• Tuesday-What'sUP September 30 - 01:04 pm

E. Neil Harri was on hand at the airport when Tom Hyrkas, the first student pilot to fly solo in the Civil Air Patrol plane, landed safely at the Houghton County Memorial Airport. He captured a great shot of the plane as its wheels were just ready to touch down and another of the smiling new pilot being congratulated by his flight instructor, Joe Masini. Neil filled me on Joe's great flying history, where he was a pilot in the Marines and he also flew for Continental Airlines. Joe started the CAP chapter here in Houghton County about a year ago. They are comprised of all volunteers, which perform search and rescue missions here in the U.P. The new pilot in today's photos may look familiar to you if you've spent any time flying in and out of CMX here in Hancock, as Tom is also a Houghton County Deputy stationed at the airport during commercial flights. Neil added that this group of fine volunteers, who are part of the Air Force Auxiliary Organization, are always looking for new members to add to their ranks. If you're interested in becoming a member (or volunteer) of the Copper Country Composite Squadron, they hold a meeting at the airport, every Monday, at 5:30 p.m.

My apologies for the lateness of the Pasty Cam today. I've been doing this every morning for over 10 years, most of that time posting the picture and comments that Mary Drew has prepared the night before. This morning we did have quite a bit of wind, and some complications (power bumps) out in the Keweenaw Peninsula (see What'sUP), and the day took off and left me behind :o(

But better late than never :o)

Apologies accepted. And that is a nice looking airplane.

If Joe started the CAP chapter about a year ago, who were those people that I remember there years ago? Does anyone remember Carl Limback?

The Civil Air Patrol Squadron at CMX was has been around more than a year (I have visited the unit for the past three years). I am a Unit Commander in the Pontiac, MI area for CAP. The unit has been growing and they have an airplane stationed at CMX. The aircrew has been doing a lot of training this summer become a search and rescue team.

I should have told Mary that Joe started with them a
couple of years ago. I know he belonged to Cap when
it was here in the 50's.
My pictures were meant to acknowledge Tom's
milestone of his first solo and not CAP history.

We had what I believe was non official Civil Air Patrol in Hubbell in the late 1940's as I would go with my father in the evening when he had "spotter" duty at the fire hall. It was right after WW2 and we would phone in to Green Bay any planes that we heard fly overhead..haha we were 2 miles from the airport in Oneco so we knew darn well where the little plane was going at 20:19 every evening. It was the BLUE GOOSE.