Photo By Sgt. Rebecca Eller | An MV-22B Osprey with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 lands during a confined...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. – Looking down a standard flight line, it appears to go for miles. Typically, aircraft have all the space they need to take off and land safely.
When helicopter crews are resupplying Marines on the ground or transporting them to remote locations, however, vast runways are not always available.
To ensure pilots and crews are prepared for these situations, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 conducted confined area landings.
CALs are conducted several times each month to ensure pilots’ and crew members’ are prepared for landing in small zones or on rough terrain, explained Capt. Eric R. Mann, an MV-22B Osprey pilot with VMM-166.
These landing approaches are the most efficient way to put ourselves on the ground in the least amount of time, added Mann.
With this drill, pilots not only executed single aircraft CALs, but also section CALs. Section CALs consist of two aircraft practicing the drill in the same confined area. This is to practice avoiding obstacles that come with having two aircraft land so close to one another.
“Anywhere we go, whether it is in the desert or the East Coast, where we have a lot of wooded areas, the pilots have to be able to maneuver around the different obstacles,” said Sgt. Christopher S. Miller, an MV-22B crew chief with VMM-166.
Crew chiefs guide the pilots around and over obstacles, which makes crew members very important, especially in the CAL drill, explained Miller.
“Crew chiefs in the back are aerial observers,” said Miller. “They give distance calls to the ground and give the pilot a radius as they are coming in, but their primary objective is making sure the aircraft is clear of any obstacles as it is landing.”
With the crew chiefs and pilot working together proficiently, the CALs can be easily executed.
“There’s not always a field; it’s not always a big built up place that you’re landing at,” said Miller. “That’s why it’s important to train to land in small zones. That way we are always prepared in any clime and place.”
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2012 11:31 |
| Story ID: | 89640 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 56 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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