Charlotte County Composite Squadron aircrew assists in the search for a helicopter, with 4 persons onboard, that went missing over Florida Bay. Read the full article here. The FL051 aircrew members were: CAPT Chuck Gerlach-PIC, CAPT Jim Bonello-Observer, and 1LT Sam Caines-Scanner.
With the help of Major Jerry Lewis, Cadet Captain Tom McMahon earned his Private Pilot license. Click HERE to read the article.
On 26 May, Chaplain (Ltc) Schrag and Cadet Groetzinger participated in a Memorial Day Ceremony at the La Casa Park (A resident owned manufactured home park of 900 homes.) Since 2003, every Memorial Day and Veterans Day, our Civil Air Patrol Cadets and Chaplain Schrag have been invited to participate in the ceremony, give an invocation and benediction and to make a speech.
January: A financial campaign was begun with mailings to individuals and businesses, presentations to clubs, organizations and schools that throughout the year generated approximately $7500.
February: Successful negotiations with the County approved a Grant of $28,000 to equip our Squadron with a Satellite Digital Imaging System. Cadet and Senior Members volunteered 592 hours to Charlotte County Airport for Aviation Exposition Weekend for crowd control, aircraft Marshalling, pilot transportation and color guard.
March: Funding for our Sundown Patrols was received from the Marine Advisory Committee for $7500. Funding approved for SDIS equipment. Our proposal for Cadet Funding from County was accepted and moved forward for approval. 796 volunteers hours were put in by the members for the Florida International Air Show.
April: Four cadets attended the Sarasota Military Academies Flight Program. Two of them have since soloed in CAP aircraft.
May: In conjunction with the Charlotte County Airport and the Experimental Aviation Association, we participated the annual Cardboard Boat Races.
June: We continued to negotiate with County for additional funding. We were awarded the Composite Squadron of Merit Award from Florida Wing. Captain Jim Kaletta, Squadron Commander, received the Exceptional Service Award.
July: Mssion Training Flights were continued for Mission Pilots, Scanners and Oservers. Four members completed their specialty training. The Squadron provided air support for the 2007 Freedom Swim held in Charlotte Harbor on July 4th.
August: By the end of August, all CAP pilots had completed training and checkout flights in the recently assigned Cessna 182R-9386X.
September: Mission training continued with 4 MS and MO’s being qualified. Discussed with County personnel the matter of unspent SDIS Grant money. We were advised that Grant money could be carried over to next year as it did not have to be spent in the year it was granted. County approved $7500 for Cadet program for BY 2008. The CAP was represented at the reopening and dedication of the Fisherman’s Village site of the Military Heritage and Aviation Museum.
October: Mission training continued to qualify members of our Squadron and others. Plans were formulated to move our operation to new facilities provided by the Airport. They plan to locate CAP in the General Aviation Terminal. A milestone was reached this month in that we went over 100 Cadet and Senior Members in the Squadron.
November: The move to new quarters was completed. Antennas installed and the radios operational within two days. Backup Tait radio was set up to cover our needs. In conjunction with the EAA Chapter, we provided 90 hours of volunteer hours of duty for the two day visit of the EAA’s Flying Fortress B-17G. During the year, Squadron FL-051 supplied 1628 hours of volunteer time to the Airport for three shows and road clean-up.
December: Senior Member Christmas Party was held. A separate party was also held for the Cadets. Classes were held for CAP Radio Cut A&B covering 20 members.
Throughout the year, we coordinated seven separate activities with the US Coast Guard, Including two boat fires, one hazard to navigation – sunken boat, one Mayday, two oil slicks in Charlotte Harbor. These were all established on our normal Sundown Patrols. There were also two missions flown for the Freedom Swim. Five ELT Missions were also flown with three of them involving ground teams. It should be noted that on all air missions, we were flying within 45 minutes of notification. Our ground teams were on duty within 30 minutes.
On Saturday, the Charlotte County Composite Squadron received CPR and First Aid training for Cadets and Officers from Capt. Curry, CAP. We had four Cadets and ten Officers attend the training, including one member from the Southeast Region! We would like to give a big thanks to Capt. Curry for her time and effort to make this training a success!
On Saturday, the Charlotte County Composite Squadron conducted Urban Direction Finding training on the field at the Charlotte County Airport. Lead by Lt. Colonel Ed Smith, ELT simulations were used to train both Seniors and Cadets in the art of direction finding at an airport amongst metal hangers and other aircraft.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Charlotte County Composite Squadron conducted Mission Scanner training flights from the Charlotte County Airport. Four new scanners were trained during a busy two days, they were SM John Osborn, SM David Blair, SM David Jones and 2LT Robert Furleigh. Congratulations men!
On a warm Saturday morning, Capt. Weber, Lt. Dobbins and myself, SM Caines, installed 3 antennas at the CAP building to improve our radio reception and performance. Installation was trouble free, although we had to rearrange the comm room, and a great success! We now hear you loud and clear.
Laughs, smiles and promotions! All at the 2005 Cadet Banquet that was held at the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda. Check out the Photos page for more.
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The Charlotte County Composite Squadron brought home several awards at this year's Wing Conference held in Orlando on June 10th - 12th.
Charlotte County Composite - Composite Squadron of Merit Award
Capt. Eric Jensen - Commanders Commendation Award
SM Kathy Suggs - Parent Support Award Cadet Programs
1st Lt. Bill Dobbins - Certificate of Appreciation, Sun N Fun Mission
The Blue Angels were at the Charlotte County Airport this weekend to participate in the 2005 Southwest Florida International Air Show. The cadets of 051 helped direct guests to seating areas and marshal the flight line. At the end of the day's activities, the cadets were given a personal meet and greet with the Blue Angels pilots.
Related Links:
Southwest Florida International Air Show