Civil Air Patrol - Equipment

Equipment

Civil Air Patrol operates and maintains fixed-wing aircraft, training gliders, ground vehicles, and a national radio communications network.

Civil Air Patrol owns and operates a fleet of around 550 single-engine aircraft, predominantly Cessna 172 Skyhawk and Cessna 182 Skylane aircraft.

In 2003, the Australian designed and built eight-seat Gippsland GA8 Airvan was added to the corporate fleet. 16 of Civil Air Patrol's fleet of 18 Airvans carry the Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance (ARCHER) system, which can be used to search for aircraft wreckage based on its spectral signature. Other aircraft types include the Cessna 206 and the Maule MT-235. CAP also has a number of gliders, such as the L-23 Super-Blanik, the Schleicher ASK 21 and the Schweizer SGS 2-33, used mainly for cadet orientation flights.

In addition to CAP's own corporate fleet, many member-owned aircraft are made available for official tasking by CAP's volunteers should the need arise. Aircraft on search missions are generally crewed by at least three qualified aircrew members: a Mission Pilot, responsible for the safe flying of the aircraft; a Mission Observer, responsible for navigation, communications and coordination of the mission as well as ground observation; and a Mission Scanner who is responsible for looking for crash sites and damage clues. Additionally, the Mission Scanner may double as an Satellite Digital Imaging System (SDIS) operator. Larger aircraft may have additional scanners aboard, providing greater visual coverage. Because of the additional ARCHER equipment, the crew of a Civil Air Patrol GA8 Airvan may also include an operator of the ARCHER system, depending upon the requirements of the mission and the capabilities of the aircraft.

CAP owns over 1,000 vehicles (mostly vans for carrying personnel) and assigns them to units for use in the organization's missions. Members who use their own vehicles are reimbursed for fuel, oil and communications costs during a USAF-assigned emergency services mission.

CAP operates a national radio network of HF (SSB) and VHF (FM) radio repeaters. There are over 500 of these repeaters strategically located across the United States. Radio communications are now facilitated under NTIA specifications, to which Civil Air Patrol directorates have applied even more stringent standards. CAP's radio network is designed for use during a national or regional emergency when existing telephone and Internet communications infrastructure is not available. Outside of such emergencies, most of CAP's internal communications are conducted on the Internet. CAP frequencies and specific repeater locations are designated by the Department of Defense as Unclassified - For Official Use Only information, and as such may only be released to those individuals who have a recognized "need-to-know."

Some aircraft in the CAP fleet are equipped with the SDIS. This system allows CAP to send back real-time images of a disaster or crash site to anyone with an e-mail address, allowing the mission coordinators to make more informed decisions. There are approximately 100 federally funded SDIS systems strategically located across the United States, with more than 20 additional systems funded by state and local governments.

The ARCHER imaging system, mounted aboard the GA8 Airvan, uses visible and near-infrared light to examine the surface of the Earth and find suspected crash sites, evaluate areas affected by disasters, or examine foliage from an airborne perspective in order to flag possible marijuana plantations. Both the SDIS and ARCHER systems were used to great success in the response to Hurricane Katrina; ARCHER may be used in coordination with the SDIS system.

A hand-held radio direction finder, the L-Tronics Little L-Per, is used by ground teams to search for downed aircraft. The ground teams carry equipment on their person that they use while in the field. This equipment includes flashlights, signal mirrors, tactical vests, safety vests, and food that will last them at least 24 hours. The equipment carried by ground teams varies much by the mission at hand. Urban Direction Finding (UDF) missions necessitate only a small kit of gear. But intensive mountain search and rescue can require packs that provide for up to 72 hours of operational supplies and tool for the location, rescue and extraction of lost or crashed parties. This gear includes the above, plus additional water, meals, and survival gear. Although a standardized list is provided by the national command, many teams modify the list to match the needs of the mission.