How can cadets help in an airshow ?

[NHQ-OS-126 Frank]

Hello,

We have the great chance here overseas to have an airshow right next door the airbase. The German town of Bitburg is organizing an Airshow on June 26th and 27th.   As we can see the airfield from our base location, we came up with the idea to ask the organizer if we could take the cadets to the Airshow and maybe they can help out and so get easier in contact with the pilots and the airplanes.
The organizer said that they would accept the cadets to help them out but he wants to know what the cadets can/are allowed to do. 

As an overseas sq. this is our first experience with an airshow and we don't have a list ready with tasks the cadets can do.

Could anybody help us out with ideas for setting up a tasks list for cadets at an airshow that we could present to the organizer ?

It would be really great to get the cadets in there because there are some very interesting airplanes and aircrews coming.

If you want to get some info visit this link:   http://www.airshow.lu/index.php?content=participants


Thank you in advance for your help.

Bye bye from Europe.

Frank

[Eclipse]

Boy - up until you said "over seas" I thought this was easy.

Flightline marshaling and supervision.

Aircraft safety observation.

Crowd observation.

Communications (both external and internal).

But being overseas I don't even know if you're allowed to do those things, let alone do them for an airshow.

[lordmonar]

If it cleared with the base commander then everything should be okay.

Other things to think about.....trash detail (but no one likes to do that), handing out programs, setting up an English information booth, being go-fors for the event organisers.

Just about anything that will get you seen as helping out the community.

[Rotorhead]

t.....trash detail (but no one likes to do that),

It is my experience that it is well worth adding this to the list; the event organizers will recognize it as being very valuable if it is accomplished well.

Earns lots of points.

[Al Sayre]

^^ It is probably appreciated the most by the airfield and the organizers.  My unit has been singled out for special recognition several times becuse we always stay after and help clean up. It gets the airfield open a lot faster.

[lordmonar]

t.....trash detail (but no one likes to do that),

It is my experience that it is well worth adding this to the list; the event organizers will recognize it as being very valuable if it is accomplished well.

Earns lots of points.

Oh I whole heartedly agree.....especially if you are just starting a new relationship with an event organiser.  They have to pay for trash pick up....so if you volunteer for it and do a good job you establish that you are a trusted player and the following year you can expand into more challanging duties.

At the Nellis Air Show we don't do general trash pick up....but we help out in the VIP tent, bussing tables, straighting up chairs, and minor croud control.

This year Mrs Biden was in attandance, we (CAP) all got drafted by the Secret Service and Base Securty Forces to help establish the security perimiter.  They know we could do because of our relationship with them that we built up from simply voluntering to take out the trash.

[SarDragon]

Here's a quote from CAPR 900-5 (emphasis mine):

7. Air Shows.
a.
Prohibited Activities. No unit or member of CAP is authorized to sponsor or cosponsor any air show. CAP members may not:
1)
Accept rides in an air show as a part of any official CAP activity.
2)
Be used as security guards, or damage control.
3)
Taxi non-CAP aircraft before, during, or after an air show.
4)
Direct parking of aircraft unless having received training on aircraft marshalling and having a flight line authorization on CAPF 101 or CAPF 101T.

b.
Permitted Activities. CAP units and members may assist with an air show sponsored and conducted wholly by agencies and organizations other than CAP. Prior permission to assist or participate in any air show must be obtained from the General Counsel at National Headquarters. No such advance permission is required if the CAP assistance or participation in an air show is limited to the following:
1)
CAP members may be used as guides or to provide directions or information.
2)
CAP units may setup a recruiting booth and/or a concession stand selling food and drinks on the premises of an air show, providing that CAP is not in any way acting as a sponsor.
3)
CAP members may be used around parked or static display aircraft for guidance, information, or direction.
c.
Air Force-assigned mission status. In accordance with AFI 10-2701, paragraphs 3.4 through 3.4.3, military commanders who desire CAP air show support must make the request in writing to HQ CAP-USAF/XO. HQ CAP-USAF/XO will evaluate requests and provide the Air Force mission number constituting written authority for the mission. No Air Force mission status is afforded for any air show without explicit CAP-USAF/XO approval.

When I was with an overseas unit, we did trash detail (but no one likes to do that), handing out programs, setting up an English information booth, being go-fors for the event organizers, and a little crowd herding.

As for marshaling, I tend to keep cadets away from anything larger than a C-12/U-21, and sometimes even those, depending on circumstances.

Getting the 101/101T is also an issue. There is no provision at all for ES operations in overseas units.

[TXCAP]

A suggestion I would add is be prepared to do missing person (children, mentally challenged) searches.  At an air show of any size there are usually at least one or two a day and parents are pretty frantic until their child is reunited with them.   Work with the air show organizers and whatever public safety service has overall responsibility to determine the extent of your role or to just show them this is something you can do.  It can be a concurrent duty with other assignments by just pulling personnel from those to form ground teams as needed for a search.  For a large show you can grid the area and even without any knowledge of lost person behaviors conduct ground team searches by grid and have success.  If you will have radio communications make sure the description of the missing person is broadcast to everyone even if they are not on the searching team.  Get a mission number assigned to the air show and use it for training and mission sign offs.

[JayT]

A suggestion I would add is be prepared to do missing person (children, mentally challenged) searches.  At an air show of any size there are usually at least one or two a day and parents are pretty frantic until their child is reunited with them.   Work with the air show organizers and whatever public safety service has overall responsibility to determine the extent of your role or to just show them this is something you can do.  It can be a concurrent duty with other assignments by just pulling personnel from those to form ground teams as needed for a search.  For a large show you can grid the area and even without any knowledge of lost person behaviors conduct ground team searches by grid and have success.  If you will have radio communications make sure the description of the missing person is broadcast to everyone even if they are not on the searching team.  Get a mission number assigned to the air show and use it for training and mission sign offs.

Overseas units can't partcipate in ES.

[SarDragon]

This is for an overseas unit.

They are extremely limited in what they can do. Dig into CAPR 35-4 for the restrictions.

[Ned]

setting up an English information booth,

An excellent idea!

We could settle some lingering disputes - subjunctive mood, and perhaps the Oxford comma.  If we used Spaatz cadets, we could dispense information on non-comparative redundancies and preposition stranding.

On the history side, I went to a public school, so I am still a little cloudy on the whole "Heptarchy" thing, not to mention the Tudor succession.


I wanna volunteer!

[lordmonar]

Ned,

I went to high school in Arkansas.....I got over it mostly....but Dang!

[JayT]

setting up an English information booth,

An excellent idea!

We could settle some lingering disputes - subjunctive mood, and perhaps the Oxford comma.  If we used Spaatz cadets, we could dispense information on non-comparative redundancies and preposition stranding.

On the history side, I went to a public school, so I am still a little cloudy on the whole "Heptarchy" thing, not to mention the Tudor succession.


I wanna volunteer!

Colonel

I'll be sending you my dry cleaning bill for the blood stains on my shirt after my brain ruptured and leaked out of my ears.

Thanks.

[NHQ-OS-126 Frank]

Thank you everybody for your ideas.

I setup already a list with possible tasks based on your ideas and we will discuss those at tonight's CAP meeting.

I really hope we can take the cadets out there in June and they gonna have a great weekend.


Anybody who wants to come over is more than welcome to help out :-)

Bye bye.

Frank