Civil Air Patrol training Saturday over Lake Winnipesaukee

CONCORD — The N.H. Wing of the Civil Air Patrol will be conducting their monthly search and rescue training exercise on Saturday, Dec. 16, over Lake Winnipesauke. Mission base will be in Concord at wing headquarters. The scenario will involve flying Global Positioning System (GPS) searches. Numerous aircraft will be flying in the vicinity of Laconia Airport and monitoring the airport radio frequency during flight. The training will involve several aircrews and possibly ground teams as well. Most of the training will be done in the air as pilots, observers and scanners get a chance to hone their skills using the GPS and Satellite Digital Imaging System (SDIS) which downloads photos in real time from an aircraft to a computer at the mission base.

Civil Air Patrol, an all volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force is tasked with 95 percent of the inland search and rescue missions in the country as directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley AFB, Va. It's members also participate in homeland security, counterdrug, aerospace education and have an excellent cadet program.