Association of Naval Aviation, Inc.
PITCAIRN SQUADRON
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Willow Grove, PA
MAILING ADDRESS: 834 Washington Crossing Road, Newtown, PA 18940
OP-PLAN 03-2002
11 March 2002
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Association of Naval Aviation, Inc.
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The nationwide Association of Naval Aviation is the professional, educational and fraternal society of Naval Aviation, whose main purpose is to educate the public and our national leaders on the vital roles of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Aviation as key elements of our national defense posture. ANA continuously seeks to elucidate the key current issues impacting Naval Aviation through published writing, symposia, speeches and discussions with various interest groups. ANA also seeks to foster the strong pride, esprit and fraternal bonds which exist among those associated with Naval Aviation.
TO ALL PITCAIRN SQUADRON MEMBERS: PLEASE KEEP US ADVISED OF YOUR CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER. CALL CHANGES TO MER CLAAR on (215) 968-6826, E-MAIL: merclaar@outdrs.net, or mclaar321@comcast.net, OR MAIL TO THE ABOVE MAILING ADDRESS -- THANK YOU!
We are considering a tour onboard the Battleship USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), tentatively scheduled for Saturday, 04 May 2002. The tour will commence at 1000. Tours are conducted on a pre-ticketed basis, with a guaranteed minimum number of tourists. Because of this, we need to know how many would attend the tour. If you will participate in a tour of this magnificent ship, please fill out and return the reservation form on page 5 with full remittance no later than 2 April. Make your check or money order payable to ANA Pitcairn Squadron. We will then make the reservations, fulfilling the guaranteed minimum. Should 04 May not be available, we will try for an alternate date of 11 May or 18 May.
NROTC UNIT - UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA / DREXEL UNIVERSITY - 17 APRIL 2002
The ANA Pitcairn Squadron Stephen Sywulac Memorial Sword Award will be presented on17 April to MIDN 1/C Jessica Swanson, Penn/Drexel's number one candidate for Naval Aviation. Midshipman Swanson, an Architecturall Engineering student at Drexel University, has maintained a 2.98 QPA in a very difficult program. She has relentlessly pursued the Wings of Gold since she arrived at the unit. MIDN Swanson led her company to the top honors last semester in the various squad competitions.The ceremony commences at 1500 at the University of Pennsylvania's NROTC Unit Athletic Field.
NROTC UNIT - VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY - 23 APRIL 2002
The ANA Pitcairn Squadron LT Matthew T. Claar Memorial Sword Award will be presented on 23 April to MIDN 1/C Susan M. Sacavage, an outstanding member of the Villavova University NROTC unit. This award, given in honor of LT Claar, a 1986 Villanova NROTC graduate who was killed in an F-14 Tomcat crash in the Eastern Indian Ocean in July 1993, is presented to the outstanding senior midshipman who has chosen a career in Naval Aviation. MIDN Sacavage, an extremely successful Biology student, maintaining a 3.47 cumulative GPA, ranking 6 of 41 midshipmen in the senior class. She served as the Battalion Executive Officer. The ceremony commences at 1545, at Mendel Field.
NOTE:
The presentation of these sword awards is an important part of the squadron's outreach to the Naval Aviation community. Unfortunately, the costs of the Navy or Marine Corps swords are continuously increasing, and are putting a burden on the Squadron treasury. If you would like to contribute (any amount) toward the purchase of the swords, it would be greatly appreciated. The cost of the swords last year, both Navy swords, was $268.00 each. USMC swords run an additional $25 - $50. Checks should be made out to: ANA Pitcairn Squadron, and noted for Sword Award Fund. If you would like to sponsor one (or both) of the swords, we can arrange to have the sword presented in your name, and so listed in the NROTC Spring Review program. If you are interested in sponsoring a sword, please contact Mer Claar at 215-968-6826, or via e-mail: merclaar@outdrs.net.
The following activities have been suggested by the Squadron Council. Please let us know which ones you would attend. They are tentative at this point, and we need to know which ones you like. Also, we would appreciate any suggestion you may have for squadron activities. Please contact any of the squadron officers listed in this newsletter with your suggestions: -- Thank you!
( PHILADELPHIA TROLLEY TOUR (Spring/Summer/Early Fall)
( STEAM RAILROAD RIDE / THEATER - NEW HOPE, PA(Summer/Early Fall)
( OPEN-AIR THEATER - WASHINGTON CROSSING STATE PARK, NJ (July/August)
( THREE LITTLE BAKERS DINNER THEATER, WILMINGTON, DE (Summer/Fall)
( PITCAIRN SQUADRON FALL BANQUET & BUSINESS MEETING (26 OCTOBER 2002) - MARK YOUR CALENDAR
For more details on the above events, please visit our web site at http://pages.prodigy.com/gvtu
COMMANDING OFFICER:CAPT Russell C. Appler (610) 935-0319 rcappler@erols.com
EXECUTIVE OFFICER:CAPT Philip M. Ruth (215) 322-4386 pruth@prodigy.net
OPERATIONS OFFICER: CAPT James R. Kenney (610) 458-8456 jrkoo1@aol.com
COMPTROLLER:CAPT John L. Foster (856) 795-3689 jlfoste@attglobal.net
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER:Merwyn B. Claar (215) 968-6469 merclaar@outdrs.net
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER: CAPT Walter B. (Barry) Nixon (609) 883-9456 wbnixon@juno.com
SPECIAL EVENTS OFFICER: CAPT David P. Speidel (215) 345-0319 dspeidel@ketron.com
RECRUITING OFFICER: LCDR T.Q. (Quin) Raney (717) 595-3348
SQUADRON HISTORIAN:Mortimer League (610) 586-6102
The Pitcairn Squadron Council presently meets monthly on the First Tuesday of each month at Richie's Bar and Grill, 325 W. County Line Road, across from the Rosemore Shopping Center. We meet for dinner at 1830, the meeting at 1930.
Note: Location Is subject to change. Please call Mer Claar (215-968-6826) to verify the location if you plan to attend.
THIS IS YOUR SQUADRON!!
All members and prospective members are welcome and encouraged to attend. The purposes of these monthly sessions are: short and long range planning of events and activities; how the Squadron can best accomplish the mission and objectives of the ANA; and how to best serve our members as well as active duty, reserve, and retired personnel, and, of course, to enjoy good old fashion camaraderie. The more people that attend these sessions, the higher will be the quality and universal appeal of the planned events.
Do you have an e-mail address? If you do, and would like to receive squadron and other related communications via e-mail, please provide your e-mail address to: Mer Claar - merclaar@outdrs.net or mclaar321@comcast.net
ANA PITCAIRN SQUADRON WEB SITEANA Picairn Squadron's web site is up and running. Thanks to Captain Phil Ruth (our Executive Officer), we now have an informative, easy to use web site with many links to interesting and authoritative information, such as, Navy Times and other DOD-type information sources. In addition, the Squadron's programs, history, and other pertinent information has been included. Come visit us at http://pages.prodigy.com/gvtu .
ANA's web site has a new home. You can visit it at http://www.anahq.org. In addition to providing a considerable amount of information about your organization, it also has many links to other related web sites.
NEW NAVAL AVIATION TRAINING PROGRAM LETS STUDENTS FLY BEFORE FLIGHT SCHOOL
(From NAVY TIMES -- February 4, 2002)
This new training is designed to see who will succeed as Navy pilot. Traditionally, most Navy pilots log their first flights in a Navy aircraft during flight school. However, with an increasing number of students dropping out or failing to complete flight training, the service now wants would-be pilots to learn to fly first -- then start Naval Aviation training.
The plan is to give both students and the Navy a better idea of who will succeed in flight school. To that end, the Navy in December launched the Introductory Flight Syllabus, a program designed to give prospective Navy and Marine Corps pilots about 25 hours of instruction from FAA-certified civilian flight schools. Currently, there are 42 students in the Pensacola, Florida-based program, which provides the basics of ground school as well as actual flying.
Approximately 350 students will complete the program in 2002, said CDR Chris Steinnecker, program manager. This year, the navy will spend $1.3 million on the program, or about $2,800 per student. -- money officials say is well-spent if it helps weed out those who might not complete training.
"If 10 or 12 decide that they don't really like this or they fail at it, I will have saved the Navy about $1.3 million by spending $1.3 million," Steinnecker said.
By next year, the navy plans to put all of its approximately 1,000 prospective pilots through civilian flight school before they enter primary flight school. The proposed price tag is $3.65 million.
Ensign Sharon Grubb, 24, of San Diego, is one of the first to be enrolled in the program. She has spent 12 hours in a Piper Tomahawk, a two-seat, single engine plane, and made her first solo Jan. 9. "It was a really great experience," she said. "I love to fly, so this is great for me. But I had no idea how much there was to it -- the concepts of flying, working the radio, everything."
Grubb, who graduated from Officer Candidate School in November, said the experience should make her better prepared for flight school -- and more determined to accomplish her goal of becoming a Navy pilot. That's exactly what the Navy hopes to achieve with the program.
Currently, attrition -- the term for dropping out or failing to complete training -- averages about 15% in flight school, officials say. At a typical cost of $1 million to train each jet pilot, the navy can save money by investing in those most likely to complete training successfully -- and dropping those who won't. In recent years, officials say attrition rates have been rising about 1 percent per year. A booming economy and declining public interest in military careers are blamed.
"There was an alarming increase in the number of students who were dropped out for flight reasons," Steinnecker said. "Or they were getting to primary and half of the students were finding out they didn't want to fly after all. Training officials have noted a dwindling pool of applicants for the Naval Aviation program over the past few years.
"Naval flight training is difficult, and those who succeed tend to have a background in engineering and math," said LT Barbara Kelly, spokeswoman for the Naval Air Training Command in Corpus Christi, Texas. She added that engineering and science backgrounds also are coveted by many of today's employers.
Steinnecker said, "When the economy is good, the military is generally less appealing to the people who might otherwise be interested."
The Introductory Flight Syllabus is the most recent Navy effort to reduce attrition and improve the efficiency of the flight training pipeline." In the spring of 2000, the Navy began the Aviation Certification Evaluation program, a week-long training that gives would-be pilots a closer look at flight school. Designed for students considering Navy careers, it focuses on acquainting them with Naval Aviation and includes a back-seat ride in the Navy's primary trainer, the propeller-driven T-34C Turbo Mentor. Kelly said the program hasn't been in place long enough to gauge its effectiveness.
The Introductory Flight Syllabus, on the other hand, is aimed at those already committed to the navy and naval Aviation -- either precommissioned midshipmen who have received orders to flight school or students who already have completed Officer Candidate School.
The 60-day syllabus provides students with 25 hours of flight time, including three solo flights. The Navy has recommended that the students receive their solos before they achieve 15 flight hours. Of this year's 350 participants, 100 will be from the naval Academy, 100 will be Marine Corps students, 100 will be from Officer Candidate School, and 50 are from the Reserve Officer training Corps in the Pensacola area. "This will give us an earlier indication of the level of commitment and the basic Type-A-personality traits that are characteristic of a pilot," Steinnecker said. "This will give us an early indication of whether they are aeronautically capable." "I have a feeling that if they cannot fly a Cessna or similar light civilian aircraft, their chances of flying a Naval aircraft are slim."
IN WHAT ACTIVITIES WILL YOU PARTICIPATE ?
We need to know what you would like to do as a squadron. This is your chance to be heard. Please let us know what you think the squadron should be doing in the next twelve to fifteen months. This is your squadron, and the council wants to plan those events that will generate the most interest. We have held some exciting and informative events over the past few years, but the attendance has been disappointingly low.
Send your proposals to: ANA Pitcairn Squadron, c/o Mer Claar, 834 Washington Crossing Road, Newtown, PA 18940, or via e-mail to: merclaar@outdrs.net, or mclaar321@comcast.net.
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