Anybody have any thoughts on aircraft rotation in a small CAP wing? We seem to visit this issue ad naseum in our Wing. A source of constant frustration. Do we allocate a/c just to Sq's that put hours on them or is politics of "geographic distribution" key? I think there are two variables in play here. What is the common experience here? I would appreciate any input.
Sarge
I don't know about small wings, but in Texas if you don't put hours on a plane, you lose it. That being said, most of our planes are in high density population areas leaving those of us out in West Texas with only a handful of planes.
When discussing aircraft placement, hours, geographical location and unfortunately politics are always part of the mix.
1. Hours - Is there a large enough pilot base to support the plane?
2. Geographical Location - Several factors to consider here:
-Weather, do you get enough days above minimums.
- Are there other resources in the area to cover SAR\CD\ROTC\O-Rides needs.
- Pilot base, if not enough pilots in the local squadron or there other units within a reasonable driving time to support the aircraft then.
3. Politics - Sometime you have to place an aircraft in area even though the criteria above cannot be entirely met. This may be due to a need to support a university's ROTC program even though there are not enough pilots to fully suppor the aircraft in a SAR or CD situation.