Wildo67

Fixed. Keep em coming. Yes, your goal should be 100%, accept nothing less. Just Kidding, but seriously!

How has nobody spotted this little gem yet.

I don't think you understand what he is trying to say. This is not a senimental, I'll do anything it takes to save my brothers issue that we are talking about. I think that what he is trying to say is not that we wont do everything that we can in the eventuality an aircraft is shot down and a survivor is probable. Rather, I believe he is saying that having assets primarily dedicated only to this purpose is irresponsible in the larger scheme of things. When you consider all the work that is out there to be done, then it does seem odd to dedicate very capable assets to a fairly limited scope and theater. But hey what do I know? By the way the fate of the free world just called and they need your help.

Not exactly sure where you gathered from what I wrote that a 3 star wouldn't push this because he is told to. I simply said that it is his job to ensure the aircraft gets used in the correct way based on his experience in the aircraft. We all know that the flags will always give in to the pressure from the top if it starts weighing them down, thats the political end of this job that a bunch of B.S. They either give in or they get out with the exception of very few who pick the right battles. The argument at hand is as to whether the aircraft is ready to deploy operationally, No. The argument on my end never was that the Osprey can do all that a Helo could do, this has been established. Of course they will try to do it, that may be the most obvious statement ever made. The issue at this time is that we (Osprey community) need to be vocal about who we are, what we can do (which you don't dwell on), what we cannot do (which you do dwell on), and when we can do it. If we can convince the AFSOC/CC and he can fight for it even a little then we have done all that we can and we will fall in line when the Avalanche comes down the other side. But when the shit goes wrong we can at least throw back in their face a little "I told you so but you didn't listen to us, the people who operate the aircraft". I agree that AFSOC is making a folly in getting out of the Helo game, but that is the decision that has been made, I also agree that the I should be given 7.3 billion dollars and anonymity so that me, my wife, and my girls could do whatever our hearts desired for the rest of our lives without being bothered, however, I do not see this dream coming to fruition any time soon. I also agree that getting some -47s for AFSOC would be great and would be able to take over the PAVELOW role in a way that the Osprey will not, but again I haven't seen one cent of my 7.3 billion yet. As to your third paragraph, well there you have me a little, but I think that your numbers (being close to reality) obscure what is happening with the development of the aircraft. I believe these will get much better over the years, so this is one area where perhaps I will be proven to be naive over time, but I plan on doing my part to ensure that is not the way it works out. So maybe in time I can be a bitter man too(I keed, I keed), after all my toils bear no fruit.

The main assumption here seems to be that the Air Force has the ability to put the CV-22 to work and have chosen not to due to talk, debate, and speculation as to the specific missions and effectiveness. This is not at all the case. The aircraft has proven that it does the mission and does it well, most of the arguments are over what it could have been, but AFSOC knows what it is (flown by the AFSOC/CC after all), and they will put it into action as soon as it is feasible. That point in time is not now for a whole number of reasons (# of aircraft, aircraft production and arrival rates, # of crewmembers, PFT issues, sustainment ability, and mx training topping off the list). The reason that it is not operationally deploying just yet is all about these factors and has absolutely nothing to do with questions of the ability to get the job done. Its my opinion that it will be deployed much sooner rather than later and it will be earlier than it should be, but the community will make do and get it done just like they always have. Yes the community that maintains and flys the aircraft has its opinions about how it should be used and is being very vocal about them, not because they question its abilities, but because they don't want this osprey shaped peg to be plugged into a PAVELOW shaped hole because it is not using the aircraft to its full ability. We know what it can do and want to make sure that it will be used to the greatest SOCOM benefit. Deploying right now would be possible for us although not possibly sustainable, but it would also break us at a time where we need to focus on ensuring that the community can be self sustaining. We have too many on the edge of retirement and a push to that breaking point would become a landslide that would cripple the community for several years. Leadership has thus far done the right thing and will hopefully continue to do so, but they are being pushed and will have to give in before too long, and then we will see how the community survives, but in either case the aircraft itself will do the mission just fine and will impress a lot of people along the way But hey, thats just like my opinion man. Its not about inventing something special for it, AFSOC knows exactly what it is and they want to use it like what it is, not what its "replacing" or could have been. The AFSOC/CC flys the freaking thing and he knows what it cannot do, what it can do, and what it can do well, its his job to make sure that SOCOM uses it to their greatest long term benefit, and not just solely to fill a hole that SOCOM seems to be determined to fill with an undermanned SOAR. It will do some of the same things once done by the PAVELOW, but it will not do them all, but it will also do a lot more than could be done by its "predecessor".

Never mind helos, go Tiltrotor. You will no longer require sleep being that you are not a mere mortal, but instead you have transcended into being superhuman in that you fly every approach to a complete dustout even in that absence of said dust. Oh yeah, and if you can't hover coupled then you're double queer. Just kidding, but seriously!

I'm gonna go with special tactics squadron.

So where is the best place to live for those of us with the prospectus of moving to cannon afb (clovis or portales). Any comments?

If we were to lose an engine in airplane configuration, then we would be staying in airplane mode most likely as we are getting lift from the wings and will need less total power than in VTOL configuration. We have an interconnecting driveshaft system (ICDS) which will transmit the power from one engine to both proprotor systems with no loss of RPM, obviously there will be less total torque to both systems combined, but in most all situations (except for high altitude, temp, and weight) it will provide more than enough power to mainain straight and level flight and even to climb. The two proprotor systems are counter-rotating which is basically why we don't have a need for a tail rotor, but this has nothing to do with single engine ops, due to the ICDS. We deal with single engine operations in the sim all the time and if we can perform a run on or even no-hover landing then 99.9% of the time it is no big deal. If we were to land in airplane configuration then the proprotors would strike the runway, but there has been extensive testing to show that the proprotors will splinter away from the aircraft. If this were to occur on a runway, survival should be 100% for personnel. You are correct there are no problems with our disscussion as it is here and OPSEC. In fact everyone here should understand that while the Osprey is a different technology with its own unique set of problems, you should not take what TIME and many others have to say to heart. The Osprey is a great aircraft that will fill a high-demand mission. It has the ability to do it better and safer than its predecessors as long as it is understood for what it can and cannot provide.

Oh, did the Hawks pick up the Pave mission now that its going away. I didn't realize you had a mission other than alert? I KEEED, I KEEED Nothing but love.

Yeah but that airplane in the background with the thingys hanging off the back is really distracting to the picture. Here is a better picture

“The United States Army’s Broken Wing Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates a high degree of professional skill while recovering from an in-flight failure or malfunction requiring an emergency landing”. The requirements for this award, as stated in Army Regulation 672-74, specify that, “An aircrew member must, through outstanding airmanship, minimize or prevent aircraft damage or injury to personnel during an emergency situation. The aircrew member must have shown extraordinary skill while recovering an aircraft from an in-flight emergency situation.” Seems to me this is the only type of broken wing that I know of, and I think perhaps it should stay that way. My opinion.

Greatest aircraft of all time. Nuff said. But the F-4 was pretty sweet too.

Hell, Yeah.

Double Bastard Arrogant Bastard Ruination IPA or any of the others by Stone Brewing company Anything else is just water that gets you drunk.

Seriously, nobody that matters cares about this kind of crap. Whenever I hear somebody talk about how stupid it is to have your pen flap on, I think about those people that are always saying how gay something is. Coming from me this is freaking out there : Grow the hell up!

I am at Rucker right now, I just finished contact phase. The drops lately seem to have been similar for at least the last 5 months. For a class of 6 the drop will be (3 hueys, 2 60s, and 1 53). The last class had three people and the drop was 1 huey, 1 60, and 1 53. The rumor on the CV-22's from here is that they will start dropping in 08. That is all from me guys, off to bed, waking up at 3AM for some ever so sweet instrument simage. PEACE!!