New Contract Will Accelerate Response For Homeland Security Missions

Civil Air Patrol is cutting through the red tape that accompanies aircraft purchases, making CAP more responsive to homeland security missions.

The 63,000-member Air Force auxiliary has signed contracts with Cessna Aircraft Co., Maule Air, Inc., Gippsland Aeronautics and Luscombe Aircraft Corp. to purchase various types of CAP aircraft as they are needed, without having to go through contractual negotiations that can take three months or more.

"These contracts give CAP a framework for ordering aircraft of different capabilities that are best-suited for specific geographical locations and tasks,” said Al Allenback, CAP executive director.  The contracts cover more than $12 million in aircraft purchases over the next three years and include planes that can handle the latest in homeland security equipment.  “CAP owns the largest fleet of single-engine aircraft in the world,” said  Allenback. “Because we maintain the highest in technology and safety standards, we continuously evaluate and modernize aircraft our fleet.” Allenback said CAP currently has some 550 single-engine planes in its corporate fleet.

Pre-need arrangements such as this one between CAP and the aircraft manufacturers are known as “Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity” (IDIQ) contracts, and are common for military and commercial organizations. The CAP contracts establish pricing, delivery and terms of sale for the Cessna models 172, 182 and 206, the Maule MT-7-235, the Luscombe 11E and the Gippsland G8 Airvan. All aircraft will be delivered with the CAP avionics package, 406 emergency locator transmitter, multi-frequency direction finder and the distinctive red, white and blue CAP paint scheme.

CAP, the official auxiliary of the Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 63,000 members nationwide. It performs more than 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions, as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Volunteers also perform disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP’s cadet program.

FMI: www.capnhq.gov