Squadron Meeting: 2 May 2013 - Mission Planning..

“The job isn't done until the paperwork is complete.”

The monthly safety briefing will focus on several issues essential to aircrew.

Not only that, in CAP the job can’t even start until some paperwork is done, with more to be done during the job, and the final wrap-up to be tied with a neat bow (or at least slipped into the “Completed” folder. It might seem tedious, but is essential to getting in the air, to document flight planning and a complete briefing before departure. Of course after the mission, there is more to be done to document the mission results and review what was accomplished in the debriefing. Filling out forms is not an end in itself, but provides the data used in planning the next operating cycle, to effectively and efficiently use resources. As getting in the air or on the road is the purpose of air and ground crews, a little practice with a few forms lets the teams get to the point of it all quickly and easily.

Bring your stuff, including a gridded LA sectional. CAPF 104 and 104a will be provided.

David Martin, 1^stLt, CAP
Sq 150 Training Officer

Space Station Pass Visible from So Cal Tonight

Posted on FB by Aldo Spadoni, noted space artist and aerospace visualization pioneer

For those of you in Southern California, there will be a spectacular overhead pass of the International Space Station tonight. It will pass almost directly overhead and be very bright. For you fellow geeks, it will appear at 8:05:55 PM PDT in the northwest at an altitude if about 10 degrees. The highest point will be at 8:09:12 PM at an elevation of 87 degrees southwest. It will fade from view at 8:12:27 PM at an elevation of 10 degrees in the southeast. Maximum brightness will be magnitude -3.3. These numbers are for my specific location on the southern edge of the Los Angeles Basin, but they should be reasonably close anywhere in LA. Hey, just look up at around 8:09 PM!

David Martin, 1st Lt, CAP
Training Officer
Squadron 150

Following up on some mysteries..

In the wake of the second part of 2LT Abram's marvelous presentation on First Flights, Linda attempts to unravel the mystery of the "Fox News" icon in one of the pictures of her briefing.

Linda writes that she is still puzzled:

"It was pointed out tonight that there is a "Fox News" sign on a hangar in the background of one of the Lindbergh pictures.

"Here's what appears to be a magazine cover on Lindbergh that says "FOX."

"Notice the call-sign "wxin" in the above URL. When I google "WXIN" I get "Fox59."

"So it looks like there was a magazine or station or some news outlet called "Fox" before our modern "Fox News." But what?"

~Linda

Turns out Linda was correct that the WXIN was a radio (or TV) station call sign. But, as everyone except Joe Biden knows, television was not around -- at least commercially -- in the 1920s. Looking up the history of the commercial station WXIN reveals little except that it was given by the FCC to a Rhode Island college station and a TV station in Indianapolis -- as Linda discovered.

Also in her fine talk was an allusion to a video Lindbergh's take off on that foggy, damp May morning.

The video, not embeddable, can be found here. It's great to watch as it presents a literal preamble enunciating the excruciating agony that beset Lindbergh as he weighed the decision to launch himself and the Spirit of Saint Louis into the air despite foreboding weather, an overloaded craft, a muddy field, and inclement weather.

The video depicts Lindbergh's description of his departure -- dramatically narrated by Linda -- particularly the three times the wheels rejoined the ground on that takeoff roll.

But what has always boggled my imagination is the fact that there was no forward looking windscreen in the craft and only a crude periscope device.

Coupled with the fact that Lindbergh slept only sporadically the night before, the decision to leap off must have been an onerous one and it makes the epic 33.5 hour journey across the Atlantic a riveting drama.

ADDITIONAL TEASE: The famous Bell X-1 was designed with the Browning .50-caliber machine gun bullet in mind because it was known to be stable at supersonic speeds.

Linda rejoins us in June for additional exciting presentations. Check the calendar.

Bill
W. H. Phinizy, MAJ, CAP
Squadron Commander
Squadron 150

"Knife with a Man in it.."

Future AE talk? One of those aircraft -- one of the incredible series of NACA experimental projects -- that caught our attention as children. It was a futuristic vehicle years ahead of its time although sadly inadequate to the task it was designed for. Nonetheless, it blazed a trail through the skies and provided the groundwork for one of the more interesting fighter aircraft in the USAF inventory:

The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was a 1950s United States experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Its primary mission was to investigate the design features of an aircraft suitable for sustained supersonic speeds, which included the first use of titanium in major airframe components. Douglas designed the X-3 with the goal of a maximum speed of approximately 2,000 m.p.h,[2] but it was, however, seriously underpowered for this purpose and could not even exceed Mach 1 in level flight.[3] Although the research aircraft was a disappointment, Lockheed designers used data from the X-3 tests for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter which used a similar wing design in a successful Mach 2 fighter.

There is a You Tube Video of the X-3 in flight but embedding has been disabled. You can go here to see it. The video below is probably better and more complete.

The photo above provided by Major John Bezayiff of Civil Air Patrol's Oregon Wing. John was an employee of Douglas and kindly sent me a photo of this aircraft as the result of a conversation we had at the Pacific Region Staff College, 1-6 APR 2013.

Thank you, John!

Bill
W. H. Phinizy, MAJ, CAP
Squadron Commander
Squadron 150

Squadron Meeting: 25 Apr 2013 - First Flights: Part II - Icarus to The Wrights

2LT Linda Abrams, AEO, Sq 150 will present the second of a two part presentation on First Flights. The first presentation met with rave reviews and was described by several members as one of the best AE presentations given at Squadron 150 in a long, long time. You do well to attend and take this in. As described by Linda:

"The inspiring, dramatic (and sometimes comical) saga of our conquest of the air, told through the eyewitness accounts of the brilliant engineers, bold adventurers, and eccentric visionaries who led the way up.

"Hear the Wright Brothers story from their own letters and diaries, plus first-person accounts of historic flights: Lindberg's first solo across the Atlantic, Yeager breaking the sound barrier, first moon shot, and more.


"First-person accounts of historic flights: Lindberg's first solo across the Atlantic, Yeager breaking the sound barrier, Space Ship I, and more. The uniqueness of this presentation is that it is dramatized by being told in the authentic words of those who made the flights and/or those who witnessed them."

- 2LT L. Abrams

David Martin, 1^stLt, CAP
Sq 150 Training Officer

Squadron Meeting: 18 Apr 2013 -- Midcourse Appraisal and Corrections

Navy Flight 19

This coming Thursday, you will be treated to me, your imperious spittle-flecked tyrant, as I bloviate my way through a presentation of the following:

(1) Brief recounting and description of Pacific Region Staff College
(2) Brief EOT refresher.
(3) Group review and discussion of our goals midway through the year.

When I say brief, I promise you brief. (Your time is precious.)  But with the SUI starting us in the face and the news that we will be receiving training money in the next few months, we need to recalibrate our efforts and line up our projects so as to make maximum effective usage of our time.

Also, it is imperative that you attend this meeting; there will be some important news disseminated. Movers and shakers are moving and shaking and there is a new attitude towards the work we will be doing and our approach to recruiting, etc.

Look forward to seeing you ALL here at the clubhouse on Thursday evening.


Bill

W. H. Phinizy, MAJ, CAP
Commander
Long Beach Senior Squadron 150

Electricity in the air..

Again from our unit AE office, 2LT Abrams:

A solar-powered plane that has wowed aviation fans in Europe is set to travel across the United States with stops in Phoenix, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and New York, organizers of the trip announced Thursday.

The plane, Solar Impulse, is expected to be ready to leave from NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. on May 1, although the actual departure will depend on the weather, the plane's Swiss creators said at a news conference at the NASA center.

Solar Impulse, considered the world's most advanced solar-powered plane, will stop for seven to 10 days at major airports in each city, so the pilots can display and discuss the aircraft with reporters, students, engineers and aviation fans. It plans to reach New York's Kennedy Airport in early July - without using a drop of fuel, its creators said.

...

Before its coast-to-coast American trip, the Solar Impulse will take test flights around the San Francisco Bay Area in April, officials said.

Piccard and Borschberg are planning an around-the-world flight in an improved version of the plane in 2015.

Piccard comes from a line of adventurers. His late father, Jacques, was an oceanographer and engineer who plunged deeper into the ocean than any other person. His grandfather Auguste, also an engineer, was the first man to take a balloon into the stratosphere.

Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones made history in 1999 when they became the first people to circle the globe in a hot air balloon, flying 25,000 miles nonstop for 20 days.

The prospect of this fragile, gossamer creature plying the heavens using no aviation fuel is one of the more intriguing aspects of this story. There is an entire website along with wonderful video on this subject here. The narrative is a little treacly and the narrator's accent is somewhat off-putting and -- yes -- they are asking for cash from you (no big deal) but it is a fascinating area of science and well worth exploring.

Bill

W. H. Phinizy, MAJ, CAP
Commander
Long Beach Senior Squadron 150

Squadron Meeting: 11 Apr 2013 - First Flights: Part I - Icarus to The Wrights

2LT Linda Abrams, AEO, Sq 150 will present the first of a two part presentation on First Flights.

"The inspiring, dramatic (and sometimes comical) saga of our conquest of the air, told through the eyewitness accounts of the brilliant engineers, bold adventurers, and eccentric visionaries who led the way up.

"Hear the Wright Brothers story from their own letters and diaries, plus first-person accounts of historic flights: Lindberg's first solo across the Atlantic, Yeager breaking the sound barrier, first moon shot, and more.

"The uniqueness of this dramatic presentation is that it celebrates man’s aspiration to become airborne, and his achievements in ascending to the skies, in the authentic words of those who made the flights &/or those who witnessed them. In addition to the first-person accounts, the presentation incorporates historic photos to add the visual element."

- 2LT L. Abrams

David Martin, 1^st Lt, CAP
Sq 150 Training Officer

Squadron Meeting: 4 Apr 2013 - How to be a Mover and a Shaker

O.K., so it's really what to do if you are moved and shaken, such as by The Big One. Capt. A. Smith will present a video on earthquake safety, "Surviving the Big One". This presentation meets the requirement for the monthly safety briefing, so be sure to sign in to receive credit.

David Martin, 1^st Lt, CAP
Sq 150 Training Officer