thedrifter
06-18-07, 10:05 AM
KU graduate leads high-flying squadron
By Mike Belt
June 18, 2007
The Marine Corps is going through a change, and a Kansas University graduate is at the forefront of it.
Last month Col. Gary M. “Mike” Denning took command of a squadron that trains pilots and crews how to deploy the V-22 Osprey.
The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft, sort of half helicopter and half airplane. It is replacing the Marine’s CH-46 Sea Knight medium assault transport helicopter, which has been in service since the early 1960s.
“They are remarkable,” said Denning, a 1982 KU graduate. “The aircraft goes twice as fast, carries three times as much and can go five times as far without refueling.”
The Osprey can use its two wing engines and propellers like an airplane, or tilt them up (even while flying) and use them like a helicopter. It has better survivability from ground fire and surface-to-air missiles, Denning said.
Denning, a Cobra helicopter gunship pilot with three tours in Iraq behind him, now commands Marine Medium Tilt-rotor Training Squadron 204 (VMMT-204). The unit, nicknamed the Raptors, is based at the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, N.C. Denning could have from 400 to 800 Marines under his command at various times.
Pilots and other crewmen in CH-46 helicopter squadrons are being rotated to New River for training on the Osprey. It will take several years for the Osprey to completely replace the CH-46. But the first Osprey squadron that was trained is already scheduled to go to Iraq this fall, Denning said.
The Osprey has been in development for more than 20 years and has a checkered past. A series of crashes in 2000 killed 23 Marines, and flight testing was suspended for two years. In February the V-22s were grounded for several days because of a computer problem. Denning, however, said he is confident the aircraft’s problems have been fixed.
“I think the Marine Corps took a hard look at the aircraft and then brought it back in a thoughtful process,” said Denning, who is learning how to fly the Osprey himself. “Since we’ve come back on I believe the aircraft has proven itself.”
Denning, a St. Joseph, Mo., native, said he became interested in joining the Marines while at KU, where he received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. A friend who joined the Navy to become a pilot spurred him to action.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure what I wanted to do, but I was sure about what I didn’t want to do, and I wasn’t ready to wear a suit,” he said.
Denning has a brother in Lawrence, Darin Denning, a service manager at Jim Clark Motors, 2121 W. 29th Terrace.
Mike Denning said he has fond memories of KU and Lawrence. He said he remembers running up and down the steps in Allen Fieldhouse to get in shape after signing up with the Marines.
“I spent the summers there, too,” Mike Denning said of Lawrence. “That’s when I got a good feel not only of KU but of Lawrence. Summertime was just a great time to be there.”
Denning is married to the former Karen Elaine Abram, of Prairie Village. They have five children.
Ellie
By Mike Belt
June 18, 2007
The Marine Corps is going through a change, and a Kansas University graduate is at the forefront of it.
Last month Col. Gary M. “Mike” Denning took command of a squadron that trains pilots and crews how to deploy the V-22 Osprey.
The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft, sort of half helicopter and half airplane. It is replacing the Marine’s CH-46 Sea Knight medium assault transport helicopter, which has been in service since the early 1960s.
“They are remarkable,” said Denning, a 1982 KU graduate. “The aircraft goes twice as fast, carries three times as much and can go five times as far without refueling.”
The Osprey can use its two wing engines and propellers like an airplane, or tilt them up (even while flying) and use them like a helicopter. It has better survivability from ground fire and surface-to-air missiles, Denning said.
Denning, a Cobra helicopter gunship pilot with three tours in Iraq behind him, now commands Marine Medium Tilt-rotor Training Squadron 204 (VMMT-204). The unit, nicknamed the Raptors, is based at the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, N.C. Denning could have from 400 to 800 Marines under his command at various times.
Pilots and other crewmen in CH-46 helicopter squadrons are being rotated to New River for training on the Osprey. It will take several years for the Osprey to completely replace the CH-46. But the first Osprey squadron that was trained is already scheduled to go to Iraq this fall, Denning said.
The Osprey has been in development for more than 20 years and has a checkered past. A series of crashes in 2000 killed 23 Marines, and flight testing was suspended for two years. In February the V-22s were grounded for several days because of a computer problem. Denning, however, said he is confident the aircraft’s problems have been fixed.
“I think the Marine Corps took a hard look at the aircraft and then brought it back in a thoughtful process,” said Denning, who is learning how to fly the Osprey himself. “Since we’ve come back on I believe the aircraft has proven itself.”
Denning, a St. Joseph, Mo., native, said he became interested in joining the Marines while at KU, where he received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. A friend who joined the Navy to become a pilot spurred him to action.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure what I wanted to do, but I was sure about what I didn’t want to do, and I wasn’t ready to wear a suit,” he said.
Denning has a brother in Lawrence, Darin Denning, a service manager at Jim Clark Motors, 2121 W. 29th Terrace.
Mike Denning said he has fond memories of KU and Lawrence. He said he remembers running up and down the steps in Allen Fieldhouse to get in shape after signing up with the Marines.
“I spent the summers there, too,” Mike Denning said of Lawrence. “That’s when I got a good feel not only of KU but of Lawrence. Summertime was just a great time to be there.”
Denning is married to the former Karen Elaine Abram, of Prairie Village. They have five children.
Ellie