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thedrifter
10-22-08, 04:32 AM
NAS Fallon welcomes Osprey training squadron

By Christy Lattin
LVN Community News Editor,

A very unique aircraft and its crew have been flying around Churchill County’s skies the past two weeks to take advantage of high-altitude desert training.

The V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing, was brought to Naval Air Station Fallon by the Marine Corps’ VMX-22 Operational Test and Evaluation squadron, otherwise known as the “Argonauts,” based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.

Maj. Ken Karika said the Argonauts received orders to transport two Ospreys to San Diego for the Miramar Air Show, and they participated in Fleet Week in San Francisco. The crew decided to take advantage of their proximity to NAS Fallon and its training ranges for high-density, high-altitude tactical maneuvers. Karika said because the squadron is based in North Carolina, they typically train at sea level up to 800 feet. The unpressurized aircraft can fly up to 25,000 feet high.

The Osprey is used by the Marine Corps as a medium lift assault support vehicle to deliver troops and supplies to combat positions. The aircraft, which is a cross between a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane, is flown by two pilots and two crew chiefs and can carry 24 combat-loaded personnel.

Staff Sgt. Terry Baish said the Osprey requires two to three hours of maintenance after every mission flown. When the squadron is assigned to training missions, the Argonauts always include their maintenance crew because the technology on the Osprey is so unique.

Like a proud parent, Baish noted the Osprey’s speed and said the aircraft can fly from San Francisco to Fallon in one hour, and the squadron can fly from the East Coast to the West Coast in one day. Most squadrons require a week to make the cross-country trip. The Osprey can refuel while in flight, Baish said, giving it unlimited range capabilities.

The aircraft is much bigger than most helicopters. The two propellers hang nine feet below the fuselage when pointed forward, so the aircraft does vertical take offs and landings, like helicopters, but pilots quickly tilt its propellers forward to fly like a fixed-wing aircraft.

“It’s truly a hybrid,” Karika said. “It’s not just revolutionary, it’s evolutionary.”

It takes about 16 weeks or 100 training hours for pilots to master the Osprey’s controls, which are more traditional airplane controls, Karika said. However, most of the pilots for Osprey squadrons are transitioning from retiring CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter squadrons.

The crew’s team spirit is evident watching the pre-flight inspections. With pilots at the controls and propellers spinning, two aircrew personnel inspect the outside of the aircraft and relay information to the pilots. Oil is often added to the engines after start up, and it takes five people: one to hold the ladder, two to perform maintenance, one to pump the oil and one to supervise.

“The good thing is the integration between the aircrew and maintenance staff,” said Gunnery Sgt. Michael Strumpf. “The relationships between officers and aircrew is unique to the Marine Corps.”

The wind generated from the two spinning propellers is strong enough to force a grown man to lean against its power. Personnel on the flight line must wear protective headgear and goggles to avoid being struck by debris that may be kicked up due to the wind.

Karika said the squadron’s officers are hard on younger personnel, but there’s a good reason.

“We grow our own,” he said. “We train our young Marines and mentor them. The mothers of America have entrusted us with their children, so we take care of our own.”

The Argonauts will leave Fallon Tuesday to return home to North Carolina.

Ellie