Volume 2, Number 7

Squadron Commander Maj. Jim Gosnell Cadet Commander Capt. Cindy Bennett

July 2011

COMMANDERS CORNER . . .
Summer is in full swing. The mercury is staying near triple digits on most days. We are well into the dangerous 100 days of summer. Some of us are still busy trying to recover from the April Storms. June was a busy month. We had several missions. We are now ready for the Fourth of July Holiday. When we stop most of what we do and spend time with family and friends. We usually enjoy cookouts and fireworks. Many of us take a well deserved break if only for a short time. At this time, I think about how fortunate I am to be associated with our organization and with our members. The dedication and professionalism that each of you display is of the highest caliber. The amount of time and energy that you give to study, train, and practice, to make sure that we are prepared to meet our mission demands is very inspiring. Some of our upcoming activities:

Inside this issue: Commanders Calendar Golf Tournament PAOs Corner Safety Officers Corner Personnel and Admin Officer AL/MS Summer Encampment 1 2 3 4 5

Standards and Eval Cadets Corner And Promotions Did You Know?

8-9 10

Sunny King Golf Tournament Constant Watch Exercise Wing Biennial Operations Evaluation Squadron SUI AL/MS Encampment South East Regional Staff College Local Funded ES Training

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I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for all that they do, each and every day. You are the reason we are a success.
11 12 13

Trivia Promotions Special Thanks

Jim Gosnell Commander AL-118

Cadet Fun Night Photos

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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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July 2011
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Happy Birthday Anthony Diez

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Cadet Mt. P.T.

Sonny King Golf Classic 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Happy Birthday J. Daniel Smith

Golf cont . . . 17 18

Happy Birthday Michael Norwood

19 20 21 22 23

Happy Birthday Eddie Shurbutt

24 25

Happy Birthday Brian Scott

NESA BEGINSWEEK 1

26

27
NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

28

29

Happy Birthday Tiffany Chandler

August 4 August 6

30 WEEK 2 NESA BEGINS

August 6

31

August 1

August 2

August 3

NESA WEEK 2 ENDS

Sonny King Golf Tournament . . .

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Each year Pell City Composite Squadron is asked to work at the Sunny King Golf Classic. A generous donation is made to our squadron for working three days and this goes toward paying for O rides and other activities we enjoy through the year. If you want to continue to see us be able to benefit from this golf tournament, we need you to volunteer a couple hours to help it be a be success. If you do not help, you may be asked to pay out of pocket for activities we have from time to time. Lets all do our part!!!

From Maj. Gosnell: Please mark your calendar for July 8 - 10, 2011. This are the dates for the Sunny King Golf Tournament. We have again been invited to assist with this great program. We have been asked to collect score cards at the tournament at the Pine Hill Course, which is east of Anniston on Choccolocco Road (Take I-20 east to Anniston/Oxford exit 188. Turn left (north) and travel approx. 3 miles on Leon Smith Parkway/Golden Springs Road. Turn right onto Choccolocco road and travel 6 miles to Pine Hill Drive. Turn left onto Pine Hill Drive. 175 Pine Hill Drive. We will again be asking that a minimum of 2 Cadets and 2 Senior Members work each schedule for the tournament. SCHEDULE on Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11:00 until 14:30 14:30 until Close UNIFORM: Any approved CAP uniform that presents a professional appearance. DO NOT WEAR FLIGHT SUITS or SHORTS Thank You in advance for your assistance,
ATTENTION CADETS: Please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled time. We will be taking up scorecards as the golfers finish, checking their math and entering scores as we have done in the past. We are fortunate to have this fund raising opportunity and I know that everyone will support this endeavor. This is an important event for our squadron as evidenced by the fact that the funds raised help support our cadet activities. Please sign up ASAP by sending me (A) confirmation that you received this email and (B) indicating what day and time you wish to assist. I will assign shifts based on who responds first. So if you have a priority, get your response back to me quickly. Let us "move with a purpose" on this response. We will then coordinate with the senior side to let them know who to expect and when. Looking forward to hearing from EVERY cadet in this squadron SOON! If you have any questions, please contact me: cbennett50@bellsouth.net or Cell phone 256-225-2230 or landline 256-237-0447.

PAOs CORNER . . .

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I was honored to be able to attend the graduation ceremony for the Alabama/Mississippi Wings Summer Encampment held at Fort McClellan last Saturday. This was the 4th graduation Ive attended in the time Ive been affiliated with Civil Air Patrol , two of which were for my own daughters. I was so proud of all of the cadets who survived the week of high temperatures, long days, sore feet, challenging tasks, and much testing. For those of you who have attended encampment, remember that the purpose of this training is to make you a better cadet, more disciplined, and more motivated to be the best you can be at all tasks you attempt in life. If you have not attended an encampment yet, I strongly encourage you to start saving your coins and make plans to attend AL/MS Summer Encampment in 2012. To make the graduation even more special, several cadets (current and past members of our squadron) were honored!! Congratulations go to Alaina Howard for the Delta Flight Honor Cadet Clayton McDaniel Rising Star award for most improved Andy MillerHonor Cadet for Bravo Flight Now we can start looking forward to next summer and the cadets who will participate in it the next encampment!!! You all make us proud!

WHERE TO FIND US ON THE INTERNET:

Civil Air Patrol
www.gocivilairpatrol.com/

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:

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ PellCityCAP/

Safety Corner . . .

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From Our Safety Officer . . .

SAFETY

Its hard to believe that, only 235 years ago, a group of Americans gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence. The signees knew full well that one person, the king of England, would be very upset over this document and that they would encounter the full wrath of the English Empire for their deed. But, as history tells us, they pledged their fortunes and their lives to this noble cause. They also may have known but, maybe didnt give full weight to, the objections of some of their very neighbors to this historic declaration. Yes, even then, not everyone in America agreed that we should be an independent country and that seeking independence was in the best interest of our new colony. What happened after that has filled volumes but, I think, we agree that they were right and courageous in their actions despite what some of their peers and neighbors may have thought about them at the time. In a similar vein, the Rev. Martin Luther King came to Birmingham to obtain rights that had long been denied blacks for decades after the end of the Civil War. After touring the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, I was struck with how the Rev. King was not only up against the white establishment and their fringe elements; he was also bucked by some of the more prosperous black community. Some of the black community had taken advantage of the segregation that turned away blacks from white owned businesses to create a thriving commerce in their own neighborhoods. They had their own high society with dinners, balls, and some of the same advantages as the privileged white organizations. Some of Kings famous letters from jail were not addressed to the white community at all but to his own peers and he implored them to look beyond their own narrow interests to the good for all. Well, you may be wondering, what does this mini history lesson, which may be full of historical errors, have to do with me and with Safety in general? In both my examples, the participants encountered a vigorous rebuttal of their objectives from the least anticipated source, their own compatriots. You may, if you are a committed safety advocate, encounter some of the same objections from your very own peers. If you point out, what you consider to be a safety hazard, it may be considered a delaying tactic or a non-important item by your peers. If you encounter this resistance, please do your best to explain your concerns to the other person or persons involved with the plan or the activity. If this fails, you need to remember that, in the CAP, anyone, from the Incident Commander to the most basic person in the operation has the authority to declare a halt to operations that they consider unsafe. In most instances, you will not be subject to hanging by King George of England or being put into the Birmingham jail but you must make sure that you are heard if you have a viable objection in the name of Safety. If the person or team makes a concerted effort to alleviate your concerns and truly corrects the perceived problem, then you may stand down. In the long run, everyone will thank you for it but you may never hear it in person. It doesnt matter; you know you have done your duty. Stay Safe! Stay Safe! Ron Harlan, Squadron 118 Safety Officer

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

From your Personnel/Admin Officer . . .

CADETS: KNOW WHAT YOUR PROMOTIONAL REQUIREMENTS ARE FOR EACH PHASE!

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Due to the importance of this information and the fact that part was left out of last months newsletter, I am reprinting this page for your information. Please be aware of what your requirements are for Promoting! Most of you know that I carry a box in and out of the squadron meeting each week. That box contains your CAP Form 66. This is your hard copy record of your accomplishments that allows you to promote. Over the last couple of years, Phase 3 and 4 cadets regularly ask to see their CAPF 66. They add their WESS, NESA, NCSA, Ironman, Air show, O-Flight, and Mission dates as well as ES test dates and scores. Very few Phase 1 and 2 cadets even ask to see it. It is your responsibility to make sure it is up to date with all your accomplishments, proper signatures, etc. If you are promoting, your signature is required on your CAPF 52's. Although most of this information on CAPF 66 is in eservices, this can be most valuable if you transfer, want a copy of your CAP involvement for your portfolio or resume, or if the computer has problems like recording your scores. That has happened to some of you already.

Please note that NHQ occasionally changes or adds additional requirements now and then. It is important that you regularly go to eservices and read the latest news that is posted regarding promotion requirements. Also note that a safety brief is required each month even though it is not on the CAPF 66. If you have not done your safety brief for the month than I cannot promote you in eservices. Your account is blocked until that is completed. Our squadron has elected to require a Board of Review for each Phase. YOU must schedule this yourself two weeks in advance before an "end of Phase" promotion. Drill Tests are taken AFTER you have completed your achievement tests. One more thing. I do not check the "active participation" box until just before sending your promotion request to Capt Bennett. Don't Panic!! So, as a reminder, each Phase has the following requirements:

Phase 1 Requirements:
Physical Fitness Test Leadership Test Aerospace Test Character Development Drill Test Cadet Oath Active Participation Comprehensive Exam Board of Review

Phase 2 Requirements:
Physical Fitness Test Leadership Test Aerospace Test Character Development Drill Test Cadet Oath Active Participation Mentoring (achievement before Mitchell tests) Essay Speech Encampment Comprehensive Exam Board of Review *One 16 week minimum wait for promotion

Phase 3 Requirements:
Physical Fitness Test Leadership Test Aerospace Test Character Development Drill Test Cadet Oath Active Participation Mentoring (each achievement) SDA Reports (each achievement) SDA Staff Service Comprehensive Exam Board of Review *Two 16 week minimum wait for promotions

Phase 4 Requirements:
Physical Fitness Test Leadership Test Aerospace Test Character Development Drill Test Cadet Oath Active Participation Essay Speech Instructor (each achievement) SDA Reports (each achievement) SDA Staff Service COS or RCLS Comprehensive Exam Board of Review *Two 24 week minimum wait for promotions

SPAATZ
(Tests NOT taken at the squadron) PT Test Comprehensive Leadership Comprehensive Aerospace Essay Exam

1LT Jeannie Scott , Personnel and Admin. Officer

AL/MS Summer Encampment 2011 . . .

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Congratulations to Thomas Bracker, Alaina Howard, Allison Howard, Christian Norwood, Michael Norwood, Noah Thomas, and David Thompson who attended and graduated from the AL/MS Summer Encampment held at Fort McClellan! Also a great big THANK YOU goes to Cindy Bennett who spent most of the week there as support staff. Eddie and Rachel were able to attend some and take photos.

Alaina Howard

Clayton McDaniel

Andy Miller

Alpha Flight

Delta Flight

Bravo Flight

STANDARDS AND EVAL . . .

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I have included the briefing below from the Wing Safety Officer concerning loss of electrical power. We have discussed this in the past so I thought it would be a good refresher. Sounds like our fellow CAP crew members handled the situation very professionally. I have heard of similar situations that did not go as smoothly. The take-away point from this briefing is know thy aircraft. Thank you, Col. Coghlan, for permission to include the briefing in the Flight Line Newsletter. - Maj. Iddins

ALABAMA WING SAFETY EDUCATION BRIEFING 9 JUL 11 HANDLING IN-FLIGHT ELECTRICAL FAILURES On todays Safety Education Briefing, we shall talk about a topic which has been addressed previously, but people can still forget how to handle until it is too late. Better yet, we had a Wing crew handle one of these in flight events in a textbook fashion at the june SAREX event, and they should be recognized for it. The topic is Handling In-Flight Electrical Failures. The key to handling any in flight emergency is to first be able to recognize you have a problem (Houston, we have a problem), and then have the presence of mind to diagnose the problem correctly, and then execute the emergency procedure correctly to resolve the problem, or at least to mitigate it long enough to allow you time to divert and return to a suitable landing field. As in all in flight emergencies, the more you know about your aircraft, the better off you are (hey, that knowledge is not just a checkmark on the Annual Stand Eval ride, its preparing you for real life events). In the case of an electrical failure, familiarity with your aircraft is a big help. For example, if you are used to always seeing a positive 5 amp deflection on the Amp-Loadmeter with all equipment turned on, and one day you see a much higher load (say 20 Amps) or a much lower (say 1 Amp), the electrical system is trying to talk to you! Are you listening? Do you understand what the loadmeter is telling you? If you dont, go read about it and then discuss it with your Unit IP, it will make you a better pilot. It may save your bacon one day. What does it mean if the Loadmeter shows a max deflection after engine start? What does it mean if it happens suddenly in flight? What does a negative deflection mean? The Loadmeter is the lifeline of the electrical system, much like an EKG on a heart. It tells you how many Amps the system is drawing from the Alternator or Generator, as required (most GA aircraft show the actual Amps because they dont use much. For military jets or commercial aircraft, they tend to read a percentage of max Amperage load). If you ever see a negative load, it means the Alternator or Generator is not providing ANY electricity, and all the juice is coming from the Battery. If you ever see a very high load indication, it is telling you have either a stuck starter after an engine start, or a short in flight causing a high draw on the system, which if not fixed very soon will lead to an electrical fire. So you can see that knowing more about your electrical system is better than just knowing the basics (like why do we have a 28 VDC system but a 24 VDC battery?). With electrical problems, the sooner you take action, the better off you are. And detection requires keeping the loadmeter in your instrument scan! You should not have to depend on the LOW VOLT light to illuminate to know you have a problem. Now lets look at the excellent job done recently by one of our SAR crews with an electrical problem. A SAR crew had departed TCL and was already at about halfway into their search sortie, when they noticed the Voltage Low indication and correlated it to a discharge of amps and a loss of system voltage (instead of showing 28 +/- 0.5, it was showing 24 Volts). PIC Captain Steve Leonard, along with copilot/MO Captain Jim Harris and Scanner 2 Lt Don Horner worked together brilliantly diagnosing the electrical problem, reading and executing the checklist, and securing and shutting down all unnecessary electrical equipment and radios. They called Mission Base to alert them of the problem, and that they were returning to base, an estimated 30 -40 minutes of flying time. After the system voltage dropped to 19 volts in about 15 minutes, they shut the battery off (remember how we have been told a battery should provide at least 30 minutes of power-well, its not necessarily true!). The crew was flying in VMC conditions and had alerted both Mission Base and ATC of their loss of electrical system. Fortunately, by calling mission base it allowed mission base to coordinate with TCL tower to expect a NORDO (No Radio) plane, and they were prepared to give the crew a green light signal to clear them to land. Fortunately, that light signal was not needed since the crew had a portable ICOM VHF Comm with NAV capability, which they used to navigate and to talk to ATC. This led to a successful and uneventful recovery and landing at mission base. I love it when a good plan comes together. We dont have any special Broken Wing awards like they do in the military, so help me show our appreciation to this very well trained, well

STANDARDS AND EVAL . . .

ALABAMA WING SAFETY EDUCATION BRIEFING 9 JUL 11 HANDLING IN-FLIGHT ELECTRICAL FAILUREScontinued

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equipped and very resourceful crew by congratulating them the next time you see them around the flight line! Well Done!!! What is the moral of this story? Be prepared for emergencies, know the airplane systems, be prepared to take action, and if you can afford it, buy and carry with you one of those portable NAV/COMMs, they are very useful (but only if you have it with you). Thank you for all of your hard work this year and for your Safe Operations! Lets keep doing the smart things you all are doing now, and keep our accident rate at zero. Lets all fly and fight...and live to do it another day! Question- If you are flying in cruise and see the loadmeter showing a discharge (or negative indication). Would you: a) Continue on your mission, it is probably just a failed or bad indicator; b) Change from a VFR to an IFR flight plan, so ATC will know where you are at all times; or c) Verify the electrical problem, and turn any extra radios off and return to an airport where you can make a precautionary landing? Food for thought!

Maj. Chris Iddins AL-118 Standards/ Evaluations

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.

Cadets Corner . . .
Cadet Corner . . .
Due to the fact that Cindy Bennett has spent most of her time lately at AL/MS Encampment, her article will be coming next month. Reminder: All Staff Members need to answer last months Trivia Question and return the answer to Cpt. Bennett ASAP!!
cbennett50@bellsouth.net

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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."

Promotions and Honors . . .

Senior Promotions for June:

Tony Diez, from Capt to Maj completion of LV3 Jason Lane, from 2d Lt to 1st Lt completion of LV1

Cadet Promotions for June:

Rachel Shurbutt C/1Lt Christian Norwood C/TSgt

Congratulations!!!

Did You Know? . . .

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Did you know that whales can fly? I know that you have heard of flying monkeys, flying squirrels, and flying fish but, flying whales? Thats a little hard to believe but they have been flying for almost 60 years. Let me explain. The Whale is the nickname affectionately given to the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior. For many years it was the heaviest and largest carrier base aircraft. Hence the nickname The Whale. The A-3 was developed in the early 1950s by the US Navy. It was to be a long range, carrier based, strategic bomber, capable of delivering a nuclear payload. The aircraft was planned to operate from the proposed United States-class "supercarrier"s, much larger than existing carriers, and the specification set a target loaded weight of 100,000 lb with a payload of 10,000 lbs. Ed Heinemann, chief designer of the Douglas Aircraft Company, (who also designed the A-4 Skyhawk), fearing that the United States-class was vulnerable to cancellation, proposed a significantly smaller aircraft of 68,000 lbs gross weight, capable of operating from existing carriers. Its folding wings and tail section help reduce the size aboard ship.

TheChief of Naval Operations officially requested the development of the aircraft in January 1948. The prototype XA3D-1 first flew on 28 October 1952. Eventually, 282 aircraft would be built between 1956 and 1961. The downsizing of the A-3 was probably a good idea since the mission of carrying a nuclear payload was scrapped and given to the soon to be developed A-5 Vigilante, which was supersonic. However, because of changes in policy and the Navys mission, the Vigilante also saw its mission changed. So what became the mission of the A-3? Well, I am glad you asked. Skywarriors saw some use in the conventional bombing and mine-laying role during the Vietnam War from 1965 through 1967. The Navy would soon use only more nimble fighter sized attack bombers over Vietnam, but the A-3 found subsequent service in the tanker, photographic reconnaissance, and electronic warfare roles. For most of the Vietnam War, EA-3Bs of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1) flew from Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam, providing electronic warfare capability over the area, including the Ho Chi Minh trail and north to Haiphong harbor. The aircrew and ground support personnel were TAD from their home base at NAS Atsugi, Japan and after 1970, NAS Agana, Guam. VQ-1 also provided detachments of two EA-3B aircraft that deployed with Western Pacific and Indian Ocean (WESTPAC/IO) bound aircraft carrier battle groups up until the late 1980s when it was replaced by the ES-3A Shadow. There was also a detachment based at Cubi Point, Philippines until closed by BRAC. Lt. Eddie D. Shurbutt

Civil Air Patrol Trivia . . .

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Trivia Question for July

Last Months Winners:
Michael Norwood & Cindy Bennett There will be no trivia question for the month of July and August! Be ready for September!!!! Thanks to ALL you answered the question this month!!! We had a great response!!!

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. If you have done something noteworthy or you have some information that you think needs to be in the newsletter, please send it! Send to: LTooney@cableone.net or BShurbutt@yahoo.com

Promotions and Honors . . .

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SPECIAL THANKS!!!!!
A special thanks goes to a group of senior members and cadets who met last month at the Pell City Airport to clean out the hangar, cleaning the CAP van, and move some supplies back to the community center. Those giving of their time were Ray Bennett, Cindy Bennett, John Smith, Eddie Shurbutt, Beth Shurbutt, Rachel Shurbutt, and Jerrod Finlay.

Cadet Fun Night . . . CAP CADET FUN NIGHT

Each 5th Thursday is designated Cadet Fun Night. The next Cadet Fun Night will be September 29. Your suggestions for activities are encouraged and welcomed!!

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Anniston Bowling Lanes

Top ScorerMaj. John Randolph