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CV-22 Training Takes Off

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Frost
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The CV-22 Osprey aircrew training program here has pulled chocks and taken off in a major milestone for the aircraft.

The 58th Special Operations Wing announced they have the Required Assets Available, otherwise known as RAA, to begin training Air Force Special Operations Command aircrews.

"The idea behind announcing RAA is that we're advertising to the world that we have our airplanes, we have a trained cadre of instructors and we have the entire maintenance infrastructure to conduct aircrew training," said Lt. Col. Todd Lovell, director of operations for the 71st Special Operations Squadron, which will conduct CV-22 flight training.

After announcing RAA, the squadron began training the first classes of pilots and flight engineers Jan. 30.

Choosing February to begin classes isn't a coincidence, said Master Sgt. Ken Myers, chief CV-22 flight engineer in the 58th Operations Group. U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air Force Special Operations Command have stated they would like to announce initial operational capability of the aircraft in January 2009.

That would give the squadron time to train enough aircrews for Kirtland and Hurlburt Field, Fla., before the date, Colonel Lovell said.

Giving these aircrews the best training available is a must for the squadron, as some of their students could be deployed within weeks of leaving training.

"When crews leave here, they're full mission ready and ready to deploy," Colonel Lovell said. "That's the intent."

After arriving here, pilots go on a temporary duty assignment to Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., to receive initial training in the MV-22, the Marine version of the Osprey.

Upon training comletion at New River, pilots return to Kirtland, form crews with flight engineers who are also training, and finish their training on the CV-22, the Air Force's variation.

Flight engineers will follow a slightly different plan, Sergeant Myers said, who has worked on the CV-22 program since it began in 2000. Flight engineers complete all of their Osprey-specific training on Kirtland.

The beginning of training here satisfies part of a plan, which was laid out nearly three years ago for the Air Force's fielding of the CV-22.

Getting to the point of announcing RAA was no easy task however, Colonel Lovell said.

"The hardest part was building up the infrastructure, building up the operations and building up the maintenance team to where we had all the parts working together," he said. "Now I have a squadron full of instructors - now it's getting easy."

"The easiest part is being in a squadron where guys want to make things happen and they're motivated to fly the airplane," Sergeant Myers said. "They're proud to be here and want to be here."