Glider Orientation Flights

Glider Orientation Flight Weekend Overview

Check-In

2000-2100 Friday for Staff

2000-2100 Friday for Saturday Flights

2000-2100 Friday for Saturday AND Sunday Flights

2000-2100 Saturday for Sunday Flights

Dismissal

1530 Saturday for Saturday Flights

1330 Sunday for Sunday Flights

Location

Camp Robert L. Boucher
Ephrata Municipal Airport
50 Airport Street NE
Ephrata, WA

Registration

Registration is by squadron and consists of 1 Senior Member (escort) and 5 cadets.  Two to three squadrons will be scheduled per day.  This allows cadets to meet other cadets from different units as well as receive their orientation flight.  Squadrons who wish to participate should contact Lt. Col. Kathy Maxwell (kathy.maxwell@wawg.cap.gov) to schedule a day.

Register and pay through RegFox on-line:

https://wawgcap.regfox.com/glider-orientation-flight-program-events

See cost below for payment instructions.

Cost

$20 per day per person for 1 night stay

$35 per person for 2 night's stay

Cost includes the following:

Prerequisites

Valid CAP Membership Card (or temporary card printed from eServices)

Uniform

Cadet Flight Uniform: ABU's or BDU's with tennis shoes (NO BOOTS), and ABU/BDU cover. If the weather is warm, a CAP Tee Shirt may be worn without the ABU/BDU blouse. Boonie hats may be worn and/or may also be available.

Senior Members: Any approved uniform (CAPM 39-1) including flight suit or the above guidance for cadet members.

Other Items & Equipment

Sleeping Bag

Personal Hygiene Items

Towel & Shower Shoes

Hydration Pack or Canteen

General Information

The Wing Runner Course is available through eServices.  It is optional, but recommended, as long as there are 2 cadets participating who have completed the course.  The course can also be taken at Camp Boucher.  An eServices logon and password are required.

CAPM 60-1G contains the following:

A soaring activity, to include the tow pilot, demands that comfortable, loose-fitting, nonrestrictive clothing be worn.  Personnel will wear clothing that is appropriate for the conditions in which they are operating, identifies them as CAP members, and reflects CAP in a positive manner.  A tee shirt or polo shirt, such as a CAP -designed wing, unit, or activity shirt with a pair of shorts or long pants and tennis shoes are sufficient.  It is recommended that the shorts be either khaki (tan) or dark blue and the long pants either khaki (tan) or medium gray.  Due to the greenhouse effect of the glider canopy, the use of sun screen and a full brimmed hat (boonie or bucket hat), that will also protect the ears and back of the neck, is highly recommended.  Baseball-style caps may be worn, however, styles without buttons on the top are recommended.  For numerous reasons, including space restrictions in most glider rudder pedal areas, the wearing of boots of any kind is prohibited.

Training Flights

Cadets or Senior Members who want to attend to receive training for additional ratings, so they can support future events, must coordinate their training needs directly with Captain Gilbreath at mike.gilb@yahoo.com or Major Talley at majormiket@me.com at least two weeks prior to the event date.  Training flights will require open time slots and training personnel with the ratings needed.  Slots and required personnel may not be available at all weekend events.  

Members will need to bring a check or money order payable to "Civil Air Patrol" to pay the appropriate fees for their tows.  Training flight fees will depend upon the requested height AGL (above ground level) of each tow as follows:

Required Forms

Cadets

Senior Members

About WAWG Glider Flying

Every Civil Air Patrol cadet is entitled to 15 orientation flights. Five of these flights are in gliders, five are in powered aircraft and five are hot-air balloons.

Cadets are eligible to fly as soon as they have their uniform and CAP ID card.

Gliding is an all-day affair. This includes just going up for 1 "O" ride.  Many people wonder why. When a cadet goes for a powered Orientation flight, they show up at the airport at a specific time, get in the airplane and a few hours later they are back and go home. With a powered aircraft, the only people required are the pilot and the cadets going on the "O" ride.

When it comes to gliders, it is a whole different set of rules. You need the Orientation Pilot, the Tow Pilot, a Ground Crew (at least 4 people to push the glider into position or recover the glider after landing), a safety officer, an admin officer, a wing runner, and someone to hook up the glider. Then at the beginning and end of the day you need a crew to prepare and tie down the glider.

For this reason and for a better understanding of glider operations (after all, that is what orientation means), we ask that the cadets that come out, do so for the day. Sometimes this is an inconvenience for the parents or drivers. But imagine this: a cadet is on the schedule for the end of the day, and all day long he/she pushed the glider around to help other cadets fly, then after the others had flown, they left and no one was there to help launch that hard-working cadet. That's not what CAP is about.

One of the things we try to instill is teamwork. Gliding is a sport that requires that skill. Teamwork helps us move faster and safer, and the quicker the gliders turn on the ground, the more cadets, and seniors for that matter, that get to fly.

What to Bring

What to Wear

Preparing for your First Flight (optional but beneficial)

Before your first glider flight, spend an evening becoming familiar with the flight and safety procedures. You'll spend more time flying and less time asking, "What does That Thing do?" 

A day or two before your flight, take the following online courses:

You can complete all three courses in less than two hours. And you will arrive well prepared to fly.