Civil Air Patrol IFR flights

I sometimes fly Civil Air Patrol airplanes on IFR flight plans. When doing so I file with the CAP Air Traffic designator “CPFXXX”. These flights do not ever show up in Flight Aware.

CAP is not part of the Air Force, but is the Air Force Auxiliary. As such does this site treat the CPFXXX call sign as if it were a military aircraft?

I notice that when I put in a CPFXXX in the Tail number field for examle CFP827 after the search the screen will show **Civil Air Patrol USAF Auxiliary ** at the top of the screen and the message something like “Still looking for CPF827” :question:

Welcome to FA.

Have you tried entering the N number for the aircraft rather than their callsign?

James the Elder

CAP flights are not currently available on FlightAware when being operated with their callsign/flight prefix.

If he files using the CAP Air Traffic designator, the N number won’t be anywhere on the flightplan. There for nothing in the system under that N number, (for the current flight anyway).

From what the replies say, it confirms my thoughts that FLIGHT AWARE must treat CAP as if they are military flights Per one post below looking for the N # wouldn’t do much good since it is not anywhere in the flight plan.

It would be nice though to be able to track these flights.

Tom

I thought that in addition to the “CPFXXX” callsign/flight number the N number was entered as well on the flightplan. E.g., the N number went under Aircraft Identification and the CAP callsign went under remarks. No longer the case?

Granted I haven’t filed a CAP flightplan in almost 40 years, but that’s the way we used to do it.

James

Leardvr:

These days CAP uses the call sign for everything no tail numbers used.

By the way where do you drive Lears. I spent about ten years of my FAA career giving lots of type rides and 135 rides in the Lear. I used to be great at doing V1 cuts, steep turns, practice emergency decents, Dutch roll recovery, stalls and single engine approaches, really lousy when enroute and planning a nice decent into the teminal area. Kind of backward from the average Lear jock. Got typed in 1980, by then the old 23/25/25 Type rating had become LR-Jet and did everything from 23’s to 55’s, kind of got out of the Lear business before the 45 and 60 came along. In any event their were crude even then and high work load, but still great airplanes. :wink:

Never quite figured out why we didn’t need another type rating to go from a 24 to a 55, but did need one for the 60.

That’s what I said, I think. I flew CAP out of Toledo and Buffalo and that’s the way we did it too; that was '95.

Today I drive a Citation XL sim for FSI; but I’ll always be a Lear guy at heart. Flew for AirNet and did contract work in the KCMH area. Flew 24/25/31/35/36/55. Never flew a 45 or 60. The LR-Jet type scares me, in one day I went from a 24 to a 55 then to an all glass 31. Just think of all the different electrical systems and PSI systems. “Was that foot warmer in our out?”

Dang V1cuts in the plane, I hate those.

Speaking of arrivals, we used to do 1:1 descents in the 35 (couldn’t in the 20’s b/c the cabin wouldn’t hold), talk about a good time 35NM from the airport at FL350 and you could be stabe on the ILS by 1000’agl. GREAT airplane.

All CAP flights are all blocked by the FAA before the data ever gets to us; I’d venture a guess this is done at the request of the Civil Air Patrol or Air Force.