Flying the SAR Mission
LTC Edmund H. Smith, Jr.
CAP
FL051
SAR Chain of Command
Responsibilities
Duties
1-prepare plan and distribute
2-establish communications
3-appoint a SAR mission
Coordinator (SMC)
Report findings to the
SAR mission coordinator
RCC
Inform, dispatch and
Start operation
SMC
Direct and control
mission
OSC
Control operations on the
scene
SAR Participants
Carry out the mission
Defining Where to Look

Track line
 Geographical points, directions, distances
 Center point
 Corner points
– Search Grid
Search Pattern Definitions

CSP = Commence Search Point
 S = track spacing
 W = sweep width
 Cross Leg
 Major Axis
 Minor Axis
 Grid
corner point
corner point
20 nm
CSP
search leg
D = 18 miles
S= 2 miles
cross leg
major axis 060 degrees true
12 nm
150 T
44-33 N
center point
072-20 W
S = track spacing
corner point
minor axis
direction of drift and search
corner point
Aircraft Turn Radius
for a standard rate turn
d
At 90 knots, d = 0.5 nm
At 100 knots, d = 0.55 nm
Search Patterns

TSR = Track Line Return
 CS = Creeping Line
 PS = Parallel Track
 SQ = Expanding Square
 VS = Sector Search
 0 = Contour Search
Track Line Return (TSR)
CSP
½ track spacing
Longitude and latitude are
provided for these points
Creeping Line (CS)
Corner point
Leg
Track spacing
Major
axis
CSP
Center point
Expanding Square
5
3
CSP
4
2
1
2
4
1
3
5
Initial
heading
Sector Search (VS)
All turns 120 degrees
to the right
Initial heading
c
3
c
1
2
Datum CSP
c
Sector Search Turns
At 100 Knots
Leg
2
2
1
3
1
2
3
Time
1 min 12 sec
36 seconds
2 min 24 seconds
At 100 knots it takes 36 seconds
to travel 1 nautical mile
Turn radius = 0.55 nm
for standard rate turn
at 100 knots
It takes 40 seconds to turn 120
degrees in a standard rate turn
Find the Gooney Bird !
26 degrees 59.9 minutes North
Latitude
081 degrees 34.1 minutes West
Longitude
It is in old grid square 102
It is in standardized grid square 26/81 ABB
13.4 nautical miles
15.0 nautical miles
Old Grid
Square
Grid Square 101
Square is 15 minutes
of longitude by 15
minutes of Latitude
Standardized Lat/Long Grid System
 This
system does
not require special
numbering
 Lat-long of lower
right corner defines
the grid
 Letters are used to
define sub-grids
36/102 AA 36/102 ADB
103-00 W
102-00 W
37-00 N
A
C
B
A
B
C
D
B
36-30 N
102-45 W
D
C
36-00 N
102-30 W
103-00 W
102-00 W
Find the Gooney Bird !
26 degrees 59.9 minutes North
Latitude
081 degrees 34.1 minutes West
Longitude
It is in old grid square 102
It is in standardized grid square 26/81 ABB
Grid Search
Worksheet
Example
no aircraft searching
adjacent grids
Expanding
Square search
worksheet
example

Using the Lat/Long Function of
the GPS
Push the NAV button
Rotate the large knob until
your position appears
Learning to Interpret the GPS

Tracking a meridian of longitude
– Flying true north or south
 A number greater that the desired longitude means
you are west of track
 A number less that the desired longitude means you
are east of track
Learning to Interpret the GPS

Tracking a parallel of latitude
– Flying true east or west
 A number greater that the desired latitude means you
are north of track
 A number less that the desired latitude means you
are south of track
Some Examples

Desired track 081 degrees 45.0 minutes west longitude
– You are headed north




GPS reads 081 45.3
GPS reads 081 45.8
GPS reads 081 45.0
GPS reads 081 43.2
Do you turn left or right?
– You are headed south




GPS reads 081 45.3
GPS reads 081 45.0
GPS reads 081 45.8
GPS reads 081 43.2
Do you turn left or right?
Some Examples

Desired track 26 degrees 46.0 minutes north latitude
– You are headed west




GPS reads 26 46.3
GPS reads 26 45.3
GPS reads 26 45.1
GPS reads 26 46.0
Do you turn left or right?
– You are headed east




GPS reads 26
GPS reads 26
GPS reads 26
GPS reads 26
46.3
45.3
45.0
46.1
Do you turn left or right?
Some Examples

You are headed north along the 081 degree 45.0
meridian. You need to make a turn to the west so that
you stay at least 0.5 nm from the 27 degree 0.0 minute
grid square boundary. Your ground speed in 90 knots.
– You begin your turn at?



27 degrees 1.0 minutes north
26 degrees 59.5 minutes north
26 degrees 59.0 minutes north
An Actual Flight
Cessna 172
IAS=90 Knots
Winds east at 5 knots
1000 feet AGL
4 degrees W variation
Summary

Search Pattern Types
 Search Pattern Definitions
 Turn Radius
 Grid Square
 Worksheet
 Using latitude and longitude from GPS for
navigation
Practice
Practice
Practice