Air Branch

• Brief Sermon• Theory• Practice• Exercise

Running Air Branch is as much art as it is science. Everyone does it differently.

Working Styles Matter!

Juggler? Serial Processor?

Your personal working style should determine which Air Branch tasks you assign to yourself.

Air Branch Practice

General Information

Traps & Pitfalls

Useful AOBD Tool Box Items

Irresistible Urge to Pontificate

AOBD SQTR O-4078

Task O-4078 - Demonstrate ability

to monitor air operations.

MN SAR-Eval August, 2012 AIR OPERATIONS BRANCH DIRECTOR (AOBD): (EXCELLENT)

All the aircrews flew in from various locations at the beginning of the day. The AOBD did a great job of processing, validating, and launching those incoming crews, as well as crews throughout the day in response to various mission tasks. He ensured requirements were accurate (WIMRS inputs, CAPF 104, ORM forms, etc.), and he continuously monitored changing weather conditions.

(COMMENDABLE) A prominently located mission status board containing crucial information such as assigned missions, ETEs, ETAs, and check-ins was accurate and easy to read. This provided the mission staff with valuable situational awareness. During many evaluations (and real-world missions?) status boards begin to fall apart and, with inaccurate information, can become a detriment. This AOBD, however, supervised his crew to ensure currency and accuracy of the board.

(COMMENDABLE) The AOBD developed an Air Ops Mission Briefing Guide to provide crews with mission information and reminders. The guide included phone numbers of key personnel, radio frequencies, required radio calls, normal sortie progression tasks, etc. The AOBD also developed a cheat sheet for crews, ensuring they filled out a more complete and accurate CAP Form 104 by stressing key information needed. Lastly, the AOBD created a chit for communications personnel to efficiently record the mission status of ground and aircrews when they called in at their scheduled times.

Overall the AOBD had great situational awareness, which contributed to the overall mission effectiveness.

Team

90% Of Air Branch Activity Is Keeping Track of Details!

Airplane Clerk/ CAPF107

Strategy, Resource Allocation

Sortie Board

Brief/Debrief

Theory Applies

It’s Mostly A Clerical Job

It’s A Team Sport

• Three people is the basic team.– Sortie Board Maintainer– Airplane Clerk– Brief/Debrief– (AOBD usually doubles on one of the three jobs)

• Add Brief/Debrief staff as required by mission complexity.

Sortie Tasking Flow

• Planning/IC– Defines priorities, tasks and areas– Provides to AOBD

• AOBD– Selects/assigns Resources

• Briefer

• Debriefer

• Planning/IC

Air Crew

Communications Flow

• Communications Unit– Logs Radio Messages

• Sortie Board Maintainer– Adds Sortie #– Updates Sortie Board– Provides to Air Ops

• Airplane Clerk– Updates 107– QCs Sortie Board– Files Message

TextMessage

Cell PhoneCall

Comm Slips

• Sign-In (ICS 211)• Find the best available unclaimed chair and

grab it.• Find an unclaimed wastebasket and grab it.• Scope out/Possibly Change Air Branch location– Visible wall for sortie board & conflict board?– Electricity?– Space, tables, chairs for air branch staff ?– Space, chairs for air crew brief/debrief ?

Arriving At Mission Base

AOBD SQTR O-4052

O-4052 - Demonstrate ability to establish briefing areas for

crews

Air Branch Floor Plan

Many different layouts can be made to work.

Mission Base Physical Setup

• Sortie Board & Pens, Workspace for Maintainer

• Computer On & Connected to Internet

• Set up Airplane Clerk, Brief/Debrief Workspace

• Locate & Coordinate with Comm Unit Leader

• Assemble & Post Conflict Map- (SAREX) Assign someone to plot all tasks, a second person to

verify all plots.

Sortie Board

Sortie Board

• Displays Up-To-Date Status: What we know.

• Information Comes from Many Sources- Comm Slips- Cell Phone Calls- Text Messages- Eyeballs- Flight Line Surveys

• Air Branch Staff Constantly Reviews Critical Items- Aircraft Flight Status (Red/Green)- Time Since Last Contact- Expected Landing Time

Sortie Board “In The Cloud”

• Pro– Superb Means of Communication– Potential for automatic monitoring of overdues, other aspects– Eliminates need to funnel info through single person/sortie board

maintainer

• Con– Internet required, possibly a costly cloud subscription too– Any user can make hard-to-fix mistakes– Somewhat complex to set up; projector(s) needed– Cloud applications still immature and limiting

• Conclusion– It’s probably the future– Now works best in situations where pace is slow to moderate– Now works best in situations where only a few people do updates.

Conflict Map

• One Color For Permanent Things– Tasks– Hazards

• Second Color For Sorties

• Add Sortie Tags When Assigned.

• Remove Sortie Tags When RTB or Landing

Deconflicting Sorties

• Physical Deconflict– Do not put sorties in adjacent search areas.

• Altitude Deconflict– Never permit transit at search altitudes.– Use >1,000 AGL for Archer, ELT Searches– Hard to altitude deconflict with everyone searching at 1000 AGL

• Time Deconflict– Easier said than done; launch times are highly unpredictable. Best to

have crews coordinate.

• Brief air crews on activity, CAPF #s, adjacent or above/below their assigned areas.

• Prohibit “freelance” chasing of ELT signals, any other unannounced changes of location.

No Internet?

• No Problem

• Run Air Branch on Paper– 107– 104s– Sortie Board

• No Copier? Carry Enough Forms For 1-2 Days.

AOBD SQTR O-4074

Task O-4074 - Demonstrate ability to complete a CAPF 107

CAPF 107

(Check boxes not part of standard CAP form.)

(Key items highlighted.)

Task Assignment & Briefing

• Task must suit the air crew.– Proficiency, Currency, Credentials …

• Task must suit the airplane.– Fuel range, Inop Equipment, …

• Task must suit the schedule.– RTB Plans, Night Currency, …

• Task assignment must be safe.– In-Grid Conflicts, WX Risk, Fatigue, …

Resource Management

• Scenario– Several aircraft have arrived with only two people aboard.– Air Crew “A” is briefed, discovers problem with aircraft.– Air Crew “B” arrives from home base with full crew, in a

172.

• What do you do?

• Reassign!– Launch Air Crew “A” in Aircraft “B” – saves time– Scanner & Observer from “B” are assigned to other flight

crews – brings them to full strength.– Pilot “B” is assigned temporarily to mission base duties.

Resource Management

• Scenario– Pilot & Air Crew arrive from out of state.– Pilot is a big talker, know-it-all. Skills unknown.

• What do you do?

• Reassign!– Assign out-of-state Observer to another air crew.– Assign “known good” pilot as Observer to fly

with know-it-all pilot and provide confidential evaluation.

Being Unfair May Be Safest

• Sortie Tasks Are Not All Equal Difficulty• Air Crews Are Not All Equally Capable• Always assign Known-Capable Air Crews to Known-Difficult

Tasks.

• Monitor Air Crews According to Known Capability. Less Known=More Monitoring

• Is This Unfair to Crews You Don’t Know? Yes.

AOBD SQTR O-4056

Task O-4056 - Demonstrate the ability to brief crews and team for missions

Air Crew Briefing

• A good task briefing includes:– Written Instructions– Specific grid or lat/long information– Specifics on search patterns, directions– Altitude assignment for transit and search

• In addition to the task briefing, add:– Review of any weather issues– Review of any safety issues like parachutists, tall

towers, restricted airspace, controlled airspace– Review of any logistics issues like fuel availability– Identification of other sorties in the area

AOBD SQTR O-4073

Task O-4073 - Demonstrate ability to prepare applicable portions of the

CAPF 104

CAPF 104 IS The Sortie

• What is the sortie supposed to do?– Depending on circumstances, Air Branch may fill

this section out.

• What was done?

• How did it go?

• What were the results?

Two days from now, after the air crew is gone, the 104 is the ONLY reference to tell the mission staff what was done!

CAPF104 Briefing Section

CAPF104 Briefing Section

Search runway approaches at Silver Bay airport (KBFW). Search ridgeline near airport. Following these, run expanding square centered on airport.

Maintain 1000 AGL vicinity ridges near BFW. Make frequent CTAF calls at BFW while doing search

• What were you supposed to do?

Debrief

Air Crew Debriefing

• A good sortie debriefing requires:– Verification that the assigned task was completed– Detailed review of the crew’s completed 104– Interviewing crew for information that may have been

left off the 104

• The 104 is the only permanent record of the sortie and must answer critical questions:– What was done?– How did it go?– What were the results?– Any special conditions or issues?

CAPF104 Debriefing Section

CAPF104 Debriefing Section

Saw several foam collections on streams that looked like airplane part shapes, but were just foam. Fred saw freshly broken tree limbs on downwind to RNY 25 just where we turned base about 2.5 miles from BFW GPS position; couldn't locate it a second time due to proximity of high ridge east of the airport.

Search conditions were generally good although about 80% of the area was heavily forested.

Fog and stratus over Lake Superior that moved inland and retreated kept us from getting right up to shore.

CAPF104a, CAPF104b

• 104a: “SAR Results Worksheet”• 104b: “Reconnaissance (Photo) Summary”

Paper forms only; not available for WMIRS entry. Hence seldom used in MN.

IC: “Fill in all the 104 blanks.”

• Data Fields: 76• Check Boxes: 168• Total 244 Fill-Ins to consider!

• Wastes Air Crew Time⁻ Creates Disrespect for the 104 Process⁻ Suggestion: Try to get edict rescinded.

Mini-104

Used for taking notes when releasing early-morning inbounds and in other situations where no WMIRS access is available.

Fill out items as needed.

High Bird Cheat Sheet

Scales along the side allow measurement of distance from mission base to high bird to determine required altitude.

• Did someone bring a repeater?• Does your selected crew know how to operate

the repeater?• Does the airplane have repeater hookups and

are they working?• Was the repeater tested on the ground before

sortie launch?• Should your PIC have an instrument rating?

High Bird Launch

Manual relay will bail you out!

AOBD SQTR O-4063

O-4063 - Demonstrate ability to locate or process an overdue

ground team or aircrew

Missing Aircraft Cheat Sheet

Missing Aircraft (FAA)

• FAA has formal missing aircraft procedures; lead organization is Flight Service.

• Loss of contact with an aircraft on IFR flight plan or Flight Following will trigger.

• In consultation with the IC, you may choose to contact FSS if you have a problem.

• ATC may also contact you if one of your airplanes has lost comm.

Verbal Release BeforeWMIRS Release

• PIC must be verbally released with the magic words “You are released.”

• You may or may not have time or have access to WMIRS when you make verbal release.

• If WMIRS is not happy with the flight,you will not be able to make the WMIRS release.– Transport Mission Pilot

instead of Mission Pilot– Trainee does not have

trainee status– Instructor pilot has expired

medical

Who Knows Your Passwords?

• You? Your Browser at Home?• Know or have your important bookmarks and

passwords.– WMIRS– E-Services– Paid Services like Weather

Tail Number Cross Reference

Air Radio Channel Chart

• Channel names do not match channel numbers.– “AIR1” is channel 3! – “TAC RPTR 4” is channel 10!

• Aircraft channel numbers are different than ground radio channel numbers.

• Never talk in terms of channel numbers, use only channel names.

Canadian Comm Restrictions

CAP References

• Carry digital copies or have bookmarks for access to CAP forms & regs.– 60-1 CAP Flight Management– 60-3 CAP Emergency Services Training and

Operational Missions

• http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/forms_publications__regulations/

Recent Problems

• 2-person Air Crews– SAREX: Wasted training opportunity, limits tasks that can be assigned to

crew.– Real Mission: Reduced PODs or airplanes sitting on the ground after

crew is reassigned.– Solution: Better communicate expectations to squadrons.

• MN WG Paradigm: Squadron=Airplane=Crew– All missions: Poor resource allocation– Solution: Be more aggressive about mixing crews, assigning available

crews to airplanes that would not otherwise participate.

• Few/No Crews Overnighting at Mission Base Location.– Real Mission: Large amounts of wasted time and money on transport

flights.– Solution: Better publicity of paid lodging & food, tougher policy on who

can fly, possibly limit participation to crews who can stay over.

AOBD SQTR O-4082

Task O-4082 - Prepare an ICS Form 220

ICS 220

• Seldom (never?) used in CAP

• Downloadable FEMA form includes detailed instructions

• An exercise for the student

AOBD SQTR O-4057

Task O-4057 - Demonstrate ability to verify that teams are properly equipped

AOBD SQTR O-4062

Task O-4062 - Demonstrate ability to process a clue

AOBD SQTR O-4070

Task O-4070 - Demonstrate ability to coordinate with Ground Branch

Air Branch Duty Day