Group 3 cadets and seniors participate at 7th annual event.
by Cadet 1st Lt. Ricardo Villalta
(Thermal, Calif.) – Over 65 Civil Air Patrol personnel and U.S. Marine Corps personnel volunteered at the 2010 Jacqueline Cochran Airshow at Thermal Regional Airport in Thermal, Calif. and were hosted by Palm Springs Composite Squadron 11 during the event.
Cadets and senior members from the Inland Empire area of southern California arrived Friday, November 5, 2010 and worked through Saturday, November 6, 2010 and volunteered by working as base staff, recruiting, and flight line security.
“It is a great airshow where the crowd can get close and see the action. It's a great Civil Air Patrol activity where we can help the community and participate in local aviation," said Maj. Simon Housman, 2010 Jacqueline Cochran Airshow Activity Commander.
The event also provided excellent opportunities for both recruiting and public outreach. CAP 415, a Cessna 182 from Palm Springs Composite Squadron 11, was flown in by unit member Lt. Gene Ramirez who is a CAP Mission Pilot with four "saves." The aircraft was on static display with aircrew on hand to answer questions.
The air show featured many live performances including the Silver Wings Wing Walking Team and flag raising, a C-17 Globemaster III arrival and parking display, T-28 formation taxi and fly-bys, F- 86 demo, group parachute team, U.S. Air Force A-10 West demo team, and the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper West demo team followed by a heritage flight.
After the airshow CAP cadets, including Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Megan Roberson, were invited to sit inside the A-10 Warthog cockpit and were given a tour of plane by demo team members. "I got in the A-10 and the mechanic taught me the basic controls. He then turned on the 'idiot box' and the plane simulated various light displays. It was the most amazing experience ever," Roberson said.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 112 lives in fiscal year 2010. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 25,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.
Inland Empire Group 3 consists of ten individual squadrons geographically dispersed throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.Group 3’s membership is comprised of cadets ages 12-20 and adult members 18 and older. For more information about Civil Air Patrol in the Inland Empire are, phone (877) 504-1316 or visit us online at gp3.cawg.cap.gov or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com.
-30-
Posts
