Staff Sections

Main Content

Brunswick County Composite Squadron conducts Flight Line Marshaling training

NC-170 Cadet A/1C Rory Gannon practices proper way to secure aircraft.
1 of 2
NC-170 Cadet A/1C Rory Gannon practices proper way to secure aircraft. Photo credit: Capt Kathy Nicholas, Deputy Commander and AE Officer, MER-NC-170. (click image to view full size)
Story Tools

Hands-on training prepares unit members for participation in Oak Island airport activities

By Capt William Sullivan, CAP
PAO, MER-NC-170

3/7/2015–Oak Island, NC–

A total of fourteen NC-170 cadets and senior members participated in flight line marshaling training on March 7 at the the Cape Fear Regional Jetport.  Since the squadron does not have a CAP qualified FLM instructor, Major Anthony "Tony" Overman, commander of the Goldsboro, NC squadron, NC-126, and a certified FLM instructor, drove to Oak Island to teach the class.
 
After two and one-half hours of classroom instruction, members participated in practical training on the flight line directing drivers in automobiles, used as substitutes for airplanes.  At the completion of this part of the training, the ten senior and four cadet members of NC-170 reviewed the proper procedures for fueling and securing parked aircraft.
 
Flight line training is important to the Brunswick County Composite Squadron since the unit provides parking assistance several times a year in support of aviation activities at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport (KSUT).  NC-170 members are often asked to guide cars, people and airplanes in a safe and orderly manner during fly-ins, community events and concerts at the airport.  This  involvement in the local community by squadron personnel provides a meaningful support service for each activity and shows the public another aspect of Civil Air Patrol operations, which helps in the unit's recruiting program.
 
Article input provided by Capt Martin Heller, Training and Exercise Officer, MER-NC-170.