Osprey heads out on Bataan for deployment

On the flight deck of the amphibious ship Bataan, the hybrid aircraft known as the V-22 Osprey has taken roost. Lined up on the deck with its wings folded, the tilt-rotor aircraft hides its unique gift - it lifts off and hovers like a helicopter and flies like a plane.

Almost 20 years after its first test flight, and a decade since two fatal crashes grounded it, the Osprey is poised for its first full deployment with a Navy amphibious group.

Marines and sailors are now training with about 10 Ospreys aboard the Norfolk-based Bataan, off the coast of North Carolina, doing touch-and-go landings, folding and maintaining the odd-looking plane at sea.

Airmen are learning how to steer the Osprey through the tight confines of the flight deck, shared with Harrier jets and helicopters. Commanders are working to find the best missions for it, given its extra speed and range. And the squadron has brought aboard dozens of extra personnel and additional equipment to prepare for the mission.

Top officers acknowledge the hurdles ahead but in the same breath say the Osprey is the future of the amphibious force.

"It's a challenge, but so far it hasn't been an insurmountable challenge," said Navy Capt. J.L. Sotherland, commodore of the amphibious group. "We still don't know all the things we can do with it."

When the Osprey was conceived about 25 years ago, the Marines envisioned the tilt-rotor craft would replace medium-lift helicopters like the CH-46 Sea Knight and CH-53 Sea Stallion.

Versions of those workhorses have served the Marines and Navy since the Vietnam War. But the Marines' desire to deliver leathernecks quicker to the fight and from farther away led to the development of the V-22.

The design allows the twin rotors to point vertically at takeoff and hover, then rotate 90 degrees in midflight to transform into a fixed-wing plane.

Two of the first six aircraft crashed in 1989 during testing. A July 1992 accident during a landing at Quantico Marine Corps Air Station in Northern Virginia killed seven people. Its poor performance and its narrow capabilities led then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to try to kill the program in Congress.

The program survived with design changes, modifications and improvements to correct faulty systems. But two more fatal accidents occurred in 2000, including one near Camp Le jeune in North Carolina that killed the Osprey's two most experienced Marine pilots. Thirty Marines and civilians died during its development.

Marine Lt. Col. Paul Ryan, now the commanding officer of the Osprey squadron embarked aboard the Bataan, served as a test pilot at the time. The 18-month grounding of the fleet and blue-ribbon panel investigation was a humbling and difficult experience, he said.

Ryan was the first military pilot back into the cockpit. Extensive testing convinced him and his fellow Marines that the Osprey is safe, he said.

The aircraft now flying from the deck of the Bataan is greatly improved, he said. He ticked off a quick list of examples - it is twice as fast, carries more than double the load and can fly three times as far.

That combination is valuable for raids and resupply missions, he said. The challenge for commanders is to find the right missions and the V-22's best role in the air wing. The speed and range will make it more versatile than helicopters, but with only one machine gun as a weapon, it may play a smaller role in combat operations.

"The V-22's truly revolutionary," Ryan said. "We have the opportunity to think bigger than the other guys."

Each Osprey also carries a $68 million price tag, according to the Marines. But a recent congressional study said the figure grows to nearly $100 million when research and development costs are included. It's about five times as expensive as the Sea Knight helicopters it's replacing, the report said.

The squadron went to Iraq two years ago for its first operational deployment with the Osprey. The squadron transported supplies and troops in the province of Anbar.

Cpl. Davon Darden, an aircraft mechanic, said the V-22 performed well in the desert even with sand as fine as baby powder. "I thought it was going to get all over, but it didn't," said Darden, a 22-year-old from Hampton.

Now aboard the Bataan, he's convinced that "the V-22 is the future of the Marine Corps."

The desert mission didn't train pilots in all the skills needed to land aboard a ship. Marine Capt. Adam Richard, a co-pilot, said pilots have been spending hours in simulators to prepare for that.

Richard and his fellow pilots will be practicing touch-and-goes during the monthlong training. They will also be participating in scenarios that mimic real-life deployments on missions, such as search-and-rescue and disaster relief.

Richard downplayed the transition from shore to ship. The plane has been performing well over the water, he said.

On the flight deck, a pair of Ospreys readied for takeoff on a crisp, clear February afternoon.

The first craft lifted off from the port side, tipped slightly over the water, th en rose straight up. A second followed. In a few minutes, above the horizon, their rotors swung down and delivered a sudden burst of speed.

Marines say the Osprey can cruise at speeds of more than 300 mph.

In a small room with a window overlooking the flight deck, crew members have added another piece to their Ouija board, the simple but fail-safe board used to show the position of every aircraft on the deck and in the hangar bay.

Senior Chief Petty Officer David Kouskouris said his deck handlers are well-versed in handling the smaller helicopters they affectionately call "frogs." They need to figure out how the Osprey moves and where it can squeeze in on the flight deck.

"One mistake can damage an aircraft and take it out of flight," said Kouskouris, the ship's assistant aircraft handling officer and a 23-year veteran.

The Bataan deck handlers' experience will be shared throughout the Navy. Similarly, other sailors' feedback from the deployment this spring will be used to write the manual for handling, maintenance and operations for the entire fleet.

"We're going to fine-tune it for the rest of the fleet," Kouskouris said. "No more shore duty."

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com