Training to be held at Grp 5 HQ on Feb 21st.

For pilots needing qualification as a scanner prior to moving on to MP training. A class dedicated to pilots (less focus on the aeronautical requirements) will be held at the Grp 5 HQ in the hanger next to the UNV FBO terminal. One day course February 21 starting at 0930hrs and planned finish at or before 1600 hrs.

National has published a new CAPR 60-1. It has major changes and is now in effect. It takes the old 60-1 and its 60+ pages down to 14 pages. There are changes to the requirements and responsibilities for Flight Release Officers, Pilots, Commanders, and ICs. Please download a copy and see how CAP has made a cumbersome regulation easier to use.

With the change to CAPR 60-1 there are changes to the following Forms:

Form 5. CAP Flight Evaluation. This is now one form for glider and powered aircraft as well as streamlining.

Form 91. CAP Mission Pilot Check out. Now includes electronic searching.

Form 99. Flight Release Log. A new form to incorporate the changes in 60-1.

These forms are effective Jan 09 and must be used. Prior forms with other dates can not be used.

Download your copy here: http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/forms_publications__regulations/indexes_ regulations_and_manuals.cfm

Pennsylvania Wing will be hosting an ICS-300 Course on 16 - 18 January 2009 at Ft Indiantown Gap in Biddle Hall. Class will start Friday 16 January at 1800, continuing thru Sat 17 January and finish on Sunday 18 January.

There is no charge for this course. Transportation, Billeting and Meals will be at the student's expense. PA Wing is trying to obtain billeting at Fort Indiantown Gap, however students should be prepared to stay off-base at one of the many motels in the area.

POC is Lt Col Gary Metz: garycap3@comcast.net or 215-313-4513.

Please contact him for a course slot reservation and/or any questions.

Note: While this course is primarily for the members that are required to have it, it is available to anyone, if slots are available.

Mark your calendars and save the date for the Group 5 SAREX!

Following this spring's wash-out, the SAREX is now scheduled for Saturday October 11, 2008. Operations will be conducted out of Mid-State airport. Check-in begins at 0700 with the safety briefing and operations commencing at 0900.

Training will be conducted for all ground team and aircrew positions.

COMMANDERS: Please send your duty rosters for this event to Ops no later than September 30.

Due to weather and safety concerns, the Group 5 SAREX scheduled for 14 June at Mid-State airport has been postponed. Stay tuned for details on the reschedule date.

Maj Roy Long
Group 5 Commander

Online applications will only be accepted for the 2008 National Emergency Services Academy (NESA) for a few more days. Eligible members can apply at: https://ntc.cap.af.mil/ops/nesa/. Slots will be filled on a first come first served basis through the 9th of June. There are only a few slots remaining in some courses, so apply now. Currently we have vacancies to fill in the NESA National Ground Search And Rescue School (NGSAR), Mission Aircrew School (MAS), and Incident Command System School (ICSS) courses being conducted at the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in Indiana this summer. A detailed list of courses with openings is available at: http://ngsar.homestead.com/Files/nesa08vacancies.pdf

The fee to attend any session is $175, due at registration.

Additional information on all the courses being offered at the 2008 NESA can be found at: http://WWW.NESA.CAP.GOV.

Questions should be directed to the NESA staff at NESA@capnhq.gov.

Airplanes converging on final approach can find themselves in precarious spots. On a few occasions they’ve flown so close, they’ve gotten stuck together.

On May 15, a Piper Cherokee landed on top of a Stinson at Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke, Texas. The Piper was carrying a flight instructor and a student while only the pilot was aboard the Stinson. The Piper was apparently landing while the Stinson was starting its takeoff, according to press reports. The final approach path is obsured by trees. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.


Photos by Rex Lake

Most midair collisions take place close to airports and in good weather conditions. That’s why you have to be especially careful on final approach. This brings to mind two other accidents in recent years where, as they say, airplanes swapped paint in the landing pattern.

In 2004 a Cessna 152 and a Cessna 172 Skyhawk collided on approach to Cincinnati West Airport in Harrison, Ohio. The two aircraft became locked together in flight at 300 feet agl and spiraled into a gravel pit. The pilots and a passenger in the Cessna 172 suffered serious injuries.

And in 1999, a student pilot and her CFI survived a freak midair collision involving a Piper Cadet and a Cessna 152 in Plant City, Fla., Municipal Airport. The two airplanes locked together and landed safely.

For more information visit: http://www.aopa.org

I encourage everyone to periodically check this website to take advantage of everything AOPA has to offer to all professional and student pilots alike.

After reading Jay Hopkins' article in December 2007's Flying Magazine (p. 44-45). I wanted to share the following website with Group 5.

http://www.seeandavoid.org/

This website uses Google Maps as it's core tool in flight safety and situational awareness. The NTSB has plotted the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Island's airports, military bases, military operations areas, special use airspace, low-level training routes, and the locations of near midair collisions and midair collisions. Each point is complete with NTSB reports detailing the incident at each location and provides background information on that specific location.

Safety is the number one priority when flying an aircraft and I wanted to be sure to get the word out about this educational website. I encourage everyone to share this website with fellow CAP members and pilots.