thedrifter
09-01-06, 06:11 AM
Marines Establish 2nd Osprey Squadron Bound For Deployment
UPDATED: 9:53 pm EDT August 31, 2006
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. -- The Marine Corps activated its second non-training squadron flying the MV-22 Osprey, the tiltrotor aircraft that can take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 quit flying the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in December to begin training to fly and maintain the craft long-delayed by fatal crashes and rising costs.
"The Osprey is the present and it is the future," said Lt. Col. Karsten Heckl, the squadron's commanding officer. "This airplane is going to be phenomenal."
Heckl said he'll start the squadron with 50 Marines and reach full strength around November. The squadron will have all its aircraft around February, Heckl said. The unit then will begin a six-month period of further training to prepare for deployment.
Heckl praised the new aircraft's range and fuel efficiency. He said during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, his squadron flew CH-46 choppers to evacuate casualties. Some Marines died from injuries because those helicopters could not perform at the level of the Osprey, Heckl said.
The Osprey can carry more cargo then the CH-46 and fly five times farther at speeds around 300 mph.
The aircraft has been in development since 1986. Flights were stopped for about 18 months after a pair of crashes near Tuscon, Ariz., and Camp Lejeune killed 23 Marines.
Last summer, the Osprey passed its operational evaluation. In September 2005, the Pentagon approved the aircraft for full-scale production. The Marine Corps plans to buy 360 at about $71 million apiece.
The first deployable Osprey squadron was established in March. There are about nine aircraft and 250 people in the New River-based squadron.
The aircraft is scheduled to deploy sometime next year.
Ellie
UPDATED: 9:53 pm EDT August 31, 2006
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. -- The Marine Corps activated its second non-training squadron flying the MV-22 Osprey, the tiltrotor aircraft that can take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 quit flying the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in December to begin training to fly and maintain the craft long-delayed by fatal crashes and rising costs.
"The Osprey is the present and it is the future," said Lt. Col. Karsten Heckl, the squadron's commanding officer. "This airplane is going to be phenomenal."
Heckl said he'll start the squadron with 50 Marines and reach full strength around November. The squadron will have all its aircraft around February, Heckl said. The unit then will begin a six-month period of further training to prepare for deployment.
Heckl praised the new aircraft's range and fuel efficiency. He said during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, his squadron flew CH-46 choppers to evacuate casualties. Some Marines died from injuries because those helicopters could not perform at the level of the Osprey, Heckl said.
The Osprey can carry more cargo then the CH-46 and fly five times farther at speeds around 300 mph.
The aircraft has been in development since 1986. Flights were stopped for about 18 months after a pair of crashes near Tuscon, Ariz., and Camp Lejeune killed 23 Marines.
Last summer, the Osprey passed its operational evaluation. In September 2005, the Pentagon approved the aircraft for full-scale production. The Marine Corps plans to buy 360 at about $71 million apiece.
The first deployable Osprey squadron was established in March. There are about nine aircraft and 250 people in the New River-based squadron.
The aircraft is scheduled to deploy sometime next year.
Ellie