Friends of Bend Airport – An ODART Sponsor
Pilots! Observers! Ramp Rats! HAM Operators! Emergency Responders & Managers!
Participate in our annual disaster response exercise June 13/14.
The Oregon Disaster Airlift Response Team (ODART) conducts this state-wide exercise each summer. Come join the Central Oregon staging division in this year’s “Whale Run” exercise – based on a simulated Cascadia Earthquake disaster. Pilots/observers will fly a number of “Rapid damage assessment” flights on Saturday, followed by “Relief flights” of food, supplies and/or personnel on Sunday.
Several roles available. New volunteers will receive 2 hours of training in May and will join current members in early June for the exercise briefing and assignments. The exercise will be sized to the number of volunteers signed up by April 30th. Volunteers who participate in the exercise will be added to our roster of qualified volunteers to serve in an actual disaster response scenario.
For MUCH more info. about ODART-Oregon Disaster Airlift Response Team click here.
Pilots/Observers
ODART pilots all around the state fly all types of aircraft, including fixed wing (Land and water), rotorcraft and (FAA Part 107) UAS.
ODART receives rapid damage assessment flight request orders (Form ICS 213 RR) from emergency managers, and dispatches pilots to fulfill orders. Rapid damage assessment flights typically include an observer, who crew with the pilot to make observations and takes photos of infrastructure – roads, bridges, dams, lakes, rivers, airports, settlements, etc. Observations are recorded on a rapid damage assessment form, which upon landing is given to HAM operators who transmit the form image and photos to the emergency manager that made the flight request. ODART maintains a library of prescribed flight routes that emergency managers select from. A part of this exercise is to familiarize pilots and observers with routes.
Relief flights move cargo and/or personnel from supply points to “Impact areas”. Emergency managers receive requests from impact areas, and source requested cargo and/or personnel from staging locations. ODART receives flight request orders (Form ICS 213 RR) from emergency managers, and dispatches pilots to fulfill orders. These flights typically involve transporting goods and/or personnel from a source location airport to a destination near the impact area. ODART ground support personnel at the sourcing and destination airports facilitate the safe loading/unloading, dispatch and reception of flights. Click here to look at available slots.
Ramp Rats / Ground Support
ODART ground/ramp support team members work with pilots/observers to ensure aircraft are safely parked, goods and personnel are loaded/unloaded safely, flight manifest forms are filled out, and weather observations are made and forwarded to HAM operators for transmission to other ODART HAM stations. They also maintain the flight status/progress board. One member of the ground/ramp support team typically serves as the “Event Manager”. Click here to look at available slots.
HAM Operators (And Enthusiasts)
ODART has a number of “Staging Divisions” beyond the one at the Bend Airport – each equipped with a HAM station. We have a “40 meter” roof-top antenna atop a hangar at the Bend Airport, with a dedicated HAM station. We have a few licensed HAM operators, who welcome non-licensed “Enthusiasts” to work alongside them. The HAM team receives rapid damage assessment report forms, airport weather observations, cargo/personnel manifests, flight dispatch and flight arrival reports from other team members, and transmit those reports to other ODART HAM stations. They also receive transmissions from other ODART HAM stations. Our HAM station transmits and receives these reports using Winlink and/or voice via HF. Click here to look at available slots.
Emergency Responders & Managers!
ODART has formal agreements and MOU’s with the Oregon Dept. of Emergency Mgt. and Emergency Managers at all levels of government around the state. Several emergency managers will participate in this year’s exercise. Tribes and small communities will join them in being the source of request (Via ICS 213 RR) for Saturday rapid damage assessment flights and Sunday relief flights. Many of these requesting agencies supply food, equipment and personnel to be transported. The Oregon Dept. of Aviation will join us this year in planning Whale run 2026.
Are you an emergency manager? Emergency responder? Come join our exercise and learn how we work and what we can do. More than that, “Get to know us”, so we have an established relationship to leverage during an actual disaster response scenario. Click here to look at available slots.
Not Sure – Keep Me in the Loop
Drop us a line and we’ll add you to our e-mail list.