pell city squadron - oct 2010

8/2/2019 Pell City Squadron - Oct 2010

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From the Commander:

Closing out the Fiscal Year

I have spent the last several

hours doing required

paperwork to close the

months work out. This month

is special as it is the end of theCAP Fiscal Year. I took a few

minutes and looked back on

some of the activities that we

have undertaken this last year. We have been very busy. We have logged over 300

flight hours without a mishap. We have launched air and ground teams on Search

Missions. We have flown CD Missions. We have participated in Deep Water

Horizon. We have completed another WESS cycle. We have had a joint training

session with the local Boy Scout Troop. We have had two Water Survival Classes.

We have had a Model Rocket event. We have flown Military Training Route

Surveys. We have increased our membership. We have increased our EmergencyServices Preparedness. We have increased our Professional Development. The list

goes on and on. The one thing that stands out in all of these events is that they were

accomplished efficiently and safely.

One of the last meetings of the Fiscal Year was a time chosen to recognize our

accomplishments. Our Wing Commander, Col. Lisa Robinson, joined us in

recognizing some of our members. There were many Officers and Cadets recognized

for their accomplishments over the last year. Several members also promoted during

this time.

I want to thank each and every member, and the family members that support them,

for the contributions that you have made to the CAP, and to your community this last

year. It has been a great privilege to have been your Squadron Commander.

I look forward to what the next Fiscal Year brings.

Jim Gosnell

Commander AL-118

Commanders CornerOctober 2010

Flight Log

Inside this issue:

Commanders

Corner

1

Calendar of

Events

2

Safety Corner 3

CAP Trivia 11

Iron Man 5

Volunteer 4

Wing Corner 5

Emergency

Services

12

Cadet Corner 6-8

Standards and

Evaluations

9-10

Did You Know 11

Professional

Development

10

Promotions and

Pictures

11

P.A. O. Corner 4

Pell City Composite Squadron 118Alabama Wing Civil Air Patrol

Volume 1, No. 3


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Page 2 Flight Log

CALENDAR OF EVENTSOctober 2010

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2W.E.S.S. W.E.S.S.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9W.E.S.S. Happy

Birthday

Timothy

Gamblin

CADETS

PT

Pell City CivicCenters

Lakeside Park

10 11 12 13 14 15 16Columbus

Day

Happy

Birthday

Jason Lane

Cadet

Meeting

6:00 p.m.

Community

Center

17 18 19 20 21 22 23Happy

Birthday

Thomas

Randolph

Cadet

Meeting

6:00 p.m.

Community

Center

24 25 26 27 28 29 30Happy

Birthday

Jeannie Scott

Cadet

Meeting

6:00 p.m.

Community

Center

NEWSLETTER

DEADLINE

31 1 2 3 4 5 6

November 5-7WESS


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Page 3SAFETY CORNER . . .

SAFETY CORNERWith Halloween just around the corner, it may seem too early to start talking about night flying. But, better early than late!

After all, DST goes off on November 7th. First, lets review what the FARs say about night flying. For example, if you are

ready to taxi for take off just at sunset, the FARs say you must have your navigation lights and anti-collision light on, even

though, in your opinion, there may lots of light available. If you are not night current, and land with passengers 61minutes after

sunset, you will be in violation of the FARs. If you want to log some night landings, you must wait until (1) hour after sunset

or (1) hour before sunrise.

If you always stay, Night Current, (three take offs and landings to a full stop in the last 90 days) then you dont have to

worry too much about the legal details. However, AOPA has suggested that the following recommendations be followed in

night flight:

- Just meeting the minimum FAR requirement does not necessarily mean that you are proficient. Logging (3) take offs and

landings may not really qualify you to take on a full night cross-county flight assignment.

- Select your routing carefully. If you have an engine failure, nearby airports and friendly terrain take on extra importance.

- Even though you may be flying VFR, at night, IFR charts have lots of info that you may need, use them when you can.

-Marking your charts in red or yellow pens may result in the marks being invisible in the red cockpit lighting.

- Weathermany pilots prefer to double their personal minimums at night

- Dew point spreadlook very closely at this since good visibility can deteriorate to nothing in an instant when they are very

close together. PLR is VERYsubject to this.

- Night related NOTAMS. Look for runway, taxiway, or beacon lighting to be out.

- Fuelif you are planning to refuel at a certain airport, make certain that fuel will be available at the time you will be

arriving.

- IFR skills. Even if you are not IFR rated, make sure that you have good instrument skills. When flying over many areas of

the country at night, there are no visual horizontal references and your flight instruments are your only means of keeping

the airplane upright.

- Pre-flighting:

Make sure all the navigation lighting is in good order.

Be sure and verify that all the interior lighting is working and that you know howto make it work.

The electrical system MUST be in good working order. Be sure you know how to assess its health.

Flashlightstwo are a minimum, I prefer to have a head-mounted led flashlight and at least two other flashlights in

reserve. I wear the head-mounted light from the time I begin the preflight inspection until I put the aircraft away in the

hanger. If you need it in flight, trying to find it in the dark is just not a good option with me.

Airport diagrams. If you are operating from a remote airport, you should have a current airport diagram in front of you atall times. The larger the airport, the more important this is.

We are entering a season when the days are shorter, the nights are longer, and we will most certainly need some of the

above mentioned skills, or more. Prepare well, and fly safe!

Ronald Harlan, Squadron 118 Safety Officer

REMINDER: Read the newsletter and receive a Safety Briefing Credit.Please email Ron Harlan at [email protected]


4/12

CORE VALUES

OF CIVIL AIR

PATROL

Integrity

Volunteer Service

Excellence

Respect

For those of you who are wondering, PAO stands for Public Affairs Officer, and thats the

specialty track Im working toward. One of my jobs is photographing special events such as

promotions and awards. You may find the archives of my photos at:

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

Feel free to download any of the photos that youd like. If you have any issues with your or

your cadets photo being published, please let me know as soon as possible. I would like to

start publishing promotions and awards in your local newspaper but will need your permission

to do this.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at: [email protected] or

[email protected]

Beth Shurbutt

Here is a listing of the deadline dates for upcoming newsletters:

October 29 (Novembers Newsletter) December 28 (Januarys Newsletterwill be

November 27 (Decembers Newsletter) delayed in publication)

From Your P.A. O. Officer . . .

VOLUNTEER CORNER . . .

The Shelby County Amateur Radio Club willsponsor its Helena Hamfest on Saturday,October 16, 2010. The event will be held atthe Helena Amphitheater on State Road 261in Old Town Helena, Alabama from 8:00 amuntil 1:00 pm. This event is open to thepublic, there is a playground for kids, lots ofprizes, drawings, often. Bring the family andfriends and come on down.Talk-in 2M-146.980 MHz (No PLTone)Park Coordinates are 33' 17.802'N-86'-607'WWeb. www.W4SHL.com

Civil Air Patrol

www.gocivilairpatrol.com

Page 4

Shelby County Amateur

Radio Club Hamfest

Volunteer of the Month . . . 2Lt. Rachel Shurbutt began her third year as volunteer at

the M.G.H. Arenas Special Equestrian Program in August. This program, which is

sponsored by Alabama Power Company and Honda Manufacturing, teams with the

Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind to offer horse riding classes for the students.

Rachel has been trained to groom and tack the horses and to lead them when students

are riding. This has been a rewarding experience for her as she enjoys seeing the

students grow and learn while developing their skills. To help her communicate

better with some of the students, Rachel has started taking a sign-language class.

This has been very exciting for her and she looks forward to becoming more

proficient in the language of signing. The Arena is always looking for volunteers,

ages 14 and up. If you are interested, contact Rachel for more information.

New Senior

Members

Beth Taylor

WELCOME!!!
http://www.w4shl.com/http://www.w4shl.com/http://www.w4shl.com/


5/12

Congratulations! Pell City will have a team representing our squadron at the 2010 IronMan Competition at Auburn University in November.

Members of the Pell City Squadron Team include cadets Nathan Bedford, Allison How-ard, Nathan Howard, Jessica Lucy, Peter Randolph, and Daniel Smith.

Iron Man

www.areyouanironman.

com

Page 5

IRON MAN 2010

November 5-7

January 1416

February 18-20

March 25-27

April 29 - May 1

WESS

Dates

Look for us on the Web:

www.pellcitycap.org

Alabama Wing

www.alwg.cap.gov

ALWG Incident Command Staff School IThe first biannual ALWG Incident Command Staff School will be held October 23 & 24, 2010 at the

Bessemer Squadron Building from 0800 - 1700 each day. This school will consist of classroom

instruction on the various aspects of executing SAR & DR operations in the context of CAP as well as

hands on exercises and multiple tabletop SAR/DR Exercises.

The [tentative] curriculum for the ICSS is made up of information from the following topics:

CAP Missions Overview / How Missions Unfold

Roles & Responsibilities of the various CAP Incident Command Staff Positions

WMIRS

Search Planning

Running Air & Ground Operations

Mission Finance (Training & Actual)

Briefing & Debriefing

Legal Aspects of SAR/DR Operations

Implementing CISM & the Mission Chaplain

Mission Communications & Communications Planning

Mission Paperwork & Forms

With such a wide variety of topics, obviously none of the above will be covered in great detail. The

purpose of this school is to expand and enhance the Alabama Wing's ability to staff training and actual

missions. The first day of the activity will consist of classroom based instruction and hands on

exercises. The intent is to give all trainees a broad understanding of all aspects of how CAP operational

missions are executed. On the second day, the trainees will get to apply what they learned on Saturday

in two very realistic tabletop exercises.

Class size is limited so those who desire to attend this activity need to fill out an online application

located on the Training page in the Ops and Emergency Services section of the Alabama Wing website.

Among other factors, selections will be made based on each member's motivations, qualifications, and

experience in SAR/DR operations; however, this is not to say that only the most qualified and

experienced will be selected. This school is both for the experienced member who may be working

toward another section chief or an IC qualification as well as for the new member who may be working

on an MSA or MRO rating. All who are interested in expanding or enhancing their incident staffknowledge are encouraged to apply. This activity would also be excellent for those members who have

held their ES qualifications for a long period of time but may want some refresher training in an

educational environment. A wide cross section of trainees will be selected. Notifications will be sent to

applicants approximately one week prior to the activity in regard to their application status.

To help cover the cost of course materials, there will be a $15 activity fee that will be collected at the

beginning of the first session.

This school is planned to be offered again on April 16-17, 2011 in the Montgomery area.

Please reply to [email protected] with comments, suggestions, or questions.


6/12

Cadets CornerBy Capt. Cindy Bennett

As I write this, the temperatures in

Alabama have finally fallen. After suffering

through the unending heat of summer, cooler

temps are here. . . at least for right now. It

really does feel nice. There is a hint of fall in

the air and while fall usually brings thoughts

of football games and pretty leaves, here in

CAP it also brings thoughts of . . . WESS.

Yes it is that time of year again. The first

WESS cycle will begin Oct 1-3 and the Pell

City Composite Squadron once again will be

participating. This year a total of 22 members will be convening in Titus, Alabama to begin,

continue or train others for the participation in Ground Search and Rescue. We have 6 members

on staff for this cycle, Major John Randolph, Capt. Cindy Bennett, Lt. Eddie Shurbutt, C/Capt

Peter Randolph, C/Lt Rachel Shurbutt, and C/CMSgt Jerrod Finlay. We will be working as FieldTraining Advisors , Logistics, Communications, and the Command Post. There are two cadets

attending the Advanced School, and one senior member with thirteen other cadets attending the

Basic School. The first weekend we will be doing foundational work of learning to use a

compass, determining distress beacon bearing, set up shelter, and pace counts. If this cooler

weather holds, this weekend should be outstanding.

As for this past month, we had our first Great Start cycle to begin. Thanks to Lt. Ellen

Randolph for her work in establishing this program in our squadron. We will continue to use this

as we cycle new cadets into CAP. It covers customs and courtesies, drill, CAP history and

allows interaction into the programs of the cadet squadron. All this is done with the goal of

making sure new cadets and others that are interested in but are not sure what we are about

familiar with the CAP cadet program and gets everybody off to a great start in the squadron.

Also this past month, the cadets and seniors held a joint meeting on Sept 23. This was a

special night, as our Alabama Wing Commander, Col. Lisa Robinson was present. We appreciate

her presence and support of our squadron as we distributed awards and certificates that our

members have earned this year. Many special thanks goes to Lt. Jeannie Scott for putting the

ceremony together. I know there were many many hours that went into preparation for this event

and she did an excellent job. Also thanks go to all those that helped in the food preparation, it

was wonderful!

Congratulations this month to Cadets Gabriel Howard , Noah Andres, Christy Blankenship,

Emily Collier, Andrew Miller, Dax McDaniel, and Clay Mc Daniel , these cadets went through

the Great Start program and received their Curry award. Congratulations to our newest Airmen.

The Cadet OathI pledge that I will 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.

Cadets Corner . . .Page 6

NEW CADETS

WELCOME!!!

Hunter Tyler

Helpful web sites:

www.pellcitycap.org

www.capnhq.gov

www.gocivilairpatrol.com

www.cadetstuff.org

www.alabamaftx.com

www.areyouanironman.com

Captain Bennetts Trivia Question:

Trivia questions seem to abound lately so heres another one for you:

Where would a cadet find answers to a question about the physical

training program of the CAP cadet program?

Send your answer to: [email protected]


7/12

Cadet Corner (continued . . .) Page 7

Aerospace Article The Moon by Cadet Daniel John Smith

The moon is a differentiated body, being composed of several distinct layers, each with its own composition and

depth. The core and mantle's makeup is mostly unknown, but the crust is composed mainly of oxygen, with lesser

amounts of silicon, magnesium, iron, calcium, and aluminum. The thickness is estimated to be approximately 50

kilometers. The moon has such a thin atmosphere as to be negligible, mostly vapor from eruptions and solar wind.

During the day, surface temperatures average about 107 Celsius, and at night, around -153. There are several

theories that attempt to explain the moons formation, but the prevailing idea now is that the Earth-moon system was

created as a result of a huge impact that blasted material into space, where it re-formed into the moon.

The Cold-War inspired U.S./ U.S.S.R. space race increased interest in the moon. Unmanned probes were sent as

often as the launch pads were empty, and are still more common than manned missions. Only 24 people have ever

gone past low Earth orbit. The first unmanned probes and man in space were sent by the Soviets, (Sputnik 1 and

Yuri Gagarin, respectively), but the U.S. put the first man on the moon, (Neil Armstrong). Mankind has left over

170,000 KG of debris on the moon. This includes personal effects left as commemoratives, the famous U.S. flag, the

golf balls from Alan Sheppards lunar driving practice, or the Fallen Astronaut statuette left behind by the crew of

Apollo 15.

Report from . . .Great Lakes Region Cadet Leadership School at Camp Atterbury

I recently attended the Great Lakes Region Cadet Leadership School at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. The school was

very challenging, but it was worth it. We stayed up late writing essays on pickle jars, Abu Ghraib, Dwight D. Eisen-

hower, and AAR's. We also prepared speeches on a leadership topic from The Incredibles and from a leadership-

related book of our choice. We planned wing CAC conferences, took FEMA Prep tests, and participated in a team

debate. We completed a leadership reaction course that was physically and mentally stressful, but also had a great

time. We greatly expanded our leadership abilities in our effort to successfully complete the course. We had fun too.

We went swimming, played volleyball (and didn't even score one point), and completed a personality test online. I

learned valuable lessons that I will apply to my own leadership skills and to my squadron so others can benefit from

them. I will work hard at using the leadership skills gained there to advance my leadership capabilities in my squadron

and in my personal life.

C/2Lt Brian Scott

Thomas Casaday: Lifetime CAP Member 1948-2010

How would you describe a leader? Dedicated, willing to serve, intelligent, good

at motivating people? If so, you are correct! These are some of many excellent charac-

teristics that every good leader should possess. To be an excellent leader, it is funda-

mental that you be dedicated to helping those around you meet their goals, and be able

to accomplish your own goals as well. You must also be able to instruct others, but not

be arrogant or demeaning about it. A key aspect of leadership is humility, hence the

statement; "to lead people, you must walk beside them". If you have these charactertraits, then people will naturally be motivated by you. When others see someone they

look up to and respect, they will strive to be like that person. Thomas Casaday was

one of those people.

Thomas Casaday was born in Birmingham Alabama on June 27th, 1918. He spent

his childhood in Montgomery with his parents Rev. and Mrs. Thomas Cyrus Casaday Sr., his two sisters; Olibel and

Jewell, and his brother; Andrew. When Thomas was nineteen he applied at Bob Jones University in South Carolina.

There he studied for a short time and then transferred to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, that is now (continued)


8/12

Cadet Corner . . .Page 8

Auburn University. After his graduation from Auburn in 1941, he briefly studied at Howard

College; currently Samford University, to further his business skills.

And further his business skills he did! In the next few decades of his life, Casaday held many

civilian leadership roles in multiple establishments including; the first presidential position of the

St. Clair county Aviation Authority, vice president of V.J. Elmore Stores in Birmingham, director

of the Southern Museum of Flight, president of El Casa enterprises, president of the Birmingham

Aeronautics Club, member of the board of directors at Union State Bank in Pell City, and the

developer of Pine Harbor Marinara & Country Club on Logan Martin Lake, also in Pell City

Alabama.

Casaday also served his country. In 1942, when he was twenty-four, he enlisted in the Army Air

Corps as an Air Service Cadet. After much hard work, Casaday was commissioned as a 2nd

Lieutenant and became a B-24 pilot. In 1946, after years of dedicated service to his country, he was

medically discharged due to an accident. He was a veteran, multi engine rated pilot and he had

accumulated over 2,500 flying hours! Casaday did not stop flying after his military career, shortly

after his discharge he became a designated FAA safety officer and a qualified FAA rated pilot; this

is what sparked his interest in CAP.

In 1948, Casaday joined Civil Air Patrol. Shortly afterward, he began using his own Cessna

182 for CAP search & rescue and humanitarian operations. Throughout his CAP career, Casaday

held many leadership positions including; squadron commander, unit training officer, wing

executive officer, Alabama wing commander, vice commander of the Southeast regional wing,

regional commander, vice chairman of national board, and last but certainly not least, in September

of 1976, at CAP's annual conference in Philadelphia, brigadier general Thomas Casaday was

elected as national commander. He served in this position for three years until 1979 when brigadier

general Johnny Boyd was elected.

Casaday received many honors and awards for his achievements. In 1980 he was included as

one of only thirty-three volunteers to have been inducted into the CAP Hall of Honor. Casaday has

also been recognized by the Southern museum of Flight for his many contributions to aerospace

education, and has been added to their Hall of Fame. For his dedication and hard work, Casaday

has been awarded the CAP distinguished service medal, exceptional service medal, meritorious

service award, SAR service ribbon, "Find" ribbon, and the Frank G. Brewer Sr. CAP memorial

aerospace award.

Thomas Casaday was an excellent leader in every aspect of his life; from flying chances all the

way down to finances. He is an outstanding role-model for ambitious CAP cadets and all who

aspire to achieve excellence.

Written by Cadet Jessica Lucy

Attention Cadets: Your input in the newsletter is greatly encouraged! If youd like to write an article

that deals with any aspect of Civil Air Patrol, its history, leaders, purpose, etc . . ., please feel free to

contact Senior Member Beth Shurbutt.


9/12

PIREP

Intuition Fails

A parable of decision-making

Article From: "National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)"

By Parvez Dara, MD, FACP, MCFI

Intuition failed on the fourth Saturday of May.

The night was pitch black. There were no clouds, and no moon, either. The land below glowed only

intermittently with lights.

This was a 150-mile flight, but somewhere in its 148th mile, the gremlins stepped in. At first, there was a single,

spine-tingling hiccup from the engine. The pilot-induced airport lighting glowed in stark lines, and the faint

glow from the street lamps arced around the airfield. But everything else was as dark as a sheet of nothingness.

A second hiccup followed.

The airplane hesitated as thrust failed momentarily, almost as if it were hit by an invisible cloud of resistance.

The engine monitors showed no reason for this malady, but the propeller blades flickered in the aircraft'slanding lights. Meanwhile, the rabbit begged the aircraft toward the runway.

The third hiccup came at 600 feet, three-quarters of a mile from the touchdown zone. Everything went silent.

The manifold pressure and engine rpm sank on the pegs, and the propeller windmilled across the windshield.

He could still make it to the runway.

The aircraft swooned without thrust, and its pilot instinctually pulled on the yoke. Its nose rose, and

momentarily, the vertical speed indicator climbed from a 600-fpm descent to level flight.

The airspeed indicator unwound to barely 70 knots; he'd once learned that "longest glide" was a bit slower than

true glide speed, 78 knots. He wasn't sure, but 70 knots felt good.

The needle vibrated as it held to 70. Thrust receded and increasing drag yielded to the forces of gravity. He was

now over the rabbit, at the approach end of the runway, where even the boundary lights were visible.

The altimeter read 300 feet. He could make it with just a little more pull and a nudge on the yoke. The airspeed

needle bounced between 60 and 65 knots; the aircraft was still flying, but sluggishly. The nose felt heavy as it

sought more elevator. Sweat soaked the pilot's back.

For an instant, he felt a cold chill of reason. He considered the consequences of a botched landing. If he forced

the nose to the ground, he would certainly crash, destroy the aircraft and the runway lights, and create a big

deal with the insurance company. Indeed, he might never get coverage again.

If he could just tweak the aircraft, to let the main wheels hit before the runway, he could make a "controlled

crash." But then, at least, he would be home free.

His pulse thumped in his ears. He reminded himself to do first things first: Aviate. Fly the plane. Experience

had taught him that, as he collected more than 6,000 hours.

But the airfoil was testing the limits of its design. Speed decayed to 59 knots.

He was only 200 feet above ground, and only three rabbit lights remained. "Darn," he muttered. "Did I switch

tanks?"

(continued on page 10)

Standards / Evaluations Corner . . .Page 9


10/12

He turned the boost pump switch on, and with one hand straining on the yoke, he switched to the opposite

tank. Two cylinders ignited, just as the wing's angle of attack breeched its limit.

* * *

The next morning, sunlight illuminated the scene: A lost life and bent metal, a family grieving, and officialsshaking their heads over an avoidable accident.

The right tank was half full of fuel; the left was bone dry. It was evidence of a habit, in this case, of not planning

ahead.

This was the final rite of passage for an unsafe pilot.

Perhaps his intuition was tarnished by years of past experiences. Maybe it drew on instincts that guided him

through these scenarios before. Slipping by, all the while ignoring what he'd learned of the right and correct.

Perhaps he'd forgotten that, while intuition drives instincts, only the mind, with its knowledge, should govern

final decisions. Never should instincts drive the decisions.

He could have saved the day by practicing emergency procedures. He could have accomplished yet another

uneventful landing. He could have gone through a mental checklist of decisions, in the rightful order, to avert a

calamity.

Even in a moment of near panic, he could have accomplished an often-practiced sequence of procedures that

drew on his learning, not his intuition. The devil that leads pilots to match their angle of bank to the slope of

the clouds (instead of the attitude indicator's display of the real reality) is the same one who conspires to draw

us away from proficiency. Indeed, practice is the only solution to safety in aviation. We learn to gain

knowledge. We practice to gain instinct. We experience to gain intuition.

We must ensure that we operate only in that hierarchy, because only knowledge guides us to safety.

Comments related to this article:

I wanted to share with you this article from one of my CFI newsletters. I believe it makes the point that as

aviators we must be prepared for every flight. When the engine begins to run rough is definitely not the time to

be going over emergency procedures we must know them cold. If you have to think about what to do next you

are not prepared. The procedures must come as a reflex or second nature for you. Take the time to review

emergency and other rarely used procedures while on the ground then do some arm chair flying. Sitting in

the comfort of your home think, ok, if the engine fails at 200 ft after takeoff what am I going to do? Then,

while you are flying think about ok, if the engine should fail now where will I land the plane? As I said in a

previous article, don't just pilot the aircraft or let the aircraft fly you. You are the pilot in command, be an

aviator, know your craft and be prepared for what might happen on that dark night when you think you have

the airfield made.

Also I don' have to remind you that it is getting dark much earlier these days so take the time to go out and get

your three full-stop landings and make sure you are night proficient.

Maj. Chris Iddins

Standards / Evaluations Corner . . . continued Page 10


11/12

Did You Know Corner . . . Page 11

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that corrosion is a killer? When I

was in the Navy, we spent a lot of time training

on how to care for aircraft. The real work came

when you got to the squadron and had to begin

putting that training into practice. There were

the usual things like safely changing a tire, patch

a whole in a wing, change a hydraulic pump andsometimes R&R and engine. However, without

a doubt the job I hated the most was corrosion

control.

At least in peacetime, corrosion is probably the

number one time consuming maintenance

action. Thats because there are so many types and so many problems associated with it. Some forms are Galvanic

(dissimilar metals), Intergranular, Pitting, Environmental Cracking, and several others. Some problems associated with

corrosion are cracks in wing spars, flight surfaces and aircraft skin. Other problems surface when removing bolts and panels to

perform maintenance.

The F-16 Fighter is a combat aircraft with a proven record, but corrosion problems plague its maintainability, safety, and

reliability. One problem discovered by a Kelly AFB Engineer trained in corrosion control was the corrosion of tin- platedelectrical connector pins mated with gold-plated sockets. Fretting corrosion between these contacts (so subtle that it's not even

visible) appears to have been implicated in at least f ive F-16 crashes when their main fuel shutoff valves closed

uncommanded. Steps were taken to provide a corrosion preventive compound and the F-16 aircraft electrical connectors

increased the Mission Capable (MC) rate 16%. In addition, many millions of dollars were saved.

In March 2009, 91 MiG-29s of the Russian Air Force required repair after inspections due to corrosion. In a disclosure in

Parliament, India Defense Minister A. K. Antony said the MiG-29 is structurally flawed in that it has a tendency to develop

cracks due to corrosion in the tail fin.

Heat, humidity, and salt air may be enjoyable to tourist in Florida, however they produced serious problems for the air-

conditioning equipment and the missiles of the HAWK system. A chronic and complex problem was presented by the

vulnerability of the HAWK missile to moisture contamination and corrosion. Other missile systems have been affected as well.

Many of these missile systems had short lives and were replaced in the 1960s.

With modern day methods of treating metals and the complex formulas for paint and primer, aircraft are protected better than

ever. However, do not let that lull you into thinking that all is well. We must always be vigilant and perform inspections at the

appropriate time. Your life DOES depend on it.

A little known fact is that during the Cuban missile crisis, our greatest fear was not that we would be fired upon. Our greatest

fear was that if we were forced to fire our missiles, they would fail due to severe corrosion problems. In essence we were

bluffing. So, now you know.

Eddie Shurbutt, 1LT

SER-AL-118

CAP TRIVIALast Months WinnersLt. Eddie Shurbutt and Cadet Jessica Lucy

Last Months Question: According to our National Commander, how many members are currently in CAP? AnswerAccording to Maj.

General Amy S. Courter in the July/September issue of the Civil Air Patrols Volunteer Magazine, CAP has 60,000 members.

This months question: In Civil Air Patrol, what is the cadence of quick time?

The first cadet and senior member to send in their answer along with where they found the answer

(do not use Wikipedia), will win a special prize chosen by the editor.


12/12

Emergency services

WESS NEWS

We have the largest number of Squadron members attending WESS this cycle. To be exact, the number is 22, and

this could increase in November should anyone else desire to start the training. This large a number is a first for

Pell City. Previously the largest number of attendees was 14. Way to Go!!

We have six members serving in Staff positions, two in the Advanced School and fourteen in the Basic School. We

are also expecting participation from several Alabama Squadrons and Squadron representation from northeast

Mississippi, Tennessee, Pensacola Florida, West Georgia and Savannah Georgia. This is also a huge first and

speaks volumes to the quality of training WESS offers.

On a tactical note..the weather is turning cooler. I would like to remind you to be sure to bring a field jacket if

you have one. If not, a jacket of some sort as it will be cool operating in the field at night. Dressing in layers will

also be a help. Remember there will be no camp fire to warm up by!! Also.do not forget other things (like I have

on occasion!) such as sleeping bag, poncho or other rain gear, tarp or other shelter material, proper food, extra

socks, canteen / camelback (WITH WATER!!).I am sure you get my drift!!

Most important ID card, 101 card if you have one, $15 activity fee and the WESS medical form (filled out and

signed!!!!!!). These items are definite show stoppers. They will be checked prior to departure.

I trust everyone will have a great learning experience and have fun at the same time. If any of you have any

questions or issues to be resolved regarding anything about WESS, gear, requirements or related topics please see

me about it.

Major Randolph

Emergency Services Corner . . .Page 12

Joint Forces Trivia1. What Flag am I and what signal (s) do I convey???

2. What is located on the fuselage underside of the USAF F-15? Provide name

and use.

( This is from a tour several years ago provided by an F15 Sqdn CO at Langley AFB,

VA)

3. E-mail answers to Major Randolph at [email protected]

Promotions and Awards will be published in a separate publication this month due to

the large amount of information and photos. It will be mailed out within the next couple

days. Thank you for your understanding and patience! - Senior Member Beth Shurbutt

pell city squadron - oct 2010

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