Main Menu

flight line

Started by capcadet101, November 04, 2006, 10:04:09 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

CLB

Doing this for a living, and actually using the same marshalling techniques the Air Force uses, 9 out of 10 times the pilot isn't even looking at you or following your direction anyway. 

This came to a head when we had a collision once because the pilot decided to ignore the lineman's signals and go where HE wanted to go.  Tore up a brand new paint job on his aircraft.  Needless to say, he's come in slow and done exactly what we tell him to do since. 

BUT, that 10th time that the pilot actually does what you tell him/her to do...I'm always greeted with a handshake and a "What branch were you in?" 
Capt Christopher Bishop
Coastal Charleston Composite Squadron

DNall

My experience is it's more of a safety/liability concern than it's worth most of the time.

What I've seen lines up with what's been said. If it's a larger field w/ lots of moving objects then they tend to provide professional marshallers. If it's pretty calm then you mostly don't need them. The only time you tend to need any help is on a small or isolated part of a field where you  have lots of CAP planes moving around at once in an otherwise sparse movement area & the FBO isn't helping out.

Wing walking is one thing, but I tend to think the flightline gets over played to these poor kids. We build up their expectations, which you could see in the tone & pride of this kid, and then we dash them in the real world.

I've very rarely ever seen flightline ops run by CAP, and that was almost always trying to find something to do with a bunch of kids to keep them out of the way when they didn't need any more GTMs. I've shutdown flightline ops at a graded Sarex when I felt it was more trouble than it was worth & the officers doing the grading were perfectly fine with that.

I don't have a problem with flightline existing, but I can't for the life of me see the point of specializing a Sq in what's got to be just about the least critical specialty on a 101. It'd be a lot more effective to get them doing MSA & MRO. Let them get in there & really make an impact.

Chris Jacobs

I can only think of two times in the past 6 years of me being in CAP where i have actually felt like i was needed on the flight line.  first one was just as i was getting started in my ES career.  It was a large wing wide exercise, and we had every single air plane in the wing on one small ramp.  The other time was while at blue beret.  In the past few SAREX that we have had the flight line guys are not really there to marshal the airplanes but to assist the pilots with fueling and pushing the airplane around.  They also make sure that pilots do radio checks before they leave.  I think we need to keep the specialty, but i don't see why a squadron would specialize in it.
C/1st Lt Chris Jacobs
Columbia Comp. Squadron

Psicorp

Quote from: Chris Jacobs on November 06, 2006, 02:39:00 PM
I can only think of two times in the past 6 years of me being in CAP where i have actually felt like i was needed on the flight line.  first one was just as i was getting started in my ES career.  It was a large wing wide exercise, and we had every single air plane in the wing on one small ramp.  The other time was while at blue beret.  In the past few SAREX that we have had the flight line guys are not really there to marshal the airplanes but to assist the pilots with fueling and pushing the airplane around.  They also make sure that pilots do radio checks before they leave.  I think we need to keep the specialty, but i don't see why a squadron would specialize in it.

It's something, with proper training, that cadets can do.   You're absolutely right...there's no need for a squadron to specialize in it, but getting the cadets trained in it would be a good activity and having that qualification in your/their back pocket is never a bad thing.

Jamie Kahler, Capt., CAP
(C/Lt Col, ret.)
CC
GLR-MI-257

DNall

That's fine, but you'd think you can tweak down teh skill requirements to reality in that case wouldn't ya? Considering what AvGas cost it's pretty much full service everywhere I've been. And, the only time I ever push a plane around is in/out of a hanger. On every mission I've been to, which is a lot, CAP pretty much took over a low traffic end of an airport, usually near the CAP facility. The fueling operations took place over by the FBO or at least a little further down the ramp & then they were moved into the CAP parking area. I've seen it done right on the line before, but that was for smaller operations when nothing else was moving.

It's not a totally useless specialty, but I don't think it should be one of the first thing you introduce cadets to, NOR should it be made out to be more than it is.

RiverAux

I haven't seen any injured, but the case can easily be made that flightline personnel are not needed.  Most of the time, most pilots manage to park their planes without this assistance.  Unless you're in a situation where an onslaught of CAP planes for a mission has totally overwhelmed the airport and finding parking is difficult, then having anybody, cadets or senior, out there isn't really helping. 

Now, if working on a flightline a decent educational experience for the cadets?  Sure.  But as far as missions go, having them be a qualified ground team is much more beneficial overall. 

Frankly, I think the flightline specialty is really only used when they don't have any better use for cadets. 

capcadet101

sardragon my squadron has had no one injured on the flight line outside of a sunburn.
Cadet Ryan W. DiGiuseppi
Lake St. Louis Missouri 63367
ges,set, certified

capcadet101

RIVERAUX WE ALSO SPECILALIZE ONGROUND TEAM AND MRO WE HAVE A GROUND TEAM ALSO WE DONT JUST DO ONE THING LIKE A LOT OF SQUADRONS WE DO A BUNCH.
Cadet Ryan W. DiGiuseppi
Lake St. Louis Missouri 63367
ges,set, certified

fyrfitrmedic

Quote from: capcadet101 on November 06, 2006, 11:30:56 PM
RIVERAUX WE ALSO SPECILALIZE ONGROUND TEAM AND MRO WE HAVE A GROUND TEAM ALSO WE DONT JUST DO ONE THING LIKE A LOT OF SQUADRONS WE DO A BUNCH.

but the real question is - can you use the caps-lock key?  ;D
MAJ Tony Rowley CAP
Lansdowne PA USA
"The passion of rescue reveals the highest dynamic of the human soul." -- Kurt Hahn

SarDragon

Well, we've established that he knows where it is, and that it works, by looking at his consecutive posts. The problem seems related to the timing of its usage!  ;)
Dave Bowles
Maj, CAP
AT1, USN Retired
50 Year Member
Mitchell Award (unnumbered)
C/WO, CAP, Ret