Anyone here fly 4 the Civil Air Patrol?

[MarineGrunt]

Is it worth while?
How much flying do you do?
Any other duties?

I'm considering joining the CAP, but would like to hear some first hand experiences first. Thanks!

 

[Toy Soldier]

Flying for the CAP can be rewarding. There are several different flying missions.

The one I do is O-flights. These are orientation flights for the kids. There are about 6 flights that they need to get through for the aerospace program.

To answer your question about it being worth it or not. That depends on what your goals and intent are. I personally do it for the kids, otherwise I wouldn't put up with the over-annoying paper drills and policies/procedures that the "Air Force" has put in place!

They (CAP) would like for the planes to fly between 15 and 25 hours a month. We are probably going to get a C182 assigned to our squadron. Our Wing has C172's and C182's.

It takes a little work becoming pilot qualified. Not only do you have to be a member, but you have to study the CAP regs, go through a CAP checkride, know the syllabus', take two on-line written tests, complete aircraft questionaires, then remain current every 90 days in the same type of aircraft that you will fly for them. Records keeping is very important as well.

Again, it can be a rewarding program if your intent is for the kids. The flying should be "incidental". If someone only wants "flight time", then the program may be too "busy" because of the committment required. Otherwise, work a little harder and fly some!

Click on the link at the bottom of my signature and check out the other progams, (rescue, drug interdiction, etc.). Good luck!

 

[Bustamove]

OK, you got the good news scenario, and I don't doubt anything Toy Soldier said. But there's another side of CAP as well. It's the good old boy flying club CAP that exists at some - not all - places.

I recommend you do two things before joining:

1. Ask the last person to get qualified to fly how long it took and how painful it was. Also ask if he/she knew any of the long-term members before joining. If so, take the answer with a grain of salt.
2. Ask the squadron commander and/or ops boss the same questions. Compare the answers.

Again, this isn't a flame on CAP, although if you do a search you'll find a few. I'm sure there are great organizations as well as the kind I ran into, where basically you could join, you could go the meetings, everybody was nice, but after nearly a year trying, as well as doing other CAP volunteer work, I still hadn't seen the inside of a cockpit.

Good luck and I honestly hope it works out.

 

[Gulfstreamlover]

I decided I'd try to rent the airplane a while ago because it's so **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** cheap. $25 dry and hour for a 182RG. Well it's been about 4 months and I still havn't flown the thing or had the interview with the review board........

 

[bobbysamd]

CAP

I'll come right to the point. Yes to all.

I had some of my best, most rewarding and most memorable experiences in Civil Air Patrol. I joined in 1986. I had earned my CFI-I as my first instructor rating before I joined CAP. I met a gentleman in CAP who finished me for my CFI-A. I later became a squadron check pilot and an assistant chief check pilot for our wing. All provided plenty of flying opportunities.

Our wing Chief Check Pilot worked at the Mike Monroney Center in Oklahoma City in the FAA Standards Section. His job was to train designated examiners, and he designed a short version of his course for squadron check pilots. I took the course and, the next year, helped put it on as an Assistant Chief Check Pilot. I learned a great deal from that experience, which later stood me in good stead in my first full-time job at ERAU. I was eventually upgraded to stage check pilot at Riddle, and my transition was seamless because I already had learned through my CAP training how to give a practical.

Nearly everyone has a non-flying job. Mine was as squadron operations officer. Our squadron had two aircraft. My job was to supervise the airplanes, serve as a pilot release officer, and to bill members for their flying. I was named Squadron Operations Officer of the Year for my efforts.

Finally, our wing had an annual cadet flight encampment. Selected cadets were given about ten hours of dual leading, hopefully, to solo. They and senior member chaparones were all housed together. There were other aviation-related activities for them during the week besides flying. I participated two years. My three guys were my first solos my first year. That was an extremely valuable learning experience for me because I was a new instructor. I was flying three duals a day with my guys for that week. I honed and perfected many explanations and demonstrations that I continued to use with primary students until I stopped flying. The next year, the wing operations officer, who also mentored me in the organization, appointed me as Project Officer for the encampment. I organized a board of senior members who interviewed cadets, brought in instructors who gave eval flights and later trained the students, brought in a senior member who was an AFA grad to speak to our students, had another member speak on aviation careers, and organized the graduation ceremony. I had one student whom I soloed. I also dealt with various aircraft maintenance vagaries. The wing gave me the Meritorious Service Award for my efforts. I am very proud of that award.

Besides flying, Civil Air Patrol offers many training and personal development opportunities. I attended or completed home study courses in every one I could, and benefited greatly from each. Also, I enjoyed and benefited from the fellowship of our unit.

CAP gave my professional flying aspirations a terrific sendoff. Having members who were also FAA Monroney Center employees surely contributed to that experience.

Undoubtedly there will be people who will post their snide comments about CAP as being a USAF wannabe organization. In any organization, there are bound to be people who take their CAP grade and uniforms more seriously than is intended. There is ole boyism in many units. It's a pity that these few people ruin CAP's image, especially because our squadron and wing were run very professionally. Take my word for it, most CAP members are ordinary people who enjoy the organization, its work, and its fellowship. As a military type going to the Guards, you may find a lot to like in CAP.

I have a lot to thank CAP for.