Civil Air Patrol ?

[Tazz]

My Dad was in it before and after the Korean War, he loved it but scared the crap out of my grandmother. He would get in one of those small Cessna deals and dive bomb their house while she was tending her garden. Lol! Of course things were much different in the late 40's & mid 50's.

 

[Zeake]

I know a pilot that is involved in it. Very good guy,although he is like most pilots. Both of his sons got accepted to the air force academy. Both exceptionally smart guys that , if they chose to be , could be astronauts. Civil air patrol is great for kids. Boy Scouts as well.

 

[Ex313]

My Dad was in it before and after the Korean War, he loved it but scared the crap out of my grandmother. He would get in one of those small Cessna deals and dive bomb their house while she was tending her garden. Lol! Of course things were much different in the late 40's & mid 50's.

When I was a Cadet, I took an orientation flight in a Cessna.
The pilot had been a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. So he was wearing his nomex gloves and gear and made a point to tell us that if we crashed, he wouldn't be the one who'd burn up.
It wasn't my first trip in an airplane, but it was a fun introduction to military humor.

So he does a climb and tells everyone to hold a pencil in their hands. When we hit the top of the climb the pencils seemed to float out of our hands.

Meanwhile, on the ground another group of cadets was waiting for their turn. When we landed, they boarded and they took off again. The pilot did the same climbs, dives and whatnots that he did when we were in the plane.
He did the gravity trick one too many times. One of the cadets had chugged a Pepsi or two before getting on the plane and spilled his guts inside.

The cadets on that flight had a great time cleaning out the inside of the pilots aircraft when they landed.

 

[3clicks_Off]

Cartersville / Bartow county airport has an active Civil Air Patrol with several pilots and planes.
A little bit of a drive for you but better than nothing.

 

[Tazz]

When I was a Cadet, I took an orientation flight in a Cessna.
The pilot had been a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. So he was wearing his nomex gloves and gear and made a point to tell us that if we crashed, he wouldn't be the one who'd burn up.
It wasn't my first trip in an airplane, but it was a fun introduction to military humor.

So he does a climb and tells everyone to hold a pencil in their hands. When we hit the top of the climb the pencils seemed to float out of our hands.

Meanwhile, on the ground another group of cadets was waiting for their turn. When we landed, they boarded and they took off again. The pilot did the same climbs, dives and whatnots that he did when we were in the plane.
He did the gravity trick one too many times. One of the cadets had chugged a Pepsi or two before getting on the plane and spilled his guts inside.

The cadets on that flight had a great time cleaning out the inside of the pilots aircraft when they landed.

Roflmbo! Now that's funny. I have a friend I've known for about 30 years who is a pilot with multiple certifications who owns a Cessna, every now & then he tries to get me go on a flight with him but I was warned not to by several other friends. He has a reputation for doing the same kind of stuff, he TRIES to make folks puke when he takes them up and thinks it's hilarious. I always just tell him no thanks man I'll pass on it cause I know how you are. He still keeps asking but there ain't no way I'm going up with him. Lol!

 

[streetroc]

I don't know much about how any CAP experience will count for college/military credit but if you just want to learn to fly I would probably steer you elsewhere. I started flying in 2007 and went from Cessnas to tail draggers and now I fly stunt planes and do aerobatics. If you want to get in touch with a good instructor and actually log hours towards a license then PM me and I can point you in the right direction. From what I understand CAP is more about marching and doing military drills than it is about actually flying.

Also for what its worth I can't recall ever seeing a CAP airplane that I would feel safe flying in. And I spend most of my flight time doing snap rolls and inverted spins in a 40yr old Pitts Special so its not like I don't like to take risks...

 

[kneeboard89]

I don't usually directly disagree with folks on here, but im not sure where this business about the planes not being safe is coming from. CAP planes are typically some of the most compliant as far as having annuals, and proper maintenance of any aircraft I have ever seen. They don't run any old aircraft, and only have a few specific types of aircraft they can fly. When I was at AL-118 we got a brand spanking new glass cockpit Cessna 182. It doesn't get much safer than the top of the line single engine Cessna.

 

[vern1915]

I was a CAP cadet as a teen. Lot of fun. Camping, survival training, community service. Did almost no flying. Got ground schooling. Helped at a big race at Atlanta. Some search and rescue. Lived on the base at Dobbins for 2 weeks, like an Airman. Pretty exciting stuff for a 14 year old. Great experience.

 

[Ex313]

The squadron I was with in New Jersey was the Picatinny Arsenal Squadron. They were pretty much the "A-Team" for CAP SAR missions in the NJ Wing.
These kids made their own RF direction finding equipment and learned basic to advanced field craft so that they wouldn't become the next mission.
They would be part of Search And Rescue Missions for missing aircraft, missing kids and ELT beacons. My brother was one of the cadets who went on these missions.
I tagged along on some of them.
One mission had us searching for an ELT in the vicinity of Whitehorse, NJ. We found it. It was someone's malfunctioning modem (this was like, 1986). The modem was putting out a signal that was being picked up by all of the SARSATs flying overhead.
I never went on a mission that included dead people. My brother did. So if your son starts to get into SAR training with the cadets, be aware that kind of thing can happen.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Some great info in here. Keep it coming.
Thanks.