[Pilots] December Stan/Eval newsletter

[Greg Bestul]

Hello MN Wing pilots,


Even though we haven’t seen much winter yet, we have completed winter
operations briefings in all the squadrons that have airplanes. If you
haven’t been able to attend one of these briefings there is an alternate
method of compliance with this requirement.

-        First, review the 2024 winter ops briefing on the wing website.
It’s found on the operations tab > Standardized procedures and training.

-        After you review that contact me and I will email you a short quiz
to complete and return to me. I will then add you to the winter flying
mission.

One item to keep an eye on with the warm weather we have been experiencing
– If you are flying a C172 that has an oil cooler plate installed, make
sure to monitor the oil temperature to make sure you do not overheat the
oil.


We continue to see errors in our data entry in WMIRS. Take your time and be
careful entering your sortie information into WMIRS to make sure it's
accurate and complete information. We will concentrate on improving this
area in the coming year.


An item that has been mentioned by maintenance and seems to be becoming a
problem, is damage to fuel tanks due to fuel nozzles bending and breaking
the fuel filler openings on the tanks. There have now been three cases of
this. The aluminum fuel tanks are not a match for the heavy steel fuel
nozzles. Make sure to take care when fueling the airplanes. Fueling nozzles
should never be left “hanging” in the fuel tank, they should always be held
by hand any time they are in the fuel tank.


One final item to mention is uniforms. We all know that one of the
requirements for flying CAP airplanes is that you are wearing an approved
CAP uniform. We have several different types that are all approved. We must
also make sure that when we are flying cadets, that they are also in an
approved CAP uniform. The cadet programs spend a lot of time on uniforms.
Teaching cadets how and when to wear them and providing them many times as
well. By letting someone slide on wearing an appropriate uniform leads to a
bad trend in uniform compliance. The uniform is what binds us together as a
group.


I know sometimes new cadets haven’t received their uniforms or legislators,
or teachers come with us that don’t have uniforms. We can use flight suits
for these situations, BUT they need to have insignia on them so that the
person can be identified as a CAP member. The exceptions should be rare,
not a regular occasion.

So, make sure your crew and you are wearing appropriate uniforms, including
correct footwear, hats, and uniform pieces.



New flight instructor joining our ranks;

Mark Moskal      MN 136

New Check pilot:

Curt Johnson    MN 136

Thank you for your help and dedication to helping out our MN wing flight
operations!!


I have attached a link to this month's edition of the NHQ stan/eval
newsletter, and included a Christmas poem for pilots.



Take Care, and Happy holidays to everyone,
[image: image.png]

*Capt. Greg Bestul, CAP*

DOV, MN Wing

612.251.4786

gbestul at gmail.com

U.S. Air Force Auxiliary

GoCivilAirPatrol.com <http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/>



CAP_StanEval_Dec_2023_c2730df82091a.pdf (gocivilairpatrol.com)
<https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/CAP_StanEval_Dec_2023_c2730df82091a.pdf>
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