Twin
6,150 chaff horse powered Rolls-Royce engines roared to life in the
MV-22 Osprey as it was prepped for the flight evaluation of Capt. Laura
Jones, U.S. Air Force 58th training squadron Operations Group Detachment
1 student, at Marine Corps Air Station New River July 23.
Capt.
Curtis Alexander, a Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 Air
Force 58th Operations Group Detachment 1 flight instructor, was the
evaluating instructor in the MV-22 and led the briefing of two crew
chiefs and two pilots with input from Jones on their flight route,
counter actions for hazards during the flight and testing Jones’s
general knowledge for the V-22.
"The mission here at
VMMT-204 is to do the initial assessment training on tiltrotor Osprey
pilots on all MV and CV-22 aircrafts," said Capt. Alexander. "I need to
see where she is at to make sure (Jones) is ready to go and fly in the
next evolution of training."
The V-22 was designed
to support the Marine Corps, Navy and the United States Special
Operations Command combat missions. The tiltrotor crew aircraft combines
the speed and range associated with turboprop aircrafts with the
vertical take-off, landing and hover capabilities of a helicopter.
A unique characteristic
of the V-22 are the interchangeable positioning wind turbines with prop
rotors said Jones. The vertical position allows for landings in tight
spaces and fields where the horizontal position allows speeds that rival
airplanes.
The training squadron
is a mixture of airmen and Marines working together to train Osprey
pilots, Marine crew chiefs and units in the use, maintenance tactics and
different perspectives of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
"Coming into a Marine base and seeing how our
counterparts are flying the same airplanes and learning their tactics
and procedures has a lot of benefits down the road because everybody can
remember what they learn," said Alexander. "The thing folks tend to
have issues with is when you have to tell everyone what you’re doing.
It’s a foundational piece, since you will be using that for the rest of
your career."