The Civil Air Patrol is planning to beef up its powered-flight programs for CAP cadets after deciding to end the glider program. Citing low participation, a shortage of qualified pilots, and mounting maintenance headaches, CAP Commander Maj. Gen Regena Ayre said in a statement the program as it stands is not viable financially or operationally. “Our aging fleet, limited instructor pipeline, and increasing maintenance demands have made it clear the Civil Air Patrol Glider Program is no longer sustainable,” said Aye. “Based on the data, the ability to reach less than 6% of cadets annually, and the costs to recapitalize, the most responsible course is an intentional, well-planned deactivation that preserves safety, honors the contributions of our members, and positions CAP to focus resources where they can have the greatest impact.”
A committee of senior CAP staff did an eight-month study of the program and found the average age of the 41 gliders is 33 years, making parts hard to come by. It will cost $250,000 each to replace those aircraft. But more importantly, the median age of the 154 glider pilots nationwide is 62, and there’s a shortage of instructors to fill that pipeline. The group looked at other programs, notably the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Air Cadet glider training and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s program, and found their centralized approach with professional staff and maintenance much more efficient and effective than the decentralized system for CAP operations, which essentially left each glider operation to fend for itself with maintenance and staffing. “A small community of dedicated adults have spent significant time and effort supporting the glider program to give cadets the opportunity to experience and learn about soaring. Those who support the glider program are hardworking and dedicated,” the statement said. CAP plans to sell the gliders.
It makes plenty of sense to have a centralized program for glider operations. The amount of effort to get a glider in the air requires wing runner, tow pilot, and instructor. To get all those resources coordinated is a major headache for any glider club. While the effort is high for any glider operation, the reward is also high for any pilot. Energy management, formation flying, flow flight are the major skills a pilot learns while flying gliders.
Now regarding their justification, why not a centralized program for CAP? Yes a replacement glider is 250K and the days of local manufacture Schweizer gliders have been long gone. But the cost of a new 172 is 450K. I guess the pipeline is just about getting people interested in Aviation.
A new ASK-21 will cost significantly less than US$250k. An other option is to take their old SGS 2-33s to K&L Soaring to have them refurbished to the ‘B’ model for probably less than US$50K.
It is or was a great program if a cadet had access to it. Reaching 6% of the cadets using a hodge podge, decentralized CAP glider program is actually more than I expected. I was able to get glider time vs no time in any powered CAP aircraft. Just as important to me was as an active RC and free flight glider enthusiast, getting full size glider and sailplane stick time not only was a thrill as a young teenager, it definitely contributed to gaining skills useful as I gained my PPL. But instead of tired L-16’s, L4’s, and other AF surplus aircraft in various degrees of decay during my CAP cadet days, which were rarely available for cadet training, today all I see is CAP 182’s being flown by pilots for use other than cadet flight training. In other words, as it was in the 60’s-70’s in mostly post war, surplus L bird taildraggers then, CAP aircraft was/is primarily used for occasional SAR work and keeping CAP pilots current who for many reasons good and bad, could not or would not maintain currency on their dime. Cadet flight introduction and/or training was advertised as an incentive to join a local squadron, but rarely delivered on those promises, largely dependent on squadron volunteer’s motivation and dedication. Fortunately for me, while I could not get time in those L birds locally, I did manage to find a way to get to the squadron’s 2-33 and I-26 based out of a volunteer farmer owned glider strip 50+ miles from home. If the CAP has graduated to a fleet of 182’s, they should be able to provide a centralized glider program that could be far more effective in reaching more than 6% of the cadet population making better use of the fleet they already have. This includes teaching and making use of maintenance opportunities too.