N941WR

N941WR

Legacy Member
After reading the thread regarding the Angle Flights it got me thinking about the help the VAF provided in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Why not create an organization that can provide airlift support in the event of a national emergency?

If I remember correctly, the locals in Louisiana were very surprised by the amount of items stuffed into each RV, the speed at which the VAF reacted, etc.

One advantage to this would be that IFR is not required which opens up the ability to help to a lot more people.

Thoughts?
 
Interested (although "VAFALC" sounds alot like something a duck would say on an insurance commercial:p)

Bill, what are your thoughts on, instead of starting something official that would have to be managed, just using the site and forums to put out an 'all hands on deck' notice for RV pilots when the need arrises? It would certianly be the top story, and news would spread pretty quick. I could host a FAQ on things you need to have at the ready that could be assembled with input from those that have done it before.

Just initial thoughts...I have no real past history doing any of this, so I'd defer to what Kahuna says if he sees this (he's done it).

b,
d



N941WR said:
After reading the thread regarding the Angle Flights it got me thinking about the help the VAF provided in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Why not create an organization that can provide airlift support in the event of a national emergency? If I remember correctly, the locals in Louisiana were very surprised by the amount of items stuffed into each RV, the speed at which the VAF reacted, etc. One advantage to this would be that IFR is not required which opens up the ability to help to a lot more people.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
One advantage of having an "official organization" would be the ability to be cleared into a TFR if one exists in the area of concern. "VAF 123 cleared to XXX" similar to Angel Flight, as versus ATC trying to handle a hundred "experimental NXXX" calls into a TFR area and trying to verify who is legit.
 
Good point, Greg.

I have some friends that work at centers...maybe they have input.

b,
d
 
Doug,

I was thinking along the lines of what you said but we also need someone to corridnate it with the FAA and authorities as Greg pointed out.

We would have to work with both the Homeland Security folks and the FAA. Once you bring the Homeland Security guys in we might find ourselves needing background checks, etc. (I sure hope not, but you never know with that orginization.)

I have a cousin with the FAA, I'll check with him and see if he can point us in the right direction.
 
Got a call from my ATC buddy. He's researching on what they would like.

Will report any news in this thread.

b,
dr
 
This is a great idea. Just thinking ahead on the legal side, who exactly owns the rights to the title of Van's Air Force? Is it Mr. VanGrunsven himself or it Doug Reeves? Hopefully we can get them onboard to this idea.
 
Noah,

I checked with a friend who is a Fed and the Governor?s office here in NC. No one wants to touch it.

However, after an event happens they will accept any offer of help.

If any of you out there can work out the details with government, then have at it!
 
Bill, I didn't see this original post, but I think its an idea with potential. Here's my theory on how you make it work, though. Being a government employee myself (Air Force), I've had lots of experience with the "its easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission" theory. Sometimes bites you, but really not that often. So, under that theory, you could do all the organization necessary to be able to help out in an emergency - and then just do it. At the same time, you hedge your bets by notifying the local media about what you're doing. They would love the story, and no politician is going to shut you down when its being touted on TV. After the smoke clears, the feds would finally be forced to find a way to make you all "legal" and stuff.
I'm not advocating doing anything unsafe, grossly illegal, etc. I'm just saying be ready, go for it when the time comes, find a way to work through the hassles when necessary, and leverage the media to your (and the victims') advantage.
 
Just do it

Hi Bill,
I think Jordan has the answer because I'm reminded of Hurricane Hugo's aftermath. A local fire department chief called a friend of his in this town where I live and he put out the word that they needed water, canned goods, feminine hygene products etc, so we put a truck loaded with donations and just went there with a team of guys/gals and chainsaws. The fire chief had a tent, gas grills, food and lots of help and it all ran smoothly without any Gummint help....that would probably slow things down anyway.

Meanwhile we guys went down the roads, cutting trees out of peoples' driveways and so on for several days.

Your proposal will work. Just let us on this site know and we'll go from there.

Regards,
 
I like this plan and contacting the media would be a good thing.

Should we need to activate the VAF Airlift Command, we will do so via this forum.

My thoughts on this are as follows:

1. Pilots shall attend a daily Safety Briefing prior to participation.
2. The ?Safety Steward? (appointed by the "Operation Commander") will verify hours, insurance, and inspect aircraft for airworthiness.
- The "Safety Steward" or the "Operations Commander", at their discretion, may ban any pilot and/or aircraft from the operation until the noted discrepancy is resolved. Normal reasons for banishment would be questionable airworthiness, unsafe piloting, etc.
- The "Safety Steward" will be responsible for monitoring weather information and disseminating such to the pilots and aircraft involved.
3. Pilots shall follow established arrival and departure procedures as described in the Safety Briefing.
4. All aircraft must have a minimum of 100 hours TT.
5. All pilots must have 100 hours in type.
(As I write this, neither myself nor my plane qualify.)
6. All aircraft will be operated within their operating limitations.
- W&B, fuel loads, etc.
7. All operations will be Day VFR.
8. No passengers unless they are required for the operation.
- Doctors, air and ground "controllers", mechanics, reporters.
- All passengers must be pre-approved by "Operations"
9. Liability insurance would be required. (Same as YE flights)
10. FAR's will be followed.
11. Owner/operators will be responsible for all their expenses.
- Wear and tear, deprecation, fuel, oil, tie-down & landing fees, food, lodging, etc.

Sorry to get all governmental on you but we would be operating in a high stress environment and the last thing we would need is an accident.

Please feel free to suggest amendments to the above.
 
VAF Airlift Command

Guys,
This is a great idea. Bill has a great start to a Command structure. I encourage all to continue down this path to create a quick response support system. Studies (and Katrina) show that it will take an average of three days to get coordinated help heading towards a disaster area. That is a long time when you are the one affected. I do have a suggestion for all those considering this positive approach. Prepare your own home and family for a disaster, using a three day supply minimum to support yourself in case of a disaster. Take care of your family first, then help others. If you need assistance in creating a home disaster kit, look here at

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/supplykit.shtm

Also, consider asking your local Civil Air Patrol to assist in setting up a structure to follow. Our CAP unit approached several Missouri Pilot Association units after Katrina to formalize a plan for a quick response flight of supplies. What we found is that people want to assist but not to train or organize prior to a disaster. Planning is crucial and you guys have a good start to this. Practicing what you plan out is also good. At the very least, there should be a staging area (airport) and the VAF pilots can be briefed, prepared and loaded following the VAF Command structure. Even if you do not qualify to fly a sortie, due to a limitation (like total hours in make and model of plane) you could still serve on Command staff or relieve a worker at the airport for a period of time. Keep in mind that one can only work so many hours a day and so many days before they must return to paid work and family. A pool of workers will be necessary to keep an operation going for a week.
Keep up the positive work. This is a good start.

Pat Garboden
Ozark, MO
RV-9A N942PT tip up w/O-320 in wiring stage
 
N941WR said:
snip....Should we need to activate the VAF Airlift Command, we will do so via this forum....snip
Click to expand...

When needed, Bill, it'll certainly be the top story and I'll put everything else on hold. Very noble idea, BTW.

b,
dr
 
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Suggestion.

Take care of the admin stuff before hand. I don't fly with my logbooks or insurance papers. Copies should be adequate.

I am also curious about what you plan on doing. Using an RV to carry 20 gallons of water and some MREs seems very inefficient. If the typical needs after most events are water, food, clothing, tents, hygiene products etc, it may make more sense to plan on ground transport using a U-Haul type truck. Fly to a city nearby not impacted where they have rental trucks available, a Wal-Mart, etc, acquire the needed goodies then drive in.
 
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Light and fast

Ron poses a great question and it is more efficient to use a truck to haul water or fuel. Many companies like Convoy of Hope do just that. During Katrina, several items became a luxury or of great need: diapers, toiletries, powdered formula, powdered milk, handy wipes, latex gloves, freeze dried foods, Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's that come with their own heater), bandages, first aid kits, matches and bug repellant. The list is exhaustive of light items that a fast plane can get deep into a disaster area. Think of the items that are light that people need when they have nothing and no organized help can deliver for three days or more. I doubt you could over load an RV with diapers, but with careful planning, one could fill a plane with a lot of items that would look like gold to someone in need. This is a good idea. Keep it going.

Pat Garboden
Ozark, MO
RV-9A N942PT tip up w/O-320 in wiring stage
Member of Civil Air Patrol
 
If you look at the example set by Brothers Keepers in Atlanta, that would be a model you could emulate. They used aircraft of all kinds to deliver goods to areas that had not even seen a State Trooper much less a Guardsman. Delivering what you can where you can is a noble effort. I have friends that were involved. One has a C-310 and one a C-206. But others were involved with 182's and 172's. If you carry three boxes of formula and 10 lbs of badly needed medicine, you did not help the entire county, but I'll bet those people would be real grateful for what you did do. Brothers Keepers were flying in supplies, and then flying out family members to reunite with evacuated loved ones.
 
Not to douse the flames of good intentions here but there is only so much an RV can carry. Another poster had it right when they talked about trucking stuff in. This could be staged from a location outside of the disaster area. There are some other things that are better suited for RVs such as flying damage assessment missions where you bring along an observer and record damage with photos and logging them or transporting people. CAP usually does these but in some areas they have limited resources (planes & pilots) and often have to draw from surrounding Wings. An example of this was Katrina where many CAP Wings participated on both the ground and air from all over the country. CAP missions are funded through the Air Force and the pilots who are not Commercial rated have a waiver from the FARs about logging PIC time when someone else is paying the bill, if that really matters.

I would encourage all those interested in doing volunteer disaster relief work to go to the FEMA website and learn about NIMS and the Incident Command System because this is the system you would be working within. In very basic terms they are standardized systems and hierarchies that every incident is managed under. Just showing up in a disaster area could lead to lots of trouble especially if TFR's are put in place and you were not tasked to fly in it. Resources are pulled....not pushed, so you need to be a resource of the system available for taskings.
 
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