Steve Fossett missing

[JackD]

Reality VS PC face time,  funding , column inch for the wire services.

[Flyboy]

I called mission control myself on Friday after returning from BUB and asked to speak to the Officer in Charge as I was a pilot and Bonneville guy. A woman said he was in a meeting and would call me back. I told them I had a 210 and wanted to help in the search and could they spare a tank of gas. Never hear back from them. I flew out there Saturday with a fellow "Bonneville" observer and spent most the day looking on my own dime. It would have been nice if they called back. Hell I flew 100 feet above those crevices. I guess they don't make CAP pilots like they used to--

[Dean Los Angeles]

I'm a little puzzled.

The Civil Air Patrol has 64,725 members.
CAP owns the largest fleet of single-engine piston aircraft in the nation, and CAP pilots are able to fly those planes to perform CAP missions in service to their local communities.

And yet, this is all they could muster for the search:

Seven single-engine Cessna 182 and two Cessna 206 aircraft  from the Nevada Wing.
13 of the same type aircraft from the California Wing.
A Gippsland G8 AirVan equipped with ARCHER imaging technology from the Utah Wing.
Two UH-58 and two Blackhawk helicopters from the Nevada Army National Guard.
One Hughes 500 helicopter.

Seems the private sector doesn't have any limitations:

In addition, the Hilton Flying M Ranch is sending 11 private helicopters and nine airplanes to assist searchers.