A CAP Holiday Poem.

[JohhnyD]

A CAP Holiday Poem.

T 'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, (including PC and mouse).
I had finished the toys, and the tree, and the wrap,
And had just settled down for a few hours nap.
When out from the street there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
From my window my eyes did spy a lone man,
Who was dressed in a uniform, a thing in his hand,
That screamed a loud noise, so horrid and sick,
It was clear in a moment this wasn't St. Nick!
He turned, and he walked, and he looked to and fro,
From the hill up the street to the valley below,
His look was determined; eyes fixed on some quest,
But what could have stirred this young man from his rest?
For what was he searching? Why wouldn't he leave?
What could be so important this cold Christmas Eve?
I flew open the door and yelled to the man,
"Now, why do you stand there, contraption in hand;
That wails with a noise as if screaming in fright;
What brings you out here in the middle of the night?"
He said, "Be at ease, sir; do not be alarmed,
We're the Civil Air Patrol (and we are not armed),
'Tis an emergency beacon that my team and I seek;
And the signal is fading, indeed is quite weak.
It might be an old unit that was tossed in the trash,
Or it might be an aviator, downed in a crash.
And so we do search on this cold winter night,
In the hopes that all's well; everyone is all right."
Tired and confused; I thought it absurd
That of this strange group I'd heard nary a word;
They weren't well known, I then quickly surmised;
And did thusly comment; he said, "No surprise
That of us you've heard nothing; we tend to be quiet,
But our name is well known to many a pilot,
For many we've rescued; in cold and in fright,
This reason compels us to search here tonight."
"For such service", I guessed, "you earn much through the years."
"Not a cent," he replied, "We are all volunteers.
From my team on the ground, to the crew in the sky."
(Skyward, he pointed, as their aircraft flew by)
"For how long?", I asked, in much consternation,
Said he, "Since '41 we've been serving this nation,
Through wartime and peacetime, through calm and disaster,
We serve this great Country; we practice to master
The skills I now use; and I'm happy to say,
We're training the youth who will lead us someday."
With a shake of my hand he took then his leave,
And continued his search on this cold Christmas Eve.
I returned to my bed, and chuckled, and said,
"He's out chasing ghosts, and I'm snuggled in bed;
He's certainly crazy, it's easy to see;
He searches all night – and he does it for free?"
I thought no more of it, and in the morn did arise,
To find my wife sobbing, with tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" I inquired, "And why are you crying?"
"Your father", she replied, "To visit was flying
A small plane he'd recently learned how to fly,
But he crashed in the valley – they do not know why."
She broke down anew; as she fought back her tears,
And said, "He was found by some volunteers,
Who hunted the beacon he had in his plane,
And found him alive, but cold and in pain."
We rushed to his side; the story he told,
Was of those who had searched through the night and the cold,
Until they had found him, of them he did say,
"Son, without them I'd have missed Christmas Day;
Or any that followed; for them I give thanks;
'Tis some outstanding folks that they count in their ranks."
My eyes then grew wide; my heart skipped a beat,
As my thoughts suddenly turned to that man on the street,
How his "mission", I'd thought, had been not worth the bother;
But how likely it was that he'd found my father.
He'd given us Christmas, and New Year's, and more,
And the nature of his calling I no longer could ignore.
The next week I joined up with the local C.A.P.,
With whom I serve our Country - voluntarily – for free.
December 2008
1st Lt. Joe Tomasone

[JohhnyD]

From the CAPTalk archive:

Cadets, I know Christmas is behind us now, but here's a rather interesting poem
I found out on the web:

'Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.
I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.

When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Called for clearance to land at the airport below.

He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St. Nick".
I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
The better to welcome this magical flight.

He called his position, no room for denial,
"St. Nicholas One, turnin' left onto final."
And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!

With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:
"Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
On Comet! On Cupid!" What pills was he takin'?

While controllers were sittin', and scratchin' their head,
They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
The message they left was both urgent and dour:
"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."

He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
Then I heard "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking."
He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
And stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho-ho..."

He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.

His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale.
His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
His boots were as black as a cropduster's belly.

He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
And he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low-lead."
He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
I knew he was anxious for drainin' the sump.

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.

And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"

And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
"Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion"

He sped down the runway, the best of the best, "
Your traffic's a Grumman, inbound from the west."
Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed thru the night,
"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight."

Merry Xmas to all.


Ok, so, nice little poem, right? Well, to keep things interesting, I've devised
a little short quiz on some elements in the poem. The first cadet to contact me
via email or phone with the correct answers will receive a reward at a meeting.
Not sure which meeting, but I'm shooting for our next AE night.

Winner will be announced at the meeting so as to encourage everyone to complete
the quiz. I will send you back the appropriate answers for incorrect questions,
and we will also go over them at the next AE meeting.

This is open-book, however I highly encourage you all to attempt as many
questions as you can without looking things up; you'd be surprised how much you
know!


1.)  What type of aircraft is a Champ? Jet or Turboprop?
2.) "With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots." How would you see this line given
in a METAR? Note: omit the non-gusting windspeed by substituting "XX"
3.) What's a glideslope?
4.) What are fixes?  (ex: "Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!")
5.) Who or what is "Charlie"?
6.) What is "three-oh"?
7.) What's a "squawk"?
8.) "Take [...] Charlie, the southbound direction, Turn right three-two-zero at
pilot's discretion"   What does this phrase mean?
9.) "I have traffic in sight."  What does this mean?

------------
//Signed//
SM Brad Lee, CAP
AEO
MER-SC-020

[Luis R. Ramos]

Probably the Aeronca Champion. According to Wikipedia, first flew in 1944 and introduced in 1945. High-wing like a Cessna, single wing. Wiki also says "commonly called Champ."

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronca_Champion

Edited to add: Sorry, did not read it complete. Posted this answer then realized you made it a quiz! Apology.