CAP Jump Wings

[lordmonar]

I was just looking at CAPM 39-1, CAPR 35-6 and CAPR 60-1.....we don't do baloon operations....so why do we have a Balloon Pilot Rating?

If we want to recognise those who ballooning.....why not develope (or simply steal USPA's) jump wings for CAP?

[isuhawkeye]

Unless things have changed CAP does own, and it operates balloons.  They have even been a part of flight academies

[Slim]

CAP actually has (well, had) it's own jump wings.  They're long since phased out, but I know at least one member who has them tattooed on his right arm.

Photo, Nin?

In the late 40's and possibly into the 50's, MIWG had an airborne squadron.  I don't remember exactly what the purpose was, but they did exist.  I've seen pictures of them, and I remember meeting one of the members somewhere along the way.

[Flying Pig]

CAP has jump wings.  You just have to attend airborne school to wear them!  

But, considering we dont do anything related to airborne operations, there is no use in having "CAP Jump Wings."  Military / CAP members wear them because they are a military award, therefore legal on the uniform.  Otherwise, we may as well create a badge for every hobby.

Sky Diving badge, hang gliding badge, para sailing badge, water skiing badge.....the list goes on.

[CadetProgramGuy]

I was just looking at CAPM 39-1, CAPR 35-6 and CAPR 60-1.....we don't do baloon operations....so why do we have a Balloon Pilot Rating?

If we want to recognise those who ballooning.....why not develope (or simply steal USPA's) jump wings for CAP?

Don't you remember about 4 years ago when the CAP van with CAP Balloon rolled in a ditch destroying the gondola?  They were on the way back from New Mexico and drove an all nighter into a Missouri ditch.

Once I find the article I will link it.

[Stonewall]

These are the [former] official CAP jump wings...

[JohnKachenmeister]

Back into the early 1960's it was considered acceptable for CAP members to parachute into crash sites to render aid.

Then, a captain got killed trying to do that.  I don't recall all the circumstances, and I only remember that the Wing was out West some place... Montana, Idaho, somewhere like that.

"CAP Times," our newspaper at the time, published a picture of his widow accepting his Silver Medal of Valor.  I was about 14 or 15, and I DO remember she was pretty hot-looking.

After that, they made a rule against parachuting into crash sites.

[mikeylikey]

^ PAWG had parachuting "Rangers" as well. 

[wingnut55]

Yes we used to be hot

I remember the Governor of California attending the CAP annual CAP compition. CAP flew precision landings, dropped messages, practice crash extraction, and the best of all they would drop 5 pound bags of flour into a ring target. this was 1964. My dad won the flour bag thing.

Yes they did have CAP PARA RESCUE men, makes good sense.

[BillB]

CAP used to be able to drop things from aircraft such as the flour bombs. In fact several of the USAF L-4's assigned to CAP had a bomb rack mounted on a wing strut. Practice 100 poumd bombs were enginereed wo be fropped by parachute containing water, food (trail mix type) and first aid supplies. These were dropped to crash victims prior to ground teams arriving.
So what of the old programs, para-rescue, dropping messages, ballooning  etc of the old programs would members like to bring back (if the National Legal Office would allow)?  Mods do we need a new thread?

[JohnKachenmeister]

I thought about that during Katrina.

There were people stranded on high ground in the hot sun waiting for rescue, and the sheer numbers of people needing rescue overwhelmed the available resources.

Having some method to safely drop critical supplies such as water would have been a good thing.

I guess though, that Katrinas don't come along often enough to justify training and purchase of an air-drop system.  With the wide use of medical helicopters, most emergencies can be dealt with quickly and without the need for airdropped supplies.

[JohnKachenmeister]

A message-drop system would be useful, though.  Something soft and harmless, with a bright-colored parachute that could be dropped to either victims or ground teams in the event of a radio failure.

[BillB]

The message drop system that used to work fine, is the container for an aircraft sparkplug with a small weight and about a three ft ribbon. The ribbon was wound around the container (a cardboard cylinder) and it would unwind when dropped from aircraft slowing the dropped message. The ribbon also helped those on the ground to find the message drop.

[mikeylikey]

SO can I sue if what is dropped, hits me on my head?  Is that the reason we don't drop things from CAP planes??

[NIN]

SO can I sue if what is dropped, hits me on my head?  Is that the reason we don't drop things from CAP planes??

A sparkplug tube with a 3ft streamer with a message tucked into the tube falls at a rate that is, well, pretty slow.  If it hits you in the head and does damage, perhaps you needed to keep your helmet on in the first place. 

(I would like to see your "drawer-rings")

These tubes are like one of those motor mounts for a model rocket but somewhat bigger: a heavy-duty cardboard tube about 1/8-3/16" thick, an inch or two in diameter and probably 4-5 inches long.   With a 3ft cloth streamer, its going to have a nice fall rate that wouldn't damage much except Farmer McNasty's petunias.

BTW, CAP Jumpwings circa 1942-1952:

[NIN]

Attached is a letter to the National Uniform Committee, circa 1993

[NIN]

And the National Uniform Committee Agenda item from 1994

[NIN]

And a 1995 letter from the I believe chair of the National Historical Committee:

[NIN]

And a historical monograph from what I seem to remember was a patch collector's newsletter..

I scanned the original text, OCR'd it, fixed any errors introduced in the scanning process, then pasted in the scans of the images (which, since the copy I had was a photocopy, were not too hot..)

(An interesting aside: I'm originally from Michigan Wing.  Eugene Cousineau's son, Guy, was one of my static-line jumpmasters at Skydive Tecumech when I was a young skydiver in 1994.)

2nd page, 3rd paragraph mentions "Wings Airport" at 18 Mile & Mound Rds in Macomb County. That's my old stomping grounds as a cadet, and I'm pretty sure that right after WWII, that airport probably disappeared into oblivion.  Too bad for CAP.

[Climbnsink]

For a message drop how about one of those nerf footballs with the fins and screaming whistle?  Tuck a note inside and let it rip. 

[Trung Si Ma]

2nd page, 3rd paragraph mentions "Wings Airport" at 18 Mile & Mound Rds in Macomb County. That's my old stomping grounds as a cadet, and I'm pretty sure that right after WWII, that airport probably disappeared into oblivion. 

Big Beaver is also gone and the old Berz Airport now has only one runway and is known as Troy Executive (KVLL).  There is a Super WalMart where our old CAP building was.

[DC]

For a message drop how about one of those nerf footballs with the fins and screaming whistle?  Tuck a note inside and let it rip. 

You could even rig up a compressed gas, spun gun like thing to shoot them.

[Climbnsink]

Even better put a rocket motor in them and mount on the wings.  Screaming smoking fire trailing note delivery device. 

[jimmydeanno]

For a message drop how about one of those nerf footballs with the fins and screaming whistle?  Tuck a note inside and let it rip. 

I'm sure that would be a no-go.  As you may know, cities like San Fransisco have large immigrant populations that come from war torn countries.  The screaming noise coming from a falling object would put undue emotional stress on them.  So...no airshows, no screaming footballs - they sound like buzz bombs.

Not to mention we'd surely be facing fines for littering, violation of noise ordinances and probably face a fuel surcharge for the police having to respond.  I can see the lawsuits now... 

[NIN]

Topic drift, me thinks.

Back to the subject at hand, and I appreciate the "well, if we recognize skydivers, we need to recognize hanglider & paraglider pilots too.." concept.

My question then is: Are hanglider & paraglider pilots "licensed?"


EDIT: Answering my own question

To keep it self-regulated, pilots and instructors alike adhere to the policies and guidelines of the USHGA. This program consists of a specific set of flying skills corresponding to a series of pilot proficiency ratings (Beginner through Master) each of which carries a set of recommended operating limitations. Beginner rated pilots, for instance, should only fly from hills under 100 ft in height in mild winds and under the guidance of an instructor. Local flying regulations may require the pilot to have certain USHGA certified ratings in order to fly a particular site.

http://www.all-about-hang-gliding.com/faq.htm#Hang%20gliding%20license

What does the FAA / the FARs say about hang glider "proficiency ratings", I wonder?  The FARs do make specific reference to skydiving licenses as it pertains to skydiving