You see, when you get on site, you are the boss. The pilot is the charge of the plane and safety of flight and the Mission Observer is in charge of the mission but, when you get on site, you are in control. That does not mean that you are a General now. What it means is that now you have to give the pilot very specific instructions on how you want him to maneuver the aircraft into position, so that you can get the pictures that you need to complete the mission. You may also have to have the Observer writing down information about the shots you are taking. It is amazing how fast you will fly by a target and you need to get the shot the first time if possible. Why is that important? On our last sortie, I was the last of four students to look for and photograph the target. Everyone else had taken a lot of time and by the time we got over my target, the pilot had announced that I had 3 minutes to get my pictures. How could he do this to me? This was for my final grade. The issue wasnt that he was tired of flying or that he didnt like me. The issue was our fuel level. We flew with a safety rule that stated that we must return to the airport with at least one hour of fuel. Needless to say, I took my pictures quickly and we were on our way. Safety is still our number one mission. By the way, did I mention that cadets can qualify in Mission Scanner and Arial Photography? Out of the seven students in our class, 3 of us were from Alabama and one of them was an 18 year old cadet named Tyler Jester. He also has a pilots license. So if Ground Team Member isnt your thing, maybe you would like to consider training for Mission Air Crew. By the way though, no wings are issued for MS/AP but, you have to be MS qualified to move to Observer level. And they get wings. So now you know. Eddie Shurbutt, CPT(P)

W.E.S.S . . .

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W.E.S.S . . .

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W.E.S.S . . .

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Iron Man . . .

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IRON Man Competition 2011

This year's Iron Man Competition will be held a little earlier than normal due to a change in football schedules here at Auburn University. The dates will be Friday and Saturday, November 4th & 5th. As always, Friday evening will be your check-in time, in-processing, safety/ORM briefings, and the first part of the competition. Saturday, all day, we will continue the competition. We look forward to being able to get everyone out no later than 5pm this year, as some of the issues that kept us a little late last year have been addressed and tweaked. Things to look forward to this year: 1) New Friday night schedule and in-processing procedure 2) Completely new Compass/DF event 3) Me (as always of course) 4) Fantastic new run route with a lot of fun and difficult challenges along the way (I've already been on part of it...good stuff!) 5) What else could you be doing with your time? Re-lacing your tennis shoes?!? Checking the elastic in your socks?!? Get down here and have some fun and fellowship with other CAP members from around the Wing and Region! Again, November 4-5 will be the dates for this year's CAP Iron Man Competition. We look forward to seeing everyone out there. Registration packets will be put out to the squadrons and uploaded to the website as soon as possible once the ALWG FY12 budget is finalized/approved and we know exactly what the final IMC budget will be. For more information on the competition in general, visit the website at http://www.areyouanironman.com. Time to start getting those brains and lungs into shape!!!!! Christopher Tate, Maj, CAP Commander
SER-AL-113 (c) 205.240.4169 www.ser-al-113.org www.areyouanironman.com

Volunteering Opportunity . . .

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National Public Lands Day will be celebrated September 24. The U.S. Forest Service will be hosting volunteers to complete a number of projects on the Shoal Creek ranger District. If youd like to volunteer, please contact Karen McKenzie at the number below or at stiffner@fs.fed.us