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JUNE 2009

The official newslettof the ThompsonValley CompositeSquadron of the U.SCivil Air Patrol.

GUEST SPEAKER AND TOUR PROGRAMTVCS Members Tour CSU Wind Lab & Frontier Airlines, Learn From Guest Speakers

By Chad Morris

The Thompson Valley Composite Squadron

recently initiated a new guest speaker and tour

program designed to provide interesting and

educational opportunities to the squadron.

Many of the topics are intended to be

associated in some fashion with the many

aspects of the Civil Air Patrol such as

leadership, aerospace, homeland security,

emergency services, history, or even weather.

However, any topic that might be of general

interest to the squadron is welcome and will be

considered as an option. So far, members haveattended two tours and one presentation (see

below) with another presentation to be given by

representatives of Lockheed Martin on

Thursday, 4 June 2009.

CSU Wind Lab

On Thursday, 26 February 2009, members of

the Thompson Valley Composite Squadron

visited the Colorado State University Wind

Engineering and Fluids Laboratory. The tour

represented the first of many that are being

scheduled as part of the new tour and guest

speaker program.

The CSU wind lab has been the center of

excellence for fundamental and applied

research in wind engineering for over 40 years,

and is one of the international laboratories

where the foundations of wind engineering were

established. Although the lab’s history does

include aerospace-related studies, such as on

the space shuttle and launch pad, the lab’s

current area of research and service is primarilyfocused on the wind effects on buildings and

structures as well as the dispersion of

pollutants.

Thanks to the time donated by Dr. Bogusz

Bienkiewicz (director of the lab and

internationally-respected professor in the field of

wind engineering), members of the squadron

got to see first hand the three large boundary-

View of Airbus 320 from cockpit of an A318

Continued on Page 2

Propeller of one of the non-

 recirculating wind tunnels

(NOT turbocharged!!).

 A demonstration testing the

 stability of photovoltaic cells

when installed on buildings.

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layer wind tunnels, which represent the core of the lab, as well

as numerous smaller tunnels. The three large tunnels consist of

a Meteorological Wind Tunnel, an Aerodynamics Wind Tunnel,

and an Environmental Wind Tunnel. One of the tunnels was

even fired-up in order to give a live demonstration of the effects

of wind on the stability of photovoltaic cells mounted on the

roof of a building.

TVCS Members Treated to Presentation about Ion

Propulsion

On Thursday, 19 March 2009,

members of the Thompson Valley

Composite Squadron were visited

by Dr. Paul Wilbur from Colorado

State University, who has been a

member of the faculty since 1968.

Dr. Wilbur specializes in and has

significantly impacted the field of

ion propulsion and space

exploration. His work includes the

development of an ion propulsionlab at CSU, which has led to many

advances within NASA and the

JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

He has also trained many of the

engineers working for NASA in the area of ion propulsion.

Dr. Wilbur’s presentation explained the benefits of using ion

propulsion rather than chemical propulsion (i.e. rocket fuel) to

propel spacecraft on deep space missions. He described how

hundreds of ion thrusters are used on existing satellites to

maintain or adjust orbits, and that they were also used on

NASA’s Deep Space 1 Mission where the ion thruster

accumulated more than 16,000 hours of use.

The process of ion propulsion was explained to TVCS

members, and Dr. Wilbur also told the squadron about the

status of NASA’s current mission that utilizes ion propulsion

called the “DAWN Mission”. The purpose of the Dawn mission

is to investigate in detail two of the largest protoplanets

remaining intact since their formations, Ceres and Vesta, which

reside in the extensive zone between Mars and Jupiter together

with many other smaller bodies, called the asteroid belt.

If you missed the presentation or would like to learn more,

details regarding the Dawn Mission can be found by visiting the

following website:

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov

The Dawn Mission website also contains some interesting

information about ion propulsion as well as some interactive

activities that allow you to design your own ion engine. See the

following website for details:

http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ion_engine_interactive

Frontier Airlines Service Hangar

On Thursday, 23 April 2009, TVCS members loaded up in the

CAP van and traveled to DIA to visit the Frontier Airlines service

and repair hangar. The tour was led by John Schierle, who is

the Tool Room Supervisor at the hangar.

The tour began by viewing the entire hangar as well as two ofthe aircraft in Frontier’s fleet. One of the aircraft, an Airbus 318

(the aircraft equipped with the photograph of “Foxy” the Fox—

perhaps you’ve seen it), was in the hangar to receive one of the

many scheduled service and maintenance checks (C-checks)

that occur approximately every 18 months. The Airbus 318

series aircraft are powered by two General Electric (GE) CFM

56-5B5 wing-mounted engines.

Members were then allowed to explore the aircraft inside and

out. They each even got to sit in the cockpit and view the fly-

by-wire controls (nope—no floor mounted yoke on this one)!

The second aircraft in the hangar at the time of the visit was a

new Airbus 320 (complete with Mustang decal), which was

getting a final checkout prior to being put into service. The

 A320 is longer than the A318, and is powered by two GE CFM

56-5B4/3M wing-mounted engines.

The final stage of

the tour consisted

of a look around the

mechanic’s tool and

fabrication rooms.

In general, themechanics have the

capability to

fabricate or repair

any piece of the

aircraft, but typically

rely on outside

sources for their

larger fabrication

needs.

SPEAKER & TOUR PROGRAM - CONTINUED

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Broccoli could reduce the heart damaging effects of diabetes

Researchers have discovered eating broccoli could undo the damage caused by

diabetes to heart blood vessels.

Professor Paul Thornalley and his team from the University of Warwick have found a

broccoli compound called Sulforaphane. This compound can encourage the body to

produce more enzymes to protect the vessels, as well as reduce high levels of

molecules which cause significant cell damage.

Past studies have shown that a diet rich in vegetables – particularly brassica vegetables

such as broccoli – is linked to decreased risk of heart disease and stroke. People with

diabetes have a particularly high risk of heart disease and stroke and other health

impairments, such as kidney disease, are linked to damaged blood vessels. Sulforaphane is also found in other commonly available items like Brussels sprouts and

cauliflower.

Eating Beef: Grass Fed or Grain Fed?

Grass-fed beef is vastly superior to grain-fed beef, and in fact it’s the clear beef of

choice you should be eating. It is far more important to choose grass-fed than to choose

organic, as most grass-fed beef are also organic.

Not only is it raised in a more sustainable way for the environment, and a more humane

way for the animal, but it’s the superior choice for your health.

Grass-fed beef, for instance, is lower in fat than regular beef and, more importantly,

contains higher amounts of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid. Grass-fed

animals have from three to five times more CLA than grain-fed animals.

CLA has been making headlines for its extreme health benefits, which include: • Fighting cancer and diabetes • Helping you lose weight • Increasing your metabolic rate, a positive benefit for promoting normal thyroid function • Helping you maintain normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels • Enhancing your immune system

The article “Better Beef,” written by California rancher Dave Evans, gives a great in-

depth view of the many benefits of grass-fed beef, from environmental sustainability to

the sheer difference in taste and nutrient content of the beef. Keep in mind that grass-fed meat is almost always preferable to certified organic meat

also because most organic beef is fed organic corn, which is what causes the myriad of

health problems associated with eating beef. If you can find organic, grass-fed meat,

that would be ideal.

 Dr. Ed Carr DC

970-690-9084

dred.carr@comcast.net ............take care of your health today or

 you can take care of your sickness tomorrow. 

BIVOUAC 2009 HEALTH & WELLNESSby dr. ed carr, medical officer

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OPERATIONS & ICS TIDBITSby sue wolber, operations officer

Operations:

New Qualifications - congratulations to:

- John Owen for G1000 add-on

Renewals - thanks to folks for staying current:- John Owen Form 5 round dial

- Sue Wolber mission Form 91

Jeffco squadron is organizing a G1000 training session mid-May

with a

second group starting early June. Short-term, with only three

G1000

aircraft (FNL, COS, APA) and a lot of pilots in training, there will

be increased schedule stress. Hopefully we'll get another G1000aircraft soon to help us get everyone qualified in both G1000 and

round-dial. Meanwhile, expect to see some unfamiliar faces

training

in 2CP.

personnel updateby terry thompson, personnel officer

I was going to comment on the lack of uniform changes

we’ve had in the last year or so, but I was afraid if I said

anything I would jinx it.

CAP Regulation 39-3, Award Of CAP Medals, Ribbons,

 And Certificates, is being rewritten, and a draft of the new

version is available online. Several new medals and

awards are being added, including the new CAP

 Achievement Award. There are also several “OTY” (of the

Year) awards being added. I will let you know when the

final version is out.

Our TVCS Mentor program is looking for a few good men

and/or women. When a new member joins CAP, he/she

is assigned a mentor from our squadron to help them thru

the maze of training and tests the “newbie” has to go

thru. Basically you would be their go-to person for any

questions or problems they might have getting started.

The appropriate guide for the Mentor Program is CAPP

50-7. I don’t know that very much is written in stone

about qualifications, but my suggestions would be:

1. Have a couple of years in CAP and be an active and

progressing member.

2. Be knowledgeable about the requirements for the first

couple of steps in the progression up the Professional

Development ladder (Level 1 & Level 2).

3. Be willing to be a friendly and outgoing support for the

new member, and be proactive in helping them get a

good start in CAP.

4. You can’t be an expert in everything, so one of yourduties would be, when faced with a question/problem

you couldn’t solve, know to whom in TVCS you can

send the “newbie” for help.

Your reward will be helping our squadron grow with

active and motivated new members, and probably

making a friend in the process.

June 6 - 7 ICS 300 Class - Fort Lupton

June 13 - 20 COWG Encampment

June 27 - 28 ICS 400 Class - Fort Lupton

July 17 - 25 Ground Search and Rescue School to be held in the Gore Range, west of Kremmling.

July 24 - 26 Evaluated SAREX @ Greeley

Don’t forget to check the COWG Calendar occasionally. You can find it on the Colorado Wing website

COMING SOON!

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IN PROGRESS - Narrow Band Transition

It’s been coming for years. Many of us probably wondered if it would really happen. On

 April 28th the COWG Communications Engineering Officer, Dave Novotny, met TVCS’s Mark

Sheets on a mountain top overlooking Fort Collins. Working with personnel from the

Larimer County communications shop they removed our old wideband repeater. In its place

is a new Motorola Quantar repeater that works on the narrowband and P25 digital channels.

The designator is “FNL R25.” Additional channel info is available on our website. For moreinformation on repeaters, view the Wikipedia article found here.

Narrow Band Radios

 A lot of people have asked how they can obtain a radio for use on the new narrow band

system. Unfortunately, the days of buying cheap ham radios for CAP use are over. New

radios complying with the narrow band requirements are relatively expensive and may

require a substantial investment in programming software and hardware. Alternately, they

may be programmed at a commercial radio shop, but that requires individual approval from

NHQ.

Used radios can be found via eBay or other sources. They are cheaper than new radios,

but have the same programming considerations as new radios. As with any used

electronics: buyer beware. If you are considering a radio purchase, I encourage you to work

with one of our communications staff to navigate a path through all the necessaryconsiderations. A list of compliant radios may be viewed on the CAP National Technology

Center website: https://ntc.cap.af.mil/comm/equipment/equipment.cfm

 The Comm ShackBy Eric Schwarm, Communications Officer

 

 THOMPSON VALLEY

COMPOSITE SQUADRON

PO BOX 270885

FT. COLLINS, CO 80527

CIVIL AIR PATROLCivil Air Patrol, the official U. S. Air

Force Auxiliary, is a civilian, volunteer,

nonprofit, service organization. Itsunpaid members perform more than

80 percent of inland search and rescue

missions as tasked by the Air Force

Rescue and Coordination Center.

Volunteers also take a leading role in

aerospace education and conduct one

of America’s finest youth programs,

the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program. 

Alert Staff NeededBy Dick Hamilton, Deputy CommanderThe Alert team is looking for a few good

men and women to serve as Alert Officers.

 Alert Officers are the first to receive word

of a new mission, and they work with the

IC to find qualified air and ground crews.

Squadron Alert Officers are actively on

alert once every six to eight weeks. While

on alert, they carry a pager (or pageable

cell phone) and need to be available to

make phone calls to help

the IC locate crews.

If you are interested in learning more,

contact Dick Hamilton or anyone on the

 Alert Staff.

Current Alert Staff:Dick Hamilton

Roy Schutt

Bill O’Connor

John Owen

Brenda Kononen

Steve Schnieder

Chad Morris

Eric Schwarm

“FNL R25”

Repeater installation and

radio tower on Horsetooth.