A CMV-22B Osprey assigned to Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 17, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
In the wake of recent high-profile stories covering the V-22 Osprey, aspiring pilots and their families might be led to believe the Osprey is too complex or difficult to fly.
That’s just not the case.
The idea that the Osprey is somehow less forgiving to fly than conventional rotorcraft — that you have to fly it “perfectly” — is simply not true. Pilots have unique perspectives, shaped by myriad factors such as previous experience, ability and mindset.
As an aviator with nearly 25 years of experience, I have piloted the Osprey and commanded an MV-22 squadron in all types of scenarios, from ship-to-shore movements, to harsh combat conditions and humanitarian relief missions. I have flown the Osprey throughout the United States, in Africa and Afghanistan, and off amphibious ships all over the globe.
I flew the CH-46 Sea Knight before the Osprey. Not only did I fly and function as a member of a complete crew, but also I trained new pilots and aircrew on how to employ their aircraft, as an advanced instructor pilot. From that perspective, I know the V-22 Osprey as a safe, simple and extremely rewarding aircraft to fly.
Three aspects of the Osprey make it an aircraft that professional pilots love to fly: the training, the technology and the crew size.
Training on the Osprey involves many hours of qualification courses. We spend about 35 hours in state-of-the-art simulators before we physically fly the aircraft.
For instructors, the common refrain when new pilots finally fly the aircraft is, “It was a non-event.” A new pilot doesn’t start off with passengers in the back. Instead, new pilots are run through a series of tests before they are cleared to carry passengers. The progression toward qualification is simple and logical, building proficiency and judgment. Some call this developing “air sense.”
Piloting an aircraft involves less individual discretion than the layperson may appreciate. Pilots’ actions are guided by established procedures and protocols, which leave little room for improvisation. They cover every aspect of flight operations, from pre-flight checks and flight management to emergency procedures and post-flight activities.
The second aspect of the Osprey that makes it a pleasure to fly is the technology embedded in the aircraft. In the cockpit, the Osprey crew has unprecedented situational awareness of their aircraft. The fly-by-wire flight control system brings impressive layers of automation, which makes the aircraft smoother and more stable than conventional rotorcraft.
Comparing the Osprey to its predecessor, the Sea Knight, or “Phrog” as it’s fondly called, is like comparing a car from today to one from the 1960s. You have sensors and notifications in the Osprey that were unheard of when legacy rotorcraft were built, such as flight control authority automation, moving map displays, and a variety of aircraft status indications.
One sensor the Osprey has in common with legacy rotorcraft is a chip notification. This feature has been mentioned in some of the reporting on the Osprey.
Let’s be clear: In any transmission, Osprey or not, gears can chip. When they do, there is a mechanism for reporting them. In the Osprey, you have the additional benefit of burning chips — if they are small enough — so they don’t pose a hazard. If the chips are too big to burn, then the aircraft changes its reporting to make clear you have a serious problem.
When a flight crew gets a chip-burn notification, clear protocols exist for crews to follow when it is considered safe to continue flying or when the chip burn is frequent enough to indicate a potentially more significant problem and require a precautionary landing.
Another aspect of the Osprey that enhances its ease of operation is that you aren’t flying solo — as a pilot, you have a co-pilot and multiple crew chiefs. Something that doesn’t get enough attention is a concept called Crew Resource Management, or CRM. CRM involves the management of aircrew error through key human factors involving communication, situational awareness, mission analysis, and decision-making. Good CRM is critical to successful piloting, especially in challenging flying conditions.
In addition to training, technology and crew size, there are other reasons why people want to fly an Osprey. For one, it’s tremendously survivable. It can fly well above the range of small-arms fire in a way the Sea Knight, for example, could not. The system design of the Osprey includes redundancies, which allow the aircraft to continue flying on one remaining system. For example, three hydraulic systems serve the flight control actuators, and if two of those systems fail, the remaining hydraulic system powers the flight controls to allow the crew to return to base.
These redundancies are also important if the Osprey comes under fire; it is incredibly rugged. I know of episodes in Afghanistan and Africa where Ospreys took significant fire and still completed their missions and returned home – when any conventional rotorcraft likely could have been destroyed en route.
The capability of the Osprey enables the pilots and their brothers and sisters in arms to do things that no others can do -- to reach out farther and faster to deploy troops or materiel, to provide logistical support, or to engage in combat search and rescue or relief efforts. That makes flying the Osprey incredibly rewarding -- indeed, its capabilities undoubtedly have saved lives.
The Osprey is simply exhilarating to fly — another reason why those who have flown it believe in it. It combines intuitive controls, enhanced cockpit displays, stable performance, advanced safety and survivability features, and responsive handling that no other rotorcraft can match.
Until the Army and the other services acquire the next-generation tiltrotor, only the Osprey has the ability to hover like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. To accomplish the mission faster and safer, and with a smile on your face, I will take an Osprey every time.
Douglas Thumm is a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. He flew over 1,500 hours in the MV-22 Osprey and continues instructing new Air Force and Marine Corps Osprey pilots in the MV-22 simulators at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.
