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FLIGHT LOG

Pell City Squadron Alabama Wing Civil Air Patrol

September 2009
CALENDAR
Sep. 3th 10th 12th 17th 18th-19th 24th Cadet & Staff Meeting 1800-2030 Cadet Meeting 1800-2030 Officers Meeting 1830-2030 Commanders Call MXF Cadet Meeting 1800-2030 Squadron FTX Cadet Meeting 1800-2030 Officers Meeting 1830-2030

Commanders Corner:
Leadership The dictionary gives us four definitions for the noun leadership: The position or function of a leader ability to lead an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction the leaders of a group I am sure when this word is heard we all have a somewhat different opinion of what are good traits of a leader. Just like when a team is down it is the cheerleaders job to continue to try and keep the fans and the team up so that they can come back from losing situations. We, as leaders, must continue to rally the troops to continue on whatever it is that we are tasked with doing. I believe that one of the best traits of leadership is to be able to come up with a plan and when the plan does not materialize just as we envisioned it we can continue on and not get bogged down in the facts that the plan was not executed exactly as we wanted it to be. As members of the CAP we are often asked to accomplish a task. In other words we are given a mission. How we plan and execute the mission says a lot about us as a leader. If our plan does not go -1-

the way we planned it we must be able to come up with an alternate plan. This could mean the difference between life and death. If we are trying to find a crash site and we cannot access the area where we believe the site is we must come up with a work around or alternate plan. We must persevere or the victims may not live. Not all of our missions are life and death. However, we as leaders need to approach every mission as though they were. Take them seriously and you will find that you are being followed. Be a good leader in whatever you do, this country needs excellent leadership. It starts right here and with each one of us.

Capt. Chris Iddins Squadron Commander, 118

Washington crossing the Delaware

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First Lieutenant Ron Harlan

Safety Corner:
We are only a few days away from completing the 101 Days of Summer that are ripe with opportunity for serious accidents. Hopefully, you and your family have come through the summer with no incidents. Even after Labor Day, there are many chances, with our lingering warm weather to encounter the same dangers we may have avoided this summer, sobe careful! Also, we still have two or three months of hurricane possibilities so be sure and check on the FEMA web site I recommended previously. For the flight crews: I recently read an article in Aviation Safety magazine that contained, what I thought, were some excellent suggestionssee what you think. As you know, most of our CAP flight operations are conducted under the FAR Part 91 rules. This is what most private flyers and most of general aviation adheres to. There is another part; FAR Part 135 that applies to commuter and ondemand commercial operations and it is generally more specific in its requirements and a little more demanding of the flight crews. The author, Lee Smith, makes the supposition that some of the requirements of Part 135 operators would be very good voluntary safety enhancements for Part 91 operators as well. One example is the requirement that departing IFR in 135 requires specific minimums that a 91 would not have to adhere to and many pilots dont. Fortunately, CAPR 60-1, paragraph 2-19.a-2 specifically forbids a CAP aircraft to depart an -2-

airport in IMC unless the weather is at least that required by the instrument procedure to land there. So, in their wisdom, our CAP reg. writers have already required us adhere to Lees first suggestion. Another one that is not covered in our CAPRs, is that part 91 pilots can depart an airport and choose not to comply with runway specific departure minimums or departure procedures. A 135 must do this. Why wouldnt we want to do this too? Considerable thought has been put into creating the departure procedures and, especially at a strange airport you will increase your margin of safety considerably by following the procedures. A part 135 pilot cannot begin an approach to a destination airport unless the reported weather there is above the minimums for the procedure to be used. In other words, if the weather at the airport is below that required to land, why bother? Lee makes the point that it is a lot safer and less stressful holding at an interim point waiting for the weather to improve than it is shooting the approach and having to fly the missed procedure. Of course, another added safety factor here is that many pilots are sorely tempted to fly the approach and make it work even if it is not safe. Part 91 pilots can fly the approach as many times as they desire but the margin of safety seems to decrease with each try if the accident records are correct. Why not use the 135 guideline and shoot the approach only when there is an excellent chance that it results in a landing? These are just a few of the 135 requirements that, if adopted voluntarily by us 91s, may add to our safety. We have some 135 pilots with our squadron and I ask them to help us come up with some more items that we may want to put in our flight bags.

Stay Safe! Ronald Harlan, Safety Officer Squadron 118

Cadets Page

Changing of the Guard:

And the winners are. The first annual Safety Poster Contest is over. Congratulations to the winners. As some of you know, before we could even finish our squadron contest, the Alabama Wing expressed a desire for us to expand the contest to the wing level. We had hoped that this would eventually happen however, we didnt expect it to happen so soon. This would be entries from winners of local squadron contests. Plans are being finalized for that contest now. There are two age groups in the contest. The winners of the Pell City Squadron contest for age 12-15 are 1st place, Brian Scott, and 2nd place, Rachel Shurbutt. We only had one entry in the 1619 age group by Jerrod Finlay but, it was an excellent poster and would be hard to beat. First place winners received a $20.00 prize and the second place winner received $10.00. All three posters will be entered into the Wing contest and have an equal opportunity to win. We are proud of the winners and want to wish them good luck at the wing level. Our hope is that some of the winning posters will be approved for national printing and show our cadet talents. This isnt the main reason for the contest however. The main reason for the contest is to raise the awareness of the need for Safety. Whether on the ground or in the air, Safety MUST be our main focus as we perform our missions within the Civil Air Patrol. Eddie Shurbutt 2LT, SER-AL-118 -3-

On Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009, the Pell City Composite Squadron will hold a Change of Command Ceremony. Our Deputy Commander for Cadets, Maj. John Randolph Sr. will relinquish his position due to moving out of the area. He has held the DCC position since May 2006. He started his journey in CAP as a Cadet which makes quite a resume of achievements and training throughout the years. He will still be involved in our squadron as we make this transition. We appreciate his leadership and experience in so many areas. He currently is serving as the Communications Officer, Emergency Services Officer, Professional Development Officer, and the Testing Officer. He has also served as Aerospace Education Officer. We thank him for all his years of faithful service. 1st Lt. Cynthia Bennett, who joined CAP in Oct 2004, will take over the duties of Deputy Commander for Cadets. 1st Lt. Cynthia Bennett is currently serving as Squadron Activities Officer, Aerospace Education Officer, and Asst. Testing Officer. She has many Emergency Services Achievements and has completed numerous Professional Development Courses. One of her first orders of business as the new DCC will be to host a Squadron FTX the very next week. Then she will be preparing the squadron for Wing Emergency Services School (WESS), Iron Man Competition, CyberPatriots II Competition, Area Airshows, NESA, and many more exciting activities. We know the Pell City Composite Squadron will be in great hands. We honor the hard work that Maj. John Randolph Sr. has put into the squadron as well as welcome, with confidence, 1st Lt. Cindy Bennett as she accepts her new position as Deputy Commander for Cadets. The Change of Command Ceremony will be held at the Pell City Community Center on Sept. 10, 2009 at 7pm. Jeannie Scott, 2nd Lt CAP

Health News You Can Use H1N1 (Swine) Flu Basic Information What is swine flu? A new influenza virus first detected in this country in April, 2009, officially called 2009 H1N1 virus. It is being spread around the world just as the influenza seen each year is spread. The name swine flu originated because laboratory analysis revealed many genes in this virus are found normally in the pig population of North America. Now, further analysis has shown that this virus is very different than what is seen in pigs in North America. This virus has two genes from flu viruses circulating in pigs from Asia and Europe as well as bird (avian) genes and human genes (a quadruple reassortant virus). The 2009 H1N1 virus is considered a subtype of influenza A. How contagious is swine flu? During the week ending August 29, 2009 the World Health Organization reported that 17.3% of specimens tested were positive for influenza. That is of the 6,410 specimens tested, 1,109 were positive for the influenza virus. Of those, 1,105 were influenza A and 4 were influenza B. Of those that were influenza A, 97% (755) were found to be swine flu. It is important to note that this is a higher prevalence rate than is usually seen during this time of the year. Six states and Puerto Rico have reported widespread influenza activity. Those six states: Alabama; Alaska; Georgia; Florida; Mississippi; South Carolina (www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly) How does the flu virus get spread from person to person? People with influenza cough or sneeze and the viruses are inhaled by someone else. Also, people can become infected by touching an object that has the virus on it and then touching their mouth or nose. So, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and wash your hands OFTEN! -4-

On Aug 5th and 6th AL118 assisted by the Gadsden squadron flew 10 O-rides in the wings 172s. We used the 172s to keep the cost of the rides down so that we could accomplish more rides with the funds that were allocated for cadets orientation rides. The fact that we could get so many rides done in just two days was a great accomplishment. As soon as more funds are allocated to the squadron we will schedule more rides. The squadron also assisted the Bessemer squadron with their orientation rides later in the month. I want to thank all who helped coordinate the rides and all the pilots who participated in conducting them. This is a great attraction for the cadets so lets make sure all cadets are able to obtain their powered orientation rides. Capt Iddins

What are the symptoms of swine flu? People with 2009 H1N1 flu are reporting these symptoms: fever, chills, body aches, headache, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and fatigue. These are the same symptoms one might expect with influenza A or B (not 2009 H1N1). Additional symptoms being reported with H1N1 influenza are diarrhea and vomiting. It is important to know that severe illness and death have been associated with this virus. What about flu shots this year? Currently, there is no vaccine available for 2009 H1N1. However, it is being worked on and should be available this fall. There will be vaccines available that provide protection against the seasonal flu. These vaccines contain three influenza viruses and changes each year based on estimations regarding which types and strains of influenza A and B will be most prevalent for the upcoming season. Information obtained from the Centers for Disease Control at: www.cdc.gov More to come next month!

Brenda W. Iddins, MSN, FNP-BC Medical Officer, 1st Lt. CAP 118

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