August-October 2012 - Asheville Composite Squadron

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Quarterly
Vol.1 Issue 1
“Echo Loud”
August-October, 2012
This is Mountain Fury!
F
lying in mountainous
terrain in small planes
can be dangerous, even
more so when your searching for lost aircraft or missing hikers. Pilots who conduct
search and rescue missions
practiced and sharpened their
skills this weekend at an event
sponsored by the Asheville
Composite Squadron of the
Civil Air Patrol at the Asheville
Regional Airport.
The event, known as Mountain Fury, was open to Civil Air
Patrol pilots from across the
state and included classroom
instruction by experienced Civil
Air Patrol mountain pilots as
well as hands on experience in
the cockpit.
Civil Air Patrol, an all volunteer group and chartered by
congress, has as one of its missions, emergency services in
which they conduct search and
rescue missions both in the air
and on the ground, damage
assessments and reconnaissance in times of natural disasters such as hurricane and
homeland security.
This is the sixth such training exercise conducted by the
Asheville Squadron which in
previous courses have included
pilots from Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and
Pennsylvania.
“We’ve got to have trained
pilots capable of doing search
and rescue in these mountains
in a safe and productive manner
and this clinic guarantees that
will happen,” said Col Larry
Ragland, Middle East Region
Commander and former North
Carolina Wing Commander,
who was attending the course
for the fourth time.
Asked what made Asheville
a great place to do this kind of
training, Col Ragland said location and proximity to the mountains. Also “...this is where we
have many of our pilots who
are very experienced in mountain flying and
who know how to do what
they’re doing in terms of doing
it in a safe manner and so
this is where we come for the
expertise.”
Asked why this clinic was
important, Event Incident Com-
mander Major Joe Weinflash,
said “Readiness, being preContinued on Page 4
Squadron wins Unit Citation at Conference
Asheville Squadron receiving a Unit Citation at the Middle East Region/North Carolina Wing Conference. The citation is being tied
to the unit’s colors by then NCWG Commander Roy Douglas while held by Asheville Squadron member Captain Joe Myers.
Congratulations to our graduates
By Captain Clint Parker
A nice graduation
cake was served at
our June potluck at the
Woodfin Community for
our cadets who graduated from high school: C/
SMSgt Mason Burchette,
C/2d Lt Josh Brown, C/2d
Lt Chris Hewitt, C/Capt
Katherine Moore and C/
Lt Col Joseph Houston.
C/Capt Moore will
be attending Clemson
University on an ROTC
scholarship and C/Lt Col
Joseph Houston received
an appointment to the Air
Force Academy. C/2d Lt
Chris Hewitt is attending
UNC-Charlotte and C/2d
Lt Josh Brown joined the
Army National Guard.
NC CAP Pilot Completes 200th Cadet Orientation Flight
By Captain Clint Parker
Recently, Civil Air Patrol
pilot Lt Col Wally Courtney took Cadet Elijah
Holden on his fifth cadet
orientation flight. That
orientation flight was
number
two
hundred
for Courtney. Each CAP
cadet gets to take five of
these “O-flights” as part
of their program and are
allowed to get familiar
with the plane, controls
and instruments. Both
Courtney and Holden are
members of the Asheville
Composite Squadron.
Courtney, a Canton
resident, added this milestone to a growing list
of accomplishments. In
2008, he was recognized
as the Orientation Pilot of
the Year among all units
in the North Carolina
Wing, and the runner-up
for that award tin 2009.
His commitment to flying
O-flights comes from his
pleasure in seeing young
cadets become excited
about aviation and, in
particular, flying. Lt Col
Courtney is a retired Navy
Captain and naval aviator, and hopes that some
of the cadets he flies will
seek careers as military
pilots.
While on active duty
in the Navy, his primary
aircraft were the P2V-5F
Neptune and the P3C
Orion. He flew many
hours over the Atlantic
Ocean and Mediterranean Sea tracking Soviet
submarines.
Courtney joined CAP in
December 2005. To find
out more about CAP or
the Asheville Composite
Squadron CAP go to their
website at www.ashevillecap.org or call 828-2098800.
Lt Col Wally Courtney with cadet Elijah Holden (on his left) and cadet Rob Reeves after Lt Col Courtney’s
200th O-flight.
Cadet chosen as commander
of special summer activity
By Clint Parker
Every summer thousands of cadets take part in the National
Cadet Special Activities. Such was Asheville Composite Squadron’s C/1st Lt Chris Hewitt who attended the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Familiarization Course (SUPTFC) at Columbus
Air Force Base in Mississippi last year.
This year, after being chosen as cadet commander for the event,
Hewitt returned to Mississippi to lead 45 cadets from all over the
country during the week long activity.
Cadets who attend SUPTFC experience the same
phase one pilot training memorize and tested daily on
what they learned as Air Force pilot candidates.
They are also tested on the bold face emergency
procedures along with the operational limitations of the T6 Texan II. Daily were given one
or two presentation on characteristics of the
aircraft electric and hydraulic systems.
Hewitt also received the Major Richard Augur Leadership Award from senior
staff at the end of the course. Hewitt is
a resident of the Fairview community.
SUPTFC took place the week of July 6-14.
CAP at hit at school event
By Captain Clint Parker
& 2nd Lt William Wallace
Members of the Asheville
Composite Squadron of
the Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
attended a 5K Walk/Run
event at Reynolds Middle
School on Friday (April
13) where they set-up a
display promoting CAP.
C/SRA Rob Reeves,
a student at the school,
made the arrangements
for the squadron. Also at
the event for CAP were
Cadets Lt Col Joe Houston, and 2nd Lt Chris
Hewett. The group was led
by 2nd Lt William Wallace.
The representatives had
a table under a canopy
with various CAP materials
displayed. They answered
questions from teachers,
parents, and many of the
students, distributed a
myriad of publications, contact cards, and old copies of
CAP Volunteer Magazines.
In addition, Lt Wallace
met with a science teachers, who gave him an
open invitation to visit his
classroom.
They talked
to many folks about opportunities for both senior
and cadet memberships,
and several teachers were
interested in the Teacher
Orientation
Program.
The CAP cadets did an outstanding job as they were
dressed in their BDU’s, and
tagged with the red DDR
ribbons, Houston, Hewett,
and Reeves were naturals
in drawing students’ interest, both before and after
the run. While not engaging the public, they demonstrated for onlookers rifle
drills.
C/Lt Hewitt snatching rifle from C/Lt Col Houston for inspection, to the delight of Reynolds students.
Asheville Squadron
members send your CAP
pictures and story ideas to
[email protected]
Mountain Fury!
Continued from Page 1
pared, being ready. Should a
mission, whether it is homeland security, disaster relief or
search and rescue take place
in the mountains, it’s important,
to be qualified and competent
beyond the standard FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
qualification.”
Asked what pilots walked
away with after attending the
event, Weinflash said, “Confi-
dence! This type of flying is not
for everyone, but when called
on you want pilots that can say,
I can do this.”
Asheville cadet solos under
squadron flight academy program
By Captain Clint Parker
Asheville Civil Air Patrol Squadron cadet C/2d Lt Logan
Lueck took to the skies on Saturday (July 14) from the
Asheville Airport as he had done several times before in
his flight training. However, this time there was one major
difference...he was by himself.
Lueck, 16, is the second cadet to complete Asheville’s
2012 Flight Academy and the 14th cadet to complete the
academy since its beginning in 2008. A flight academy like
this is usually conducted on a regional level in Civil Air
Patrol, but the Asheville Squadron took on the cadet flight
academy program to encourage cadets in the squadron to
learn to fly.
Lt Col Ray Davis was Cadet Lueck’s primary instructor
and after signing him off for solo handed him the keys to the
aircraft for three takeoffs and landings on his own. Three
other Asheville cadets are currently working to obtain their
solo wings this year. Lueck is a resident of the Leicester
community.
The academy cost is only $400 per cadet for ground
school and 10 hours of flying time in the squadron’s
Cessna 172. The low cost is made possible by a generous
donation left to the squadron in the will of Civil Air Patrol
member Lt Col William Herman Eggers of Mills River specifically for flight training for young people.
Lt Col Ray Davis congratulates Cadet Lueck after his solo.
Coming in for a touch-and-go.
Taking it around the pattern.
Cadet Lueck at the controls.