I notice waves of CAP aircraft coming up for sale from time to time. I'm in the market for a U206G and the CAP ones seem to come up for sale on a somewhat regular basis. I was told by a local CFI who used to be a CAP pilot that CAP aircraft should be avoided. Is that a generally accepted notion?

I fly as an instructor pilot for CAP. My experience is somewhat limited to our local situation out here, so perhaps I am missing something, but I would not avoid CAP aircraft if I was shopping. Not sure what he is concerned about. What I see is a professional maintenance standard and pretty strict flight management procedures. Which can be a bit of a headache for pilots trying to navigate the flight approvals and procedures initially, but overall it doesn't seem like it is a bad thing for the aircraft.

Anyway, not sure why he would say that but it doesn't match my local experiences here.

I was a flight instructor for the NM CAP many years and found their maintenance and scheduling hassles to be exactly as Troy described. At Gallup, we were about ten miles from the Arizona border, but had to have extensive paperwork from Wing at Albuquerque to go there. Because of trying to out Air Force the Air Force, I found their maintenance to be more than adequate. Not being able to make the necessary flight hours to keep airplanes so remote from the only big city at that time, it was irritating to have to complete so much red tape to fly.

As an Army aviator Captain and pretty good at work-around and being a demigod to old veterans who always saluted me (ugh), I made it work.

I sure wouldn't be afraid of a former CAP airplane.....former CAP pilot....well that's a different story.

MTV

Some of the CAP rules were so ridiculous that I worried that some of my guys would get somewhere and never come home.

Troy Hamon wrote:I fly as an instructor pilot for CAP. My experience is somewhat limited to our local situation out here, so perhaps I am missing something, but I would not avoid CAP aircraft if I was shopping. Not sure what he is concerned about. What I see is a professional maintenance standard and pretty strict flight management procedures. Which can be a bit of a headache for pilots trying to navigate the flight approvals and procedures initially, but overall it doesn't seem like it is a bad thing for the aircraft.

Anyway, not sure why he would say that but it doesn't match my local experiences here.

Yes I agree with Troy!

While I have never flown for the CAP I have poked around a few and they look to be well maintained. They are not afraid to spend money on the planes.

I too was a former CAP pilot and I never had any squawks on our maintenance. Without a second thought I would fly over inhospitable terrain with full confidence in our birds.

Thanks guys, sounds like his experience was unique. Appreciate the feedback!