Osprey spreads its wings

[thedrifter]

Osprey spreads its wings
August 28,2003
ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF

The formation of a test squadron for the MV-22 Osprey at New River Air Station will begin today, military officials announced Wednesday.

Marine Col. Glenn M. Walters is expected to take command of Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22. The squadron, which will stand up after a 10 a.m. ceremony today at New River, chould eventually include 101 aviators from the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.

The squadron is scheduled to take the Osprey through its next round of tests called an operational evaluation. Testing is scheduled at New River in late 2004 to 2005 barring any unforeseen circumstances.

"We are transitioning from developmental testing to operational testing," said Osprey program spokesman Ward Carroll. "It's a very significant milestone."

The current phase of developmental testing at Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland began May 29, 2002 and followed a prolonged period when the tiltrotor aircraft was grounded after a pair of fatal Osprey crashes in 2000 that claimed the lives of 23 Marines and experienced aviators. One crash occurred just outside Jacksonville in the Hofman Forest.

Nearly 18 months of investigations led to the relief of a Marine Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 commander and a series of recommended aircraft improvements.

Officials pointed out that the new VMX-22 group is not strictly a Marine Corps squadron. It will answer to the commander of Operational Test and Evaluation Force Rear Adm. David Architzel in Norfolk, Va.

This command also oversees Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One at Patuxent River; VX-9 at the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, Calif., a detachment from VX-9 at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Calif. and works closely with Marine Test and Evaluation Squadron One at Quantico, Va.

"We've answered most of the aeromechanical suitability issues and now we are transitioning to the operational use and environment to be prepared for the operational evaluation," Carroll said. "They will get their first Osprey in the late fall and then at regular intervals for a total of six aircraft."

According to Carroll, aviators need the six Ospreys for the operational evaluation, a five-month long process that is like the final exam before the introduction of the aircraft to the fleet.

According to a New River Air Station public affairs media advisory, many of the people from VMMT-204 will be transferred to VMX-22 for the operational evaluation. Once the aircraft is approved for Marine Corps-wide use VMMT-204 staff will train pilots and aircrews to make the leap from their aging fleet of CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters to the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

But VMX-22 will likely not disband once the Osprey goes into operation because military officials are planning to test other tiltrotor aircraft the military is looking to bring into their arsenal in the future, Carroll said.


Contact Eric Steinkopff at esteinkopff@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 236.


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Sempers,

Roger
:marine:

[thedrifter]

New start for Osprey
August 29,2003
CYNDI BROWN
DAILY NEWS STAFF

A crowd of Marines lining the hangar glanced Thursday out above New River, squinting into the sun. A few arms went up to point at a speck in the sky that came into focus as it drew closer.

They were watching an MV-22 Osprey, one of the first to fly into New River Air Station since the tiltrotor aircraft was grounded in 2000 following two fatal crashes.

The Osprey returned to flight in May 2002 for developmental testing at Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland and heads into operational evaluations at New River over the next two years. On Thursday, Marine Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22), whose primary function is that testing, was activated during a ceremony at the new squadron's home - one of the air station's oldest hangars.

"This hangar hasn't looked this good since World War II," said Lt. Gen. Michael A. Hough, deputy commandant for Marine Corps aviation, and got a laugh from those in attendance.

The squadron's mission will be to test the aircraft and the potential of tiltrotor technology, Hough said.

Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force personnel will be a part of the squadron, which is initially comprised of aviators from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204.

The squadron is under the control of the Navy's Operational Test and Evaluation Force, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., and commanded by Rear Adm. David Architzel.

Marine Col. Glenn M. Walters assumed command of VMX-22. He welcomed family members, friends and comrades who were there to see the squadron stand up - and not, he emphasized, from zero.

"That flame was kept alive," Walters said.

"We're not going to do anything until we're ready to do it," he said of the slow, building-block approach the squadron would take to testing and operations.

The first new Ospreys, which use tiltrotor technology to combine the range, speed and payload of an airplane with the vertical lift and maneuverability of a helicopter, are expected at New River in late October or early November. Walters doesn't expect them to be in the air until November 2004.

"It's a fairly lengthy process," he said, adding that while some testing will be conducted at New River. But much will, out of necessity, be conducted outside the area: at sea, in mountains, near deserts and in cold weather.

"Anything our Marines, airmen and sailors would encounter flying those things," said Walters of a job he sees as no more risky or dangerous than any other mission.

Retired Marine aviator and Osprey simulator instructor Mark Thorman echoed those sentiments.

"The helicopters it's replacing are antiques, not just old, but antiques," he added. "That's what we're sending our Marines to war in."

Thorman said the simulator is a great place for troops to get a taste of the Osprey's capabilities.

"I'm excited," he said of the next phase of testing. "I was disappointed to see this program stopped, but recognized the importance of stepping back, doing it the right way, doing it carefully. But we've got to get it going."

Maj. Brooks Gruber would have felt the same, said his widow Connie. Gruber was the co-pilot of the Osprey that crashed April 8, 2000, in Marana, Ariz., killing all 19 on board.

"I think he'd be glad for the progress they've made," said Gruber, wearing over her heart a pin bearing her husband's name and photo.

Before the ceremony started, however, she wasn't sure how she would react.

"I have a fast heartbeat right now," Gruber said as she laid her hand across her chest and watched the Osprey come in to land. Her voice dropped to a little more than a whisper. "I didn't know they'd be flying one in."


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Sempers,

Roger
:marine:

[greybeard]

Drifter-the Osprey is not to replace the CH53E pictured above, at least not in it's current configuration. It is proposed to replace the CH46. At a current cost of $76-$100 million/aircraft(depending how the numbers are juggled), it is one expensive boondoggle. When I see one land on a Rockpile type LZ, I might change my mind