Tom had a busy year flying the 172. He took one of the observers on an orientation flight this summer. I spent the day in the hangar completing some of my training. I was monitoring the radio when I heard a plane radio that their engine had failed. I also heard his next calls as he predicted that he would not make the closest runway in a nearby village. Then I heard Tom’s voice saying that he was within 5 miles of the site. He flew over and found the airplane hanging in the willows. Everyone was waiting to hear how the pilot was. Tom was able to radio in that there were two people walking out of the airplane. He landed and let them use his radio. There were several planes that radioed in and volunteered to transport the crew.
The Bethel squadron also assisted in the delivery of tons of food to villages this winter. As heating oil prices rose, many villages had to choose between food and fuel. CAP planes transported much of this to the remote villages.
All of these accomplishments were recognized at the Annual Conference in Anchorage. It was an adventure to get our id’s at Elmendorf Air Force Base, but then we were treated to very nice officer quarters.
I also helped out with a cadet program. We did an engineering challenge and the kids did a great job and enjoyed themselves. 
I had the good fortune of attending the Alaska Science Consortium this fall. The group sponsors a Math/Science conference every other year. This year the meeting was held in Juneau. This was my second trip to Juneau. I flew in on a beautiful day. Miles and miles of glaciers and mountains. I forgot and checked my camera. I could have gotten some great Earth Science pictures. 5 hours of mechanical delays in Anchorage cut in to my glacier hiking time, but the sunset was beautiful.
