The Charlotte County Composite Squadron got its start in 1949 as the Punta Gorda Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and utilized space in one of the building left at the airport by the Army Air Corp. The Army used the Punta Gorda Air Field to train aviators to fly the P- 51 Mustang. The first commander of the squadron was Edward G. Hendrickson.
At that time, there was very little interest in aviation and the acquisition of the facility was simply a matter of asking the proper authority. The assists of the squadron consisted of two radios, HF and VHF, and a PA- 18 aircraft. There were two vehicles assigned to the squadron for use in ground search and rescue missions. In January of 1959 the squadron started adding cadets, ages 14 ½ to 17 years of age. (Currently cadets range in age from 12 to 21 years.) When the cadets were added to the roster, the name changed to the Punta Gorda Composite Squadron.
In 1953 the squadron members and other interested people in the community donated funds and labor to refurbish the existing building on the land donated by the county. It should be noted that the county did not provide any funds or labor to help rebuild the old military installation, known as building 100 .
In 1960 hurricane Donna came through and destroyed part of the facility, leaving a large hole in the roof, which was repaired by insurance and squadron assistance. Then the building began to deteriorate to the point where it was unsafe to continue meeting. In 1970 the Airport Authority provided funding for interior painting and soffit repair, all labor was furnished by volunteers. Ultimately, the squadron got the facility back unto good repair, after a negotiated settlement was made with the Airport Authority as to a lease requirement. Basically, the squadron would provide assistance to the airport during Aviation Expo and the annual air show. Things began to improve, but it took over ten years before the squadron got back on its feet after hurricane Donna.
In 1974 the Punta Gorda Composite Squadron was officially changed to the Charlotte County Composite Squadron reflecting more accurately the operations of the squadron as a county provider rather than a city entity. Over the years the facility was added on to and adapted to make operations more efficient and facilities more comfortable to the membership. The facility looked like this in the late 90 's:
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As time went by other improvements were added to the facility, air conditioning, hydraulic hangar door opener, independent power generator, and other equipment to aid the squadron in its mission work of emergency services, aerospace education and cadet operations. All the while the squadron is conducting sun down patrols to help lost or stranded boaters, locate and silence ELT‘s (Emergency Locating Transmitters) Searching for and locating lost children, aircraft and overdue boaters.
In early 2004 , the cadets of the squadron earned the National Championship in color guard competition. This was a very prestigious award for the cadets as they had to compete with over 1700 different squadrons across the country in mental agility, physical fitness, and color guard performance. It also turned out that we had the fastest runners, both female and male in the entire national operations.
We were very proud of the cadets, right up to August 13 , 2004 , when hurricane Charley made landfall in the Charlotte harbor. Charley destroyed our squadron's facilities, along with a considerable part of the airport grounds. The estimated costs of the equipment we lost alone amounted to over $ 33,000 . The facilities looked like this after the hurricane:
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Due to the quick thinking of the current membership, some of the vital equipment was saved, including the aircraft which was dispatched to Boca Raton , FL just the day before Charley hit the airport in Punta Gorda. The members managed to save some of the facility equipment before it was condemned and moved it all into FEMA type trailers. Eventually the aircraft was returned and operations were restored to normal, or near normal.
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After the hurricane, both cadets and senior members worked hand in hand to silence aircraft ELT's, aid others in “blue tarping” homes and offices. The members of the squadron were assisted by other CAP members from other states as far away as Mississippi . Additionally, while the facility was in ruins, the U.S. Army 930th Liaison Team operated the building with portable power and acted as hosts for the visiting dignitaries, such as the Governor of Florida and President George Bush. After which the building was completely leveled.
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Below are pictures of our previous facility and our former aircraft:
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Pictures of our current facility and aircraft coming soon...