MIMS for Dummies
...a survival guide for the rest of us.
For comments about this guide, email to:
paul@kinzelman.com
Last updated March 27, 2008
Note: This has only been marginally updated to the new MIMS they've got
due to my lack of time.
They've rearranged things, but haven't really improved being able to
find stuff. If you have updates or suggestions on things that need
updating, please email me with specifics as to what needs to change.
CAP Website Resource List
These items aren't strictly part of MIMS, but I've found they're useful and
impossible to find otherwise.
MIMS Tasks
Starting point
For all of the instructions I've listed below, start by
going to this web page:
https://www.capnhq.gov/default.aspx
and log in with your CAPID and password. Use Netscape V8.0 or
Internet Explorer because
some MIMS features unfortunately do not work with other browsers.
The MIMS tasks you're probably most interested in are located well down
in the huge list on the left of the web page (under "CAP Utilities").
In addition, there are tasks (like scheduling and reporting cadet orientation
flights) located in the right column (called Restricted Applications),
ut these must be specifically enabled for your account.
After any MIMS
task, click on "e-Services Home" (way up top) to get back to
the starting-point
list of MIMS tasks. The instructions for each MIMS task listed below
starts at this point.
Additional Approval Required
Note that when you update some items, you will not immediately be
designated as current for the CAP qualification requiring those items.
Some items have to be approved by the squadron commander after you
have entered your data. The date you specified for completing
the item is listed under the column "Pending Date:", indicating that
an approval is necessary.
MIMS Comments and Suggestions
MIMS is a great idea, but many people have difficulty with how to enter
their data. If you have suggestions for improvements
or other feedback, you can send email to
pcapicik@cap.gov
Common MIMS Tasks
Scheduling an Aircraft
From the 'home' of your E-services page, over on the right under
"Restricted Applications", you should see the item "Flight Schedule
Pro". Click on this to get to the scheduler. If you don't see this
item, you don't have the privileges necessary to access the scheduler.
Talk with your squadron commander about getting access.
Updating Your FAA Currency Items
- Click on "My OPS Quals (FMS) Personal Currency"
(just past 1/2 way down).
- Select the item you want to update in the second row at the top.
- The place where you enter stuff is under
"Data Entry".
- Select the desired date. Note that right after it says
"Select Date:" there is a funny looking icon that's supposed to be a
calendar. You can click on it and a calendar will come up. You can click
on the desired date, or change the month
by clicking on the chevrons to the left and right of the month. Or after
the icon, there are three drop-down boxes (click on each box and a list
will drop down) where you can manually select
the desired date (month, date, year).
Take Offs/Landings Entry
- Select appropriate data. The left set is for day takeoffs and
landings, the right set is for night. Select the button corresponding
to the number of takeoffs, then select the button corresponding to the
number of landings in the desired box (day or night).
- Click on "Save" at the bottom.
Instrument Experience Entry (for instrument currency)
- Select the buttons for what you did, or else specify that you had an
Instrument Proficiency Check.
- Click on "Save" at the bottom.
Updating pilot records
- medical
- biennial
- certificates and ratings
- Click on: "My Operations Qualifications/National Reports"
(buried about 25 down the list on the left).
- Note there's a thick manual you can look at if you click on
"Please click here for an eServices and Operations Qualifications manual."
- Click on the "Pilot" item in the row along the top.
- Click on "What do I need?" on the left/bottom in the blue box.
- Then click on whatever Achievement you want. For most stuff, it'll
be "CAP Airplane Pilot".
- Then scroll down below "What Do I Need?"
- Each item is a hot-link. Click on the one(s) you want to update.
- Click on "Submit" at the bottom.
You can also click on the left blue box "Checkride/Questionnaires" to
enter your form 5 and form 91 checkrides.
If you get the warning box, something like "You must be a current CAP
Airplane Pilot to enter a CAPF91" then you have to get that current
first. Click on the "What do I need?" blue box on the left to try to
figure out what's missing.
Updating ES or CAP piloting tasks previously completed
Use these steps if you've previously qualified for a task and you're
updating one of the items of the task.
- Mission Pilot
- Cadet Orientation Pilot
- (and others)
- Click on: "My Operations Qualifications/National Reports".
(buried about 6 up from the bottom on the left).
- Click on the item you want from the list across the top like
"Emergency Services".
- Click on the "Single-Person Achievement" tab.
- Click on the task you need to update (like
"MP - SAR/DR Mission Pilot").
- Update the information.
- Click on "Update" at the bottom.
Note that the task will not necessarily immediately update from
"Expired" to "Active". Somebody needs to approve your request and
then it will update.
Cadet Orientation Flight (COF) Reporting
Use these steps after you complete a set of CAP
cadet orientation flights only. (ROTC COFs are not entered in MIMS.)
The following steps are done only once per day:
- Click After Flight Reporting in the right column.
(If you don't have it, then you're not enabled for COF reporting. Ask
your squadron commander to fix that.).
- Click COF Data Entry
- Select Wing, if necessary
- Enter Flight Date
- Select Powered Flight Type
- Enter Tail Number of aircraft used
- Enter your Pilot CAPID
- Enter Ferry Time - the flight time from your home base to where you
did the COF flights and back
- Enter Fuel Charge (Currently Aeroclub fuel is $2.80/gal). Non-Aeroclub
fuel receipts get sent to Wing. Be sure to include a note describing
what the fuel receipts are for.
- Enter NMWG in the reimburse to textbox
- Click Save Aircraft Info
Repeat the following steps for each cadet orientation flight:
- Click Add Flight (link in the upper left part of the table)
- Enter the CAP ID number of the cadet in the front seat
and select front seat
- Select which syllabus number you flew for that cadet and enter the
flight time
(Ideally flight time should be between 0.8 and 1.2. Try your best to make
the time be the same for each cadet)
- Click Save Cadet
- If you had any cadets in the back seats, enter the CAP ID number
of each cadet (one at a time) and select "back seat".
- Click Save Cadet
- Repeat the above two steps for each cadet in the back seats.
When you've entered all the above information for all cadets you
flew that day, click Complete Transaction
Initially Completing ES or CAP piloting tasks
Use these steps for a CAP specialty rating if you:
- are qualified for a specialty but have never entered
your qualification in MIMS. When you first start entering
your data in MIMS, you have to go through and qualify
for each specialty. For instance, if you're currently a Mission Pilot,
you have to first complete the qualifications for Mission Scanner, then do
Mission Observer, and then you can do Mission Pilot.
If you completed the missions long ago so you don't still have the
mission number, use "999999" as the Mission Number.
If you don't know the trainer, leave it blank.
- have never qualified for the specialty. Just enter the items as you
complete them for the specialty.
The last time I tried, the CAP web
site search function did
not work for finding the Flightline Tasks, so you can find the
manual at:
http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_052704141903.pdf
To enter your task completion information:
- Click on: "Personal ES/CD/Cadet Task Entry". (buried about 25
down the list on the left).
- Log in with your CAPID again.
- Click on the desired specialty (like "MO - Mission Observer").
- You'll see a list of tasks that need to be completed. Click on each one
(as you complete them) and fill in the information needed. Note most
information needs a Trainer CAPID (see the next task below for finding
somebody's CAPID)
and a Mission Number. If the task was
not associated with a mission, use "999999" as the Mission Number.
- Update the information.
- Click on "Save" at the bottom.
Note that if an item has a date in the "Current Date:" column, that
means you have already entered the task's completion (possibly under
another specialty rating)
so you don't have to do anything for that item.
Finding somebody's CAPID
This is useful for some tasks for which you need to specify the person
who trained you.
- Click on: "Member Qual Info"
- In the center, click on the drop-down box and select "Mbr Qual Info Report"
- Type in the first and last name in the blanks
- Click on: "Click to Search By Name"
Note that you can also type
in partial names, for instance if you leave the first
name blank, and type in just "kinz" to search for me, it'll come up with
the names of several people each of whose name starts with "kinz".
Printing your 101 card
- Click on "Personal CAPF 101".
- Set up the data entry boxes with your personal data (weight, height, etc.).
- Currently, MIMS does not require your picture.
- Click on "Update 101 Card".
- Print the page by clicking on the browser menu commands in the upper
left of the browser window: "File" then "Print").
Getting a list of your achievements
- Click on "My Ops Qual/National Repts".
- Then click on "National Reports".
- Pull down and select "Mbr Qual Info Rpt".
- Type in your name and search for your reports.