Advancement - Sort of

Not much to report on the subject of flying. In short, there isn't any of it going on. But things are still happening in CAP that keep the mind sharp. If you recall, there was an incident with gyroscopes a while back.

After that, I ordered four gyroscopes online, and they arrived in time for my next Aerospace lesson for the cadets. It ended up being a pretty good time. In addition to the gyros, I borrowed some defunct instruments from the local avionics shop, so I had some good hands on material. We went over more about flight instruments, gyro principles, and a bit of reading sectional charts.

Happily, two of the cadets who were having trouble passing their quizzes on this module passed them this week. Now, I'm not saying that it had anything to do with my teaching methods - after all, I think this was the third or fourth time they had attempted it. But it still felt good that we can start to move on. The next module for the cadets is aviation weather.

On a more personal note, CAP has a pretty strict track when advancing through the ranks. There are specific "time-in-grade" requirements and several tasks to perform before being promoted. For example, the lowest grade is Second Lieutenant, and normally requires six months as a member. First Lieutenant is the next step and requires six more months as a 2nd Lt. Since I have a private pilot certificate, however, I fall under one of the few exceptions and am allowed to skip the initial time and was just awarded 2nd Lt. rank. Yay!

Again, not that it really does much for me in the scheme of things (and it sure isn't helping my flying opportunities any), but it's a little glimmer of pride in an otherwise dreary day. Of course, if I had an instrument rating, I could have jumped all the way to 1st Lt. Oh well. Speaking of which, while that rating is still on my to-do list, it just doesn't make a lot of sense if you can't fly regularly to do it safely. Doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the money just to let the skills atrophy.

So lately, I've powered up the MS Flight Simulator to play around a bit. It's actually one of the few times I've used it since even starting flight training nearly three (!) years ago - and I don't recommend it for any real serious training. It's something like doing a crossword puzzle to practice writing. Yeah, the pieces are there, and you're going through some of the same mental tasks, but it's not anywhere near the same experience. And if you do too much of it, you'll learn some bad habits. But with few alternatives available, it's a cheap way to keep your head in the game.

Speaking of dysfunctional (which I was not) I'm finding out a lot more about the bureaucracy and politics involved in CAP. Basically, many members have joined over the years to take advantage of it as a "flying club" - a cheap way to get some hours in. This means there isn't much motivation for some of CAP's other missions - especially cadet training. In addition, since it's all volunteer, folks are pretty hesitant to deal with the admittedly large degree of paperwork generated by a quasi-governmental organization.

The result is a loose-knit band of pilots and other volunteers who all have different ideas about why they're there and who should be responsible for what. I can already tell that anyone who dedicates their time and really hopes to make a contribution often can get frustrated by the red tape. We shall see how it goes.