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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hello Everyone,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On Monday, March 20<sup>th</sup>, we will welcome the long awaited Spring Equinox in our half of the hemisphere. This finally means that we have more hours of daytime operations for the utilization of our fleet. Due to the tireless efforts of our Aircraft Maintenance Officers and Contractor our fleet is almost 100% operational. It is no small feat to accomplish this in a post-pandemic era of parts shortages, and they deserve our appreciation and admiration. Their biggest ask is that you fly our beautiful fleet! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This winter has plagued us with less than desirable conditions and many of us have been still adapting to the “new normal” in our lives. This has left our flying hours off track of achieving our requirement of 200 hours per airframe. They have done their jobs, now it’s our obligation to do ours.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Capt. Bestul announced in February that he was able secure our pilots more funded proficiency flying under the current A-12 (23-A-3031) mission, but less than 20 sorties have been flown. Currency does NOT equal proficiency. As my father, a Naval Aviator said “I could be <i>current</i> in an F4 with a couple of slings and tows, but I sure wouldn’t be ready to go into the fight.” I <i>could</i> be current back in an AH-1Z with a couple of hovers and an autorotation or two, but I wouldn’t want to take Col Hienz along or he might never want to go flying with me again. WingOps is going to rotate the G1000 NXi Aircraft through the Groups as much as possible so that pilots that have not had the opportunity to fly and be checked out in this state of the art avionics platform can have an opportunity. Capt. Greg Erickson is the MNWG ADO/Advanced Avionics Systems Manager and has a wealth of knowledge he is ready to share with all of us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Additionally, Maj Fitzhenry has worked to secure funded flying for mission training and has reached out for input on what we want, but has not received a lot of response. It is our duty to our members, community, crew, aircraft, and ourselves to continue to work to better our organization and be safe and proficient on the missions we are asked to perform. If your unit has not organized a UBX, you are already falling behind. Please reach out to him directly if you have any questions or need assistance in planning a training exercise. Maj Fitzhenry is also recognized as a National resource and is the is “tip of the spear” with sUAS training and program creation and administration.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Maj Rossini is the ADO/Special Project Resource Coordinator and is ready to assist you with getting the operational resources your unit needs. If you have a specific request for an asset type (e.g. G1000/182, G650/172) please reach out to him so we can work to coordinate our efforts to support your unit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><u>Example Based Learning<o:p></o:p></u></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><ol style='margin-top:0in' start=1 type=1><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>This week, we had a failure of one of the two avionics cooling fans in one of our G1000 aircraft. The replacement of one of these panels is well over $65,000. During pre-flight, the pilot noticed that the cooling fan did not appear to be cycling properly and immediately shutdown the pre-flight check and contacted the DO. After discussing this with the Maintenance Contractor, I was advised that this abnormality could be an indication of a much larger fault than just the cooling fan not functioning within specifications and that aircraft needed to be grounded pending further inspection. This attention to detail and commitment to following the checklist may have saved the panel. <o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><ol style='margin-top:0in' start=2 type=1><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>We had an instance where a pilot thought they were released on a sortie, but the mission was changed so the wrong sortie was input and released. This led to a lot of confusion and notifications being sent as a result of a sortie being completed without a proper release. Although a verbal release from an authorized FRO is within regulations, make sure that as part of your debriefing process you connect with your FRO that is assigned in WIMIRS and make sure that everything is communicated and understood before making the final closing notations to the sortie in WIMIRS. When possible, a text or full electronic WIMIRS release of the sortie is preferred with the Mission and Sortie numbers so that both you and your FRO are informed and confirmed. <o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please reach out to us at MNOPS if you have any questions.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fly Often. Fly Safe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>-Patrick<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:3.75pt;line-height:9.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#001871;mso-ligatures:none'>Maj. Patrick M. Wolfgram<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:3.75pt;line-height:9.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#9EA2A2;mso-ligatures:none'>Minnesota Wing Director of Operations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:15.0pt;line-height:9.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#9EA2A2;mso-ligatures:none'>Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:9.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#9EA2A2;mso-ligatures:none'>(M) <a href="tel:763.656.7647"><span style='color:#9EA2A2;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>763.656.7647</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:9.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#001871;mso-ligatures:none'><a href="https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/"><span style='color:#001871;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>GoCivilAirPatrol.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><a href="https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"inherit",serif;color:#001489;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=228 height=55 style='width:2.375in;height:.5729in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D95788.BFB773A0"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"inherit",serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:3.75pt;line-height:10.5pt;vertical-align:baseline'><i><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#9EA2A2;mso-ligatures:none'>Volunteers serving America's communities, saving lives, and shaping futures.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>