thedrifter
08-04-06, 07:38 AM
Triumphant journey recalled
August 04,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The pilots of the MV-22 Osprey won’t knock Charles Lindbergh from his perch atop aviation history, but then, they have very different goals.
After Lindbergh made the first trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, his triumphant journey was marked by celebration and ticker tape. Marine Corps Osprey pilots, who completed their own jaunt across the icy northern Atlantic and back last weekend, plan to make similar flights and then go to war.
The Osprey — the tiltrotor aircraft the Marines are resting their aviation future on — won’t be released into the wilds of combat until sometime next year. But when it is, the fleet will receive a $71 million dollar aircraft touted “self deployable,” meaning crews can load the birds up and fly them straight into the fight. Refueling happens midair along the way.
“One of (the Osprey’s) unique capabilities is its range and speed,” said Lt. Gen. John G. Castellaw, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation. “With the V-22, we can actually fly anywhere in the world.”
The recent trans-Atlantic flight was just one more test to prove the Osprey’s worth. The aircraft rests on shaky history, reaching a low point in 2000 with two fatal crashes, including one in Jacksonville that killed four Marines.
The 4,000-mile journey to England began at New River Air Station on July 8, when three Ospreys with Marine Tilt-rotor Operation Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 left for Goose Bay, Newfoundland. Then two of the Ospreys, accompanied by a pair of KC-130J Hercules refueling planes, took off for Farnborough, England, where the Ospreys were scheduled to perform at an air show.
The Osprey participated in two air shows while in England, flying a total of 17 events, according to a Marine Corps news release. The planes left England on July 25 and returned to New River on July 29.
Maj. David Lane, the aircraft commander of one of the Ospreys during the trek, called the flight “fantastic.”
“As a CH-46 pilot, I didn’t get a chance to fly at those altitudes,” said Lane, who has been flying the Osprey since early 2004 and has clocked 518 flight hours on the craft. “We got to see some cool places. I was amazed to see there was so much water between Canada and England.
“It’s fantastic to be that small piece of history.”
The flight did have some kinks. One of the Ospreys — not Lane’s — had a “compressor stall” on its right engine during the nine-hour flight to England. The aircraft diverted to Iceland, and the engine was replaced before it continued on.
Castellaw said aircraft diversion are nothing new, citing many of his own diversions into “a lot of farms and fields” when he was a CH-46 pilot at New River. Castellaw said part of the reason the bird made a pit stop in Iceland was because the ocean provides limited places to divert in an emergency. Also, if the situation would have been a “real-world” tactical mission, they could have continued, he said.
“In other circumstances, we would have continued to press,” he said.
The trans-Atlantic flight represented the swan song for Col. Glenn Walters as the commander of VMX-22, the squadron designated to put the Osprey through the wringers to investigate its capabilities and safety following the fatal accidents. Walters headed the squadron for three years, during which the Osprey passed its operational evaluation and was approved for full scale-production in September. He was replaced Thursday by Col. Keith W. Danel.
Walters said the trans-Atlantic flight was the “culmination” of his command. The Osprey, he said, is ready to bring its advanced capabilities to the battlefields of the future.
“It makes me feel like we have completely wrung out (this aircraft),” he said. “It’s very gratifying. It’s going to be a tremendous asset for the Marine Corps.”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
Ellie
August 04,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The pilots of the MV-22 Osprey won’t knock Charles Lindbergh from his perch atop aviation history, but then, they have very different goals.
After Lindbergh made the first trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, his triumphant journey was marked by celebration and ticker tape. Marine Corps Osprey pilots, who completed their own jaunt across the icy northern Atlantic and back last weekend, plan to make similar flights and then go to war.
The Osprey — the tiltrotor aircraft the Marines are resting their aviation future on — won’t be released into the wilds of combat until sometime next year. But when it is, the fleet will receive a $71 million dollar aircraft touted “self deployable,” meaning crews can load the birds up and fly them straight into the fight. Refueling happens midair along the way.
“One of (the Osprey’s) unique capabilities is its range and speed,” said Lt. Gen. John G. Castellaw, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation. “With the V-22, we can actually fly anywhere in the world.”
The recent trans-Atlantic flight was just one more test to prove the Osprey’s worth. The aircraft rests on shaky history, reaching a low point in 2000 with two fatal crashes, including one in Jacksonville that killed four Marines.
The 4,000-mile journey to England began at New River Air Station on July 8, when three Ospreys with Marine Tilt-rotor Operation Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 left for Goose Bay, Newfoundland. Then two of the Ospreys, accompanied by a pair of KC-130J Hercules refueling planes, took off for Farnborough, England, where the Ospreys were scheduled to perform at an air show.
The Osprey participated in two air shows while in England, flying a total of 17 events, according to a Marine Corps news release. The planes left England on July 25 and returned to New River on July 29.
Maj. David Lane, the aircraft commander of one of the Ospreys during the trek, called the flight “fantastic.”
“As a CH-46 pilot, I didn’t get a chance to fly at those altitudes,” said Lane, who has been flying the Osprey since early 2004 and has clocked 518 flight hours on the craft. “We got to see some cool places. I was amazed to see there was so much water between Canada and England.
“It’s fantastic to be that small piece of history.”
The flight did have some kinks. One of the Ospreys — not Lane’s — had a “compressor stall” on its right engine during the nine-hour flight to England. The aircraft diverted to Iceland, and the engine was replaced before it continued on.
Castellaw said aircraft diversion are nothing new, citing many of his own diversions into “a lot of farms and fields” when he was a CH-46 pilot at New River. Castellaw said part of the reason the bird made a pit stop in Iceland was because the ocean provides limited places to divert in an emergency. Also, if the situation would have been a “real-world” tactical mission, they could have continued, he said.
“In other circumstances, we would have continued to press,” he said.
The trans-Atlantic flight represented the swan song for Col. Glenn Walters as the commander of VMX-22, the squadron designated to put the Osprey through the wringers to investigate its capabilities and safety following the fatal accidents. Walters headed the squadron for three years, during which the Osprey passed its operational evaluation and was approved for full scale-production in September. He was replaced Thursday by Col. Keith W. Danel.
Walters said the trans-Atlantic flight was the “culmination” of his command. The Osprey, he said, is ready to bring its advanced capabilities to the battlefields of the future.
“It makes me feel like we have completely wrung out (this aircraft),” he said. “It’s very gratifying. It’s going to be a tremendous asset for the Marine Corps.”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
Ellie