Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association | Civil Air Patrol | Experimental Aircraft Association

South Dakota AOPA Contacts

• The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has several volunteers at South Dakota airports as part of AOPA’s Airport Support Network program.
  • For more information about AOPA, go to http://www.aopa.org.
  • For more information about the AOPA Airport Support Network, go to http://www.aopa.org/asn.
  • For more information about AOPA’s Airport Watch Program, go to http://www.aopa.org/asn/watchindex.shtml.

The AOPA Regional Representative for the Central Region is Bill Hamilton
PO Box 2001
Granby, CO 80446-2001,
Phone 970-887-2101
Email: William@winterparkweb.com.

AOPA Airport Support Network
South Dakota Airports & Volunteers

AOPA Airport Watch Program
Security Checklist: Use your eyes and ears to keep our airports safe.

Here's what to look for:

• Pilots who appear under the control of someone else.
• Anyone trying to access an aircraft through force — without keys, using a crowbar or screwdriver.
• Anyone who seems unfamiliar with aviation procedures trying to check out an airplane.
• Anyone who misuses aviation lingo — or seems too eager to use all the lingo.
• People or groups who seem determined to keep to themselves.
• Any members of your airport neighborhood who work to avoid contact with you or other airport tenants.
• Anyone who appears to be just loitering, with no specific reason for being there.
• Any out-of-the-ordinary videotaping of aircraft or hangars.
• Aircraft with unusual or obviously unauthorized modifications.
• Dangerous cargo or loads — explosives, chemicals, openly displayed weapons — being loaded into an airplane.
• Anything that strikes you as wrong — listen to your gut instinct, and then follow through.
• Pay special attention to height, weight, and the individual's clothing or other identifiable traits.

Use your common sense.
Not all these items indicate
terrorist activity.

When in doubt, check it out!
Check with airport staff or call
the National Response Center
at 1-866-GA-SECURE!

South Dakota Civil Air Patrol

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) has several squadrons in South Dakota, which are listed below. The SD CAP Wing is headquartered in Rapid City.
For more information about the CAP go to http://www.cap.gov.
For more information about the South Dakota CAP, go to http://www.sdcap.us.

Message from Mike Beason, Col
SD Wing Commander
605-484-6689 cell
Email: RushmoreCAP@rap.midco.net

We are always looking for new training locations.  If any FBO would like us to come to your airport, please contact me at the email address above. 
Other notes:  SD Wing CAP received a new Cessna 182 direct from the factory in early March 2004.  The plane is equipped with a programmable FM radio (so we can talk direct to emergency officials when assisting with disasters), GPS/Comm radio, and a new direction finding radio that makes searching for aircraft ELTs a little easier.  Instead of the crew having to find the highest signal strength from a signal and then turn in that general direction, the new radio calculates relative bearing to the target and displays that to the crew.  Since then, SD Wing has received two more C-182s, each with the new “glass” cockpit layout.  Currently, we have the three new 182s and two 172s.
Go to http://www.sdcap.us/squadrons.shtml to learn more about the location of CAP squadrons in South Dakota and contact information and meeting times and places:

• SD Wing Headquarters, Rapid City, 605-394-5206, E-Mail: ncrsd001@earthlink.net
• Lakewood Composite Squadron, Aberdeen
• Rushmore Composite Squadron, Rapid City Airport
• Pierre Composite Squadron, Pierre
• Sioux Falls Composite Squadron, Sioux Falls
• Philip Composite Squadron, Philip
• Big Sioux Composite Squadron, Brookings
• Lookout Mountain Composite Squadron, Spearfish
• Lewis & Clark Composite Squadron, Yankton
• Crazy Horse Composite Squadron, Custer

South Dakota EAA Chapters

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has four active chapters in South Dakota.

• For more information about EAA, go to http://www.eaa.org.
• For more information about EAA Chapters, go to the Chapter Locator: http://www.eaa.org/chapter/chapter_locator.html