10 January 2009
Public Affairs: CAP INFO
For our new viewers/readers here at Always Viglant; Here is an introductory video that is posted along with many, many more on YouTube. Our three mandated missions include Emergency Services and Search and Rescue, Public Aerospace Education and Cadet Programs and Education. For more specific information about CAP go to GoCivilAirPatrol.com
CAP: Civil Air Patrol assists in Neshoba, Arkansas missing plane search
7 January, 2009 UPDATE: Body found. Details here...
Authorities in Neshoba County think they have located a missing plane belonging to an Arkansas pilot.
Winston County Sheriff Randy Thomas said his deputies discovered the wrecked, yellow-and-blue crop-duster about 5:30 p.m. Monday near the Winston, Kemper and Neshoba county lines in Neshoba County.
"Once we found it, we notified Neshoba County and (Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol)," Thomas said. "We're not sure if the pilot was ever located."
Ashley Smith of Vicksburg said she believes the pilot is Monty Hudson, her father.
Smith said Hudson was flying from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland and from Cleveland to Jonesboro, Ark., when his plane disappeared on Friday.
She said Monday night she'd been told her father's plane had been found. She wouldn't comment further.
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Patricia Mitcham of Huntsville, Ala., said Monday that air and ground teams had focused their three-day search efforts near central portions of east Mississippi and west Alabama.
Mitcham said the Civil Air Patrol in both states began a search Saturday morning. But the search of parts of east Mississippi and west Alabama was suspended Sunday because of bad weather.
She said she believes bad weather played a role in the disappearance.
More here...
Authorities in Neshoba County think they have located a missing plane belonging to an Arkansas pilot.
Winston County Sheriff Randy Thomas said his deputies discovered the wrecked, yellow-and-blue crop-duster about 5:30 p.m. Monday near the Winston, Kemper and Neshoba county lines in Neshoba County.
"Once we found it, we notified Neshoba County and (Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol)," Thomas said. "We're not sure if the pilot was ever located."
Ashley Smith of Vicksburg said she believes the pilot is Monty Hudson, her father.
Smith said Hudson was flying from Greenville, Ala., to Cleveland and from Cleveland to Jonesboro, Ark., when his plane disappeared on Friday.
She said Monday night she'd been told her father's plane had been found. She wouldn't comment further.
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Patricia Mitcham of Huntsville, Ala., said Monday that air and ground teams had focused their three-day search efforts near central portions of east Mississippi and west Alabama.
Mitcham said the Civil Air Patrol in both states began a search Saturday morning. But the search of parts of east Mississippi and west Alabama was suspended Sunday because of bad weather.
She said she believes bad weather played a role in the disappearance.
More here...
CAP: Civil Air Patrol assists at Indiana County Airport Crash
5 January, 2009
A single-engine plane crashed through some trees and landed on its roof on a wooded hillside north of the fog-enshrouded airport in White Township, authorities said.
Paramedics worked on the injured men as they rode in pickup trucks to Airport Road, then took them to Indiana Regional Medical Center for initial treatment. Citizens' Ambulance Service then transported them to the Johnstown hospital because the weather prevented medical helicopters from flying, an emergency responder said.
Emergency Management's Team 900, a wilderness search and rescue unit, set up floodlights at the crash site and members of the Civil Air Patrol kept watch over the scene until representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration could begin their investigation.
More here...
CAP: Civil Air Patrol assists in Roswell, NM missing person search
7 January, 2009
A search last week for a lost Roswell, NM quail hunter brought home how important carrying the proper equipment can be to a happy outcome.
Tony Davis and Joyce Westerbur of White Mountain Search and Rescue, a group that operates out of Lincoln County, said anyone setting out to enjoy the New Mexico outdoors, whether hunting or for other activities, should carry a compass or Global Positioning Satellite device and a topographical map and know how to use them.
"Just having a cell phone is not sufficient," Davis said. "Cell phones did not work well in this area, for example."
WMSAR members were called to assist Chaves County SAR in the search Dec. 31 and Jan.1. The WMSAR "vanbulance" do-nated by Lincoln County was used in the search as a winter base camp, Davis said.
Cooperation among search and rescue groups from different counties is common. Chaves County SAR, Eddy County SAR, New Mexico State Police, state Game and Fish, a Civil Air Patrol aircraft and local ranchers on horseback all participated in the latest search.
More here...
A search last week for a lost Roswell, NM quail hunter brought home how important carrying the proper equipment can be to a happy outcome.
Tony Davis and Joyce Westerbur of White Mountain Search and Rescue, a group that operates out of Lincoln County, said anyone setting out to enjoy the New Mexico outdoors, whether hunting or for other activities, should carry a compass or Global Positioning Satellite device and a topographical map and know how to use them.
"Just having a cell phone is not sufficient," Davis said. "Cell phones did not work well in this area, for example."
WMSAR members were called to assist Chaves County SAR in the search Dec. 31 and Jan.1. The WMSAR "vanbulance" do-nated by Lincoln County was used in the search as a winter base camp, Davis said.
Cooperation among search and rescue groups from different counties is common. Chaves County SAR, Eddy County SAR, New Mexico State Police, state Game and Fish, a Civil Air Patrol aircraft and local ranchers on horseback all participated in the latest search.
More here...
USAF: Air Force develops a positive strategy to deal with negative bloggers
Hat tip to the Air Force Pundit, here...
"Good idea.. By Noah Shachtman Wired Magazine January 06, 2009 | Bloggers: If you suddenly find Air Force officers leaving barbed comments after one of your posts, don't be surprised. They're just following the service's new "counter-blogging" flow chart. In a twelve-point plan, put together by the emerging technology division of the Air Force's public affairs arm, airmen are given guidance on how to handle "trolls," "ragers" -- and even well-informed online writers, too. It's all part of an Air Force push to "counter the people out there in the blogosphere who have negative opinions about the U.S. government and the Air Force," Captain David Faggard says. Over the last couple of years, the armed forces have tried, in fits and starts, to connect more with bloggers. The Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense now hold regular "bloggers' roundatbles" with generals, colonels, and key civilian leaders."
The origional article here...
09 January 2009
CTWG PA: The USAF adds Always Vigilant to it's blogroll
The official USAF blog, Air Force Live has addded Always Vigilant to their blog roll. We reciprocated of course!
CTWG PA
CTWG PA
SAR: Pilots Slow To Buy New Emergency Beacons (ELT)
The helicopter's twisted wreckage lay in a Louisiana bayou, its crew severely injured and unable to call for help. But a small radio beacon was automatically notifying rescuers.
Within minutes after the crash Sunday, a satellite deep in space alerted rescuers to a possible crash, identified the helicopter's owner and helped pinpoint its location, according to the Air Force.
A Coast Guard helicopter arrived at the remote site within two hours, in time to airlift the lone survivor to a hospital.
New digital distress beacons like the one on the PHI helicopter are revolutionizing rescues of boaters, hikers and pilots across the globe.
But the chopper that crashed on the way to an offshore oil rig was one of only a small minority of U.S.-registered aircraft with the new beacons.
More than 85% of private planes do not carry the improved beacons even as the government prepares to stop listening Feb. 1 for distress calls from the older, outdated beacons installed on most aircraft. The newer beacons cost roughly $2,000 to $4,000, although prices are dropping.
"It's pretty scary," says Lt. Col. Clifton Hicks, who directs Air Force rescue operations in the continental United States.
In recent interviews, ranking officials at the Air Force, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors the distress beacons from its satellites in space, urged private pilots to install new Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) as soon as possible.
More here…
Within minutes after the crash Sunday, a satellite deep in space alerted rescuers to a possible crash, identified the helicopter's owner and helped pinpoint its location, according to the Air Force.
A Coast Guard helicopter arrived at the remote site within two hours, in time to airlift the lone survivor to a hospital.
New digital distress beacons like the one on the PHI helicopter are revolutionizing rescues of boaters, hikers and pilots across the globe.
But the chopper that crashed on the way to an offshore oil rig was one of only a small minority of U.S.-registered aircraft with the new beacons.
More than 85% of private planes do not carry the improved beacons even as the government prepares to stop listening Feb. 1 for distress calls from the older, outdated beacons installed on most aircraft. The newer beacons cost roughly $2,000 to $4,000, although prices are dropping.
"It's pretty scary," says Lt. Col. Clifton Hicks, who directs Air Force rescue operations in the continental United States.
In recent interviews, ranking officials at the Air Force, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors the distress beacons from its satellites in space, urged private pilots to install new Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) as soon as possible.
More here…
08 January 2009
Aerospace: Discovery
Space shuttle Discovery rolled out of Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building (in the background). In the VAB, Discovery will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39A for a targeted launch to the International Space Station on Feb. 12, 2009.
SAFETY: Navy changes the way it trains the Blue Angels
Go to the Blue Angels web site, here...
The Navy hopes changes in the way Blue Angels train will help prevent crashes like the one that killed Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis in Burton two years ago.
Instituted in December, the new G-Tolerance Training Program is designed to help Blue Angel pilots withstand the physical and mental rigors of performing aerial maneuvers that can multiply normal gravitational forces.
Effects caused by those forces are believed to have caused the April 2007 crash that killed Davis.
In the last maneuver of the Blue Angels’ performance at the 2007 Beaufort Air Show at the Marine Corps Air Station, Davis was trailing the other pilots and accelerated to more than 425 mph. Investigators said the sudden force caused him to lose awareness of his speed and altitude.
Davis' F/A-18 Hornet clipped several trees before crashing in a wooded neighborhood near the intersection of Shanklin and Pine Grove roads. The pilot was killed, eight people were injured and dozens of homes were damaged in the crash.
The Navy hopes the new physical training program will reduce the incidence of "G-LOC," when a pilot loses consciousness because of excessive gravitational forces.
Unlike Navy and Marine pilots, Blue Angel pilots are not required to wear G-suits. The suits use a compressed air and bladder system to restrict the amount of blood flowing from a pilot's brain, preventing blackouts, said Lt. j.g. Brett Dawson, spokesman for the Chief of Naval Air Training in Corpus Christi, Texas.
However, the suits are not conducive to the type of flying done by the team, Dawson said.
"Those guys are flying 18 inches apart, and their arms and legs and hands are extremely close to that stick during those maneuvers; and if that suit inflates or deflates, it can move the stick," he said. "When we're flying 18 inches apart, we don't want that stick to move."
The Blue Angels annually submit a waiver to the Secretary of the Navy to exempt them from wearing G-suits, which are standard issue for Marine and Navy pilots.
More here…
OSINT: A view into the Army’s future
ARTICLE: Army's New Manual: Peacekeeper Training, AP, December 17, 2008
Both the Army and Marines have long been partial to "Full Spectrum" operations, a buzz phrase that signals the need to be equally proficient on the lower-end of the conflict spectrum.
The Army has released its first new training field manual in six years, highlighting the need for units to be ready to conduct stability operations after traditional combat has ended.
The manual, titled "Training for Full Spectrum Operations" and written at Fort Leavenworth, explains what soldiers can expect when in combat.
It replaces a 2002 edition and comes on the heels of the Army's release earlier this year of its latest operations doctrine, which emphasized that soldiers must be prepared and proficient in offense, defense and stability skills. The Army says it is the first time it has synchronized the manuals for operations and training.
Army officials say the latest manual released Tuesday is a reflection of the past seven years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq and a reality that units will be in a period of "persistent conflict" for years to come.
More here…
Both the Army and Marines have long been partial to "Full Spectrum" operations, a buzz phrase that signals the need to be equally proficient on the lower-end of the conflict spectrum.
The Army has released its first new training field manual in six years, highlighting the need for units to be ready to conduct stability operations after traditional combat has ended.
The manual, titled "Training for Full Spectrum Operations" and written at Fort Leavenworth, explains what soldiers can expect when in combat.
It replaces a 2002 edition and comes on the heels of the Army's release earlier this year of its latest operations doctrine, which emphasized that soldiers must be prepared and proficient in offense, defense and stability skills. The Army says it is the first time it has synchronized the manuals for operations and training.
Army officials say the latest manual released Tuesday is a reflection of the past seven years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq and a reality that units will be in a period of "persistent conflict" for years to come.
More here…
Aerospace: P-8I Selected as Indian Navy's Long-Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft
The Government of India has selected The Boeing Company to provide eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft to the Indian navy. The P-8I is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy.
More here…
COMM: Study reveals hazards of severe space weather
A NASA-funded study describes how extreme solar eruptions could have severe consequences for communications, power grids and other technology on Earth.
The National Academy of Sciences in Washington conducted the study.
The resulting report provides some of the first clear economic data that effectively quantifies today's risk of extreme conditions in space driven by magnetic activity on the sun and disturbances in the near-Earth environment. Instances of extreme space weather are rare and are categorized with other natural hazards that have a low frequency but high consequences.
"Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood," said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity."
Besides emitting a continuous stream of plasma called the solar wind, the sun periodically releases billions of tons of matter called coronal mass ejections. These immense clouds of material, when directed toward Earth, can cause large magnetic storms in the magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. Such space weather can affect the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems.
More here…
The National Academy of Sciences in Washington conducted the study.
The resulting report provides some of the first clear economic data that effectively quantifies today's risk of extreme conditions in space driven by magnetic activity on the sun and disturbances in the near-Earth environment. Instances of extreme space weather are rare and are categorized with other natural hazards that have a low frequency but high consequences.
"Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood," said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity."
Besides emitting a continuous stream of plasma called the solar wind, the sun periodically releases billions of tons of matter called coronal mass ejections. These immense clouds of material, when directed toward Earth, can cause large magnetic storms in the magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. Such space weather can affect the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems.
More here…
USAF: Airmen to deliver peacekeeping equipment to Darfur
Airmen will assist a U.S. Africa Command-led operation to airlift equipment into the Darfur region of Sudan in support of United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions, Air Mobility Command officials said here Jan 8.
The operation was announced Jan. 5 by President George W. Bush during a media availability with First Vice President to the Government of National Unity of Sudan Salva Kiir.
During the session, President Bush detailed U.S. support to include movement of 240 containers worth of equipment by the Department of State, and airlift of equipment from Rwanda by Department of Defense officials.
More here….
The operation was announced Jan. 5 by President George W. Bush during a media availability with First Vice President to the Government of National Unity of Sudan Salva Kiir.
During the session, President Bush detailed U.S. support to include movement of 240 containers worth of equipment by the Department of State, and airlift of equipment from Rwanda by Department of Defense officials.
More here….
07 January 2009
CTWG: Wet rates update
FOR ALL CTWG PILOTS
Good news - in light of current aviation fuel prices, we have decided not to raise the wet rental rate for the Cessna 172s in January. The rate of $76 will remain in place until further notice.
Our current wet rates for pilot-reimbursed flights in CAP aircraft remain as follows:
Cessna 172 - $76/hour
Cessna 182 - $110/hour
LET'S FLY!!
Pete Jensen, Col, CAP
Commander
Connecticut Wing
Good news - in light of current aviation fuel prices, we have decided not to raise the wet rental rate for the Cessna 172s in January. The rate of $76 will remain in place until further notice.
Our current wet rates for pilot-reimbursed flights in CAP aircraft remain as follows:
Cessna 172 - $76/hour
Cessna 182 - $110/hour
LET'S FLY!!
Pete Jensen, Col, CAP
Commander
Connecticut Wing
USAF: The Pentagon Channel - Today
Courtesy of the Pentagon Channel: Around the US Armed Forces Today
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