Pilots with VMMT-204 fly high to qualify

Photo By Lance Cpl. Tavairus Hernandez | Capt. Curtis Alexander, a Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 Air Force 58th Operations Group Detachment 1 flight instructor, evaluates the skill and knowledge of Capt. Laura Jones, a U.S. Air Force 58th training squadron Operations Group Detachment 1 student, for one of her final evaluations before going to Curtain Air Force Base, at Marine Corps Air Station New River July 27. VMMT-204 inducted Operation Group Detachment 1 Dec. 8, 2004 to train the first V-22 pilots for special operations.  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

07.23.2016

Story by Lance Cpl. Tavairus Hernandez 

Marine Corps Installations East       

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."

• Date Taken: 07.23.2016
• Date Posted: 08.04.2016 12:55
• Story ID: 206082
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US