AuxAir Training Program

June has been a big month for the Division 6 branch of the USCG Auxiliary District 11 North aviation program!

After waiting several months to get his new Maule M4 certified as an Auxiliary asset, Command Pilot and Santa Cruz Flotilla 6-7 member Glen Marshall had just three days to complete three of the six yearly air patrols required for USCG Auxiliary pilots to remain current.

As Auxiliary aviators know, for missions to count, the pilot needs an observer aboard as a crew member to make any USCG Auxiliary aviation patrol official. Marshall thus called Observer Trainee and Flotilla Monterey 6-4 member Alexander Urciuoli to see which days he could fly before the July 1st deadline. “All three,” Alex replied.

Given the time necessary for Glen’s new aircraft, a Maule M4, to be approved as a new Coast Guard asset and various other requirements, Glen and Alex had not been able to fly together since October of 2018. So, flying for three days straight at the end of June 2019 would indeed be jumping back into observer training with both feet. Alex admitted to being a bit nervous about this, but also figured that the best way to not be rusty in his observer skills was to get in the air and do it.

The Maule is more modern in comparison to Glen’s previous plane, a 1940 Piper Cub J5. In the Maule, both crew members can sit side by side rather than in tandem like the Cub. This makes viewing the GPS and LAT/LONG information much easier for the observer and for communicating information between pilot and crew. In addition, it is easier to learn the significance of all the dials and indicators when the aircraft actually has them.

Day One was Delta Patrol. In addition to keeping a regular comms schedule with Sector San Francisco, main goals for the Observer Trainee included finding any abandoned vessels, taking pictures of them with a camera while in flight, and working with a paper aviation chart to learn how to navigate and find one’s position in the traditional way. On this day, Glen and Alex spotted four abandoned vessels and took as many photos as they could.

Day Two was Bravo Patrol where the Maule crew went up and down the Northern California coast and took photos of activities of interest to the USCG and Sector San Francisco. As Alex noted in previous observer training, his experience as a Watchstander at Station Monterey came in very handy. Day Three was another Delta Patrol with more camera and charts practice. Thankfully, the weather was clear, and not too hot—probably not so lucky in July and August.

At the end of three days of flying, both Glen and Alex had achieved their twin goals of maintaining mission currency, and completing observer training requirements—and Alex got to learn one more thing—how to fill out Abandoned Vessel reports.