All eyes on the skies
A local man flies his plane to Franklin for a Friday evening dinner with friends. It's a routine jaunt the experienced pilot has flown before.
But when his wife arrives to pick him up from the return trip at the Butler County Airport that night, she discovers the pilot hasn't made it there. Frantic, she alerts the authorities, who call on the Civil Air Patrol.
The Civil Air Patrol is a federally supported, nonprofit group that serves as an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. It comprises volunteers of all ages and occupations who perform search and rescue, disaster relief and aerospace education for youths.
The fictitious Franklin flight was a training exercise hosted last weekend by Butler's Squadron 712. A total of 33 CAP pilots and members from across Western Pennsylvania attended.
The search-and-rescue exercise, called a SAREX, is designed to closely mimic the challenges of an actual search. Air crews flying CAP search planes scour the area for signs of a crash and relay information to volunteers on the ground.That information is provided to ground teams who interview any witnesses and try to zero in on any emergency signals the downed plane is transmitting.When it was all over Saturday, the "crash" — in this case brightly colored tarps resembling the outline of a plane staked out in a field flanked by woods in Center Township — had been located. Volunteer victim Jerry Wienand of Warrendale, who portrayed the pilot, was found alive and well.The exercise proved useful to participants of all ages."It's neat because the cadets, the young people, can get involved once they get trained," said Capt. Kevin Berry, commander of Squadron 712. "They can participate in these missions."
Daniel Newton, 15, of Portersville was among those participating in their first SAREX. He was a member of the ground team that searched for the downed pilot and his plane."It was fun, educational," Daniel said. "From my point of view, it went off very smoothly. Well organized also."The cadet staff sergeant is one of 15 youth members, called cadets, in the Butler Squadron.CAP members say even when minor training glitches occur, the effort is still a learning experience. And, the May 16 exercise included a few.Two air teams dispatched from the Allegheny County Airport had to cancel their afternoon aerial searches due to thunderstorms and high winds. In addition, a temperamental radio direction finder wasn't picking up the beacon signal from the crash site.Dealing with those issues is all part of the mission, Berry said."These emergency locators are not the cure all," he said. "If an airplane crashes and flips and lands on the antenna, it might be buried in the dirt."After all team members returned to the squadron's home base at Butler County Airport, leaders evaluated the exercise."That's why we will have a debriefing," Berry said. "To talk about what went wrong and what went right.""I definitely learned a lot," said Daniel. "Operating the equipment: Make sure your equipment works before you go out. Procedures: I learned about being prepared for when your equipment doesn't work and what to do then.""He gets pretty jazzed about this," said the senior Daniel Newton of his son's involvement with the squadron."It's hard to get him out of bed at 6 o'clock in the morning. But he gets up for this stuff."
In addition to search and rescue missions for down aircraft, CAP also helps search for missing people and helps assess damage from natural disasters like flooding, tornadoes and fires, Berry said."The very first aerial pictures of ground zero on 9-11 were taken by the Civil Air Patrol. On that day, the CAP aircraft and military aircraft were the only ones flying. So that sums up how critical our mission can be," he said.Although the national group was formed in 1941, the Butler squadron was formed in 1970 and is based at the Butler County Airport."We use the facility at the pleasure of the Butler County Airport Authority," Berry said. "There is no better place to be based than at an airport. It's wonderful that we can be here."While members wear uniforms, Berry points out that, unlike a military reserve, CAP is strictly a volunteer group."There is no military obligation to the Civil Air Patrol," he said. Membership is open to men and women from all walks of life, from salesmen to teachers to nurses. It's a chance to perform a valuable community service, and Berry stressed that there are many different jobs to be filled."In fact, most Civil Air Patrol members are not pilots," he added.
A major component of the CAP is the Cadet program, designed for youths ages 12 and older. Cadets have a chance to focus on leadership, teamwork, community service and, of course, flight. That was the part of the appeal for Chase Zinn of Prospect when he joined more than two years ago."I was really interested in the flying aspect of it because I would like to go to the Air Force Academy," said 14-year-old Chase. He is a cadet sergeant and one of the squadron's flight sergeants.The Slippery Rock eighth grader said he plans on pursuing a pilot's license through the Cadet program next year. But he already has some air experience through CAP.Cadets are invited to ride on military aircraft and also take part in orientation flights, where they have a chance to handle the controls under the direction of an experienced CAP pilot.They also have the opportunity to attend various encampments, including a powered flight encampment in Franklin where they can earn a pilot's license, Berry said."I think it's amazing," said Chase's mother, Denise Zinn. "He really enjoys this and he's learned a lot."Membership in the CAP Cadet program is also paying off in a tangible way for 17-year-old Tim Neely of Zelienople. He's in the process of earning his private pilot's license and takes weekly flying lessons with a CAP pilot at the Allegheny County Airport."That's a great cost savings," said his father, Dale Neely. "It's about a third of what it would normally cost to get a pilot's license."
But that's not the only benefit his son has gained from the 2½ years he's been a cadet, Neely is quick to point out."It's helped him along in his goals. He wants to go to the Air Force Academy."Tim is a senior at Seneca Valley High School, where he also is a member and battalion commander with Junior ROTC. The cadet first lieutenant will attend Northwestern Preparatory School after graduation."Ever since early middle school, I've wanted to go into piloting," he said."He's already flown a plane by himself, and he doesn't even have his driver's license yet," his dad joked."I prefer flying," Tim said. "Driving is two-dimensional — forward and backward, left and right. Flying is three dimensional. You get this feeling of freedom that you don't get when you're driving a car.""I see no drawbacks to the program. It's a really positive thing in my estimation," said the elder Newton."It's a shame they don't have more kids getting into it."The Civil Air Patrol Butler Squadron 712 meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays, except federal holidays, at the Butler County Airport, 470 Airport Road, Penn Township.The Cadet program is open to youths ages 12 to 18. More information about the squadron is available at www.capbutler.org. The Civil Air Patrol's national Web site is www.gocivilairpatrol.com.<br></BR><br></BR><br></BR>
