shanejj

Question and thoughts

What do you guys think about CAP ?
The Civil Air Patrol...

That would be a good thing to do if one has any ideas about joining the Air Force as an officer (to fly), wouldn't it?


All thoughts welcome

shanejj

hmmm..
So I googled it...it's all volunteer work...and they MAY pay the aircraft for you, but it could also be available at a reduced rate...

Your thoughts?

atpwannabe

First of all, are you joining as a cadet or a Senior Member? If as a cadet, you may be able to log flight time as an observer on sunrise or sundown patrol or special missions. As a Senior Member, well, that's a horse of a different color. I would suggest contacting your local CAP and getting with the Squadron Cmdr. or the Sqaudron Flight Officer and have a face-to-face with them and seeing how you can log flight time as a Senior Member w/flight status.

All in all, a great organization. Did it myself...Cadet 2nd Lt; Deputy Cadet Cmdr. Earned my Billy Mitchell Award and participated in numerous activities. Btw, all done at Palm Beach Cadet Squadron (Unit# 08159) from 1974 to 1977.

Hope this helps.

mcartier713

why are there no other threads/info on this here? i want to know more...

Cubdriver

I looked into this several times in the course of my flight training as a way to fly cheaper, build time and get access to good aircraft. There are a lot of things you have to do for them that are not required by flying clubs and FBOs. My conclusion was, the deal varies depending heavily on the way the local squadron does things. If there is a strong, well run and well-staffed squadron in your area, there will be a lot of chances to get access to an airplane and the rules will be more flexible and costs more reasonable. But if the local chapter is not strong or they are not allowing much flexibility in the rules, it may not be a good deal at all, and this is why I never pursued the one in my district.

I had a friend who was deep into it at one point, so much so he bought one of the older 172s. It was a gorgeous plane and he rented it to me at cost, it had lots of power and was rigged oh so nice. It had the original CAP paint scheme still on it so I would fly into an FBO where there was a girl at the desk and say, alright we have reports fueling is being done incorrectly here so I need to inspect your methods. You can start by demonstrating on this 172. Several of them fell for it, but I passed all of them. It's fun to watch a 20-something fueling a high-wing airplane.

mcartier713

... i hate fueling high winged planes. lol

N6724G

First of All, CAP is not a flying club. You dont join and rent airplanes. It is NOOOT a place to build time. CAP is a voulnteer organization with three distinct missions.

1.Emergency Services. CAP conducts search and rescue missions looking for missing aircraft and lost peole. They search by air and by ground. They also assist local authorities during natural disaters such as hurricanes, tornados and floods. members are trined in search techniques, rescue and flying search grids.

2. Aerospace Education. CAP condcuts programs to introduce aerospace in the community and its members. CAP tours space facilities, NASA reserach centers, and studies the history of the space program.

3. Cadet Programs. CAP runs a youth program to teach youths ages 12-18 responsibility, and leadership. They use the Air Force as a model. cadets get to participate in activities such as cadet encampments where they stay on a military base, orientation rides where they get to fly in a Cessna 172, and special activities.

So, you see CAP is not a timebuilding program.they conduct real world missions. They train in Search and Rescue. Someone said earlier cadets are observers. I dont know wher ethat came from but thats not correct. Its more of a Serach and rescue organizationthan a flying origanization and from my readings onthis board I doubt many of you would be interested. But yet some may. I have been in CAP since 1984. I enjoy it but thats me I am not one of those gys trying to build time to get an airline job. I actually enjoy flying General aviation aircraft and I enjoy giving back to my community.

Units differ fromlocation to location. Some units fly more than others. SOme units just focus on cadets. You have tofind a unit thats right for you.

pete2800

Yeah, those fueling jobs sure makes you appreciate the low wing Pipers and Beechcraft.

I participated in CAP as a cadet for about 5 years. While a great experience, I would definitely not recommend it for attempting to build time. During my membership, I might have flown a total of 10 hours. (small squadron with a lack of competent senior leadership) While it might be a worthwhile aviation-related endeavor, don't count on it for the flight time.

-Ben

planecrazyjenn

24G hit CAP right on the head. It's not a flying club, although if you get involved with the right squadron you could do quite a bit of flying. We have an older 172 that 'rents' for 35/hr wet. You can't exactly 'rent' the airplane for personal pleasure, although you can use it for training and staying current. So if that just so happens to mean flying to grandma's house for that $100 hamburger (or veggieburger if your vegetarian like me) then so be it. We do a lot of incentive flights, and focus a lot on the cadet program. I've been in since I was 13, and will always be in. Some people take the military portion well beyond what they should, and can make it less fun...remember CAP is just an auxillary of the USAF, it is not the USAF.

If your looking to oneday become an officer, I personally believe CAP can only help. I don't know if it'll be a make or break situation, but you never know what kind of connections you can make. A lot of military members are involved. I don't remember the exact percentage now, but at one point 10% of USAFA cadets were former CAP members. There are also many scholarships available...

I could sit here all day and along with 24G explain what CAP is all about, but really the only way your going to find if you like it or not is to attend one of the meetings. If you go to the CAP headquarters site - www.cap.gov you can do a unit locator. Call up the squadron commander, or whoever the POC is and let them know you'd like to attend a meeting and are interesting in joining. They'll help you out and get you squared away. Some adults choose not to do anything with cadets and stay in a senior squadron, some love being around and helping cadets. I love being with the cadets, especially being female. Many of these cadets have dreams of being fighter pilots, airline pilots, engineers, paratroopers, you name it. They have big dreams, and I love that. Although some may never go that far...I absolutely love seeing youth have a dream. I make it a personal note to give all the cadets my number...if they ever feel the need to talk about ANYTHING, want advice, or really just want to hang out...they are always more than welcome to do that. I'm not much older then they are, so there's more of a brother/sister connection between us...they had the chance to fly on the C-130J a while back, and I was the loadmaster on their flight. They ate that all up! During leadership and aerospace education classes, we have everyone from fighter pilots, to aeronautical engineers come and talk to the cadets. They love it...

But like 24G said, it's so much more then that. As a senior member, which I'm assuming is what your interested in, you can really get yourself involved with emergency services. We have counterdrug and disaster relief. If your a pilot and meet certain time requirements, you can get involved as a mission pilot, observer, etc. or if your into camping/hiking - you could be on our ground team. There is so much to learn from being in CAP. You may even have the chance to travel to a former country as part of our foreign exchange program. It's a heck of a lot of fun.

It's much more than just a flying club...it's a buncha senior and cadet members who live and breathe airplanes and space.

Check it out! And if you have anymore questions, please definitely let us know.

bhndthecns

CAP was good to me. I soloed there, got my first 12 hours or so of loggeddual recieved, three Wing Encampments as various staff position, Billy Mitchell Award...no need to continue with all that mess. But the flying, I had a blast, and it is cheap! I went to the National Flight Academy - Power, in Blackstone, VA. (This basically is designed to give you a good foundation with your first 10 hours of formal instruction, and the opportunity to solo.) I was the first to solo at our camp, and then I won an AOPA scholarship there, so I basically paid $200 for 10 hours of flight, ground instruction, and room and board for two weeks..can't beat that. I met a lot of people, some I still associate with today. If you're looking at joining one of the services after high school. I enlisted in the USCG Reserves as an E-3, just as I would have with the USAF, b/c of my Billy Mitchell Award. One of my cadets from our squadron went all the way up to Cadet Lt. Col....she's now at the Coast Guard Academy. I know that CAP helped her get there. It's fun, but you'll only get out what you put in.