MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, North Carolina -- In the open sky over Jacksonville, North Carolina, two MV-22 Osprey aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365, Marine Air Group 26 soared between landing zones; practicing confined area landing exercises, Aug. 4, 2015.
The Marines with VMM-365 rehearsed different drop off and extraction scenarios at Landing Zone Bluebird and Landing Zone Bat at Camp Lejeune to maintain skills and standards within the squadron.
“We flew in formation and approached the landing zones tactically in order to maintain a combat style mindset,” said Capt. Edward Proulx, an MV-22 Osprey pilot with the squadron. “We conducted stay-ins, 90-degree approaches, and tactical approaches: Where we stay low to the ground. This is a good training exercise and proficiency builder for us.”
During the training, the pilots circled the landing zone, performed a mock drop-off in a confined area and quickly, as they would in a real-world scenario. The pilots and crew chiefs communicated to each other about distances from the ground, wind speed and size of the landing zone in order to safely and swiftly conduct the training.
“Everyone on board gets a lot of value out of these training events,” Proulx said. “This is an evolution style flight, meaning we adapt to weather, landing zone and area around the zone as well. This is regular training for our squadron and it does help maintain skills and proficiency for everyone involved.”
Although there were no Marines exiting the aircraft or being extracted, the pilots landed, waited, and quickly took off as if in a drop-off scenario. This can help maintain skills and timeliness for the pilots and crew chiefs when conducting exercises with passengers.
“This helps build on and keep muscle memory for our actions on the aircraft,” said Cpl. Kodi Floyd, an MV-22 Osprey crew chief with the squadron. “When we are landing, I look for obstacles in the terrain, movement of grass, size of the landing zone and personnel below the aircraft and communicate with the pilots so they can perform a safe landing and ensure mission completion.”
Proulx believes this also helps the pilots of each aircraft when conducting various flight exercises.
“Flying an aircraft is a perishable skill and getting out and practicing and training helps sharpen that skill set,” Proulx said. “Both senior and junior pilots maintain proficiency and become more comfortable with the aircraft.”
The squadron conducts different landing zone drop-offs and extractions to prepare for real world scenarios.
“We practiced different approaches to the confined area landing zone so we can be prepared for any scenario,” Floyd said. “If an aircraft lands before us and the terrain is not safe, we can fly out and land somewhere safer to pick up or drop off personnel. Communication and practice is key in what we do, and this exercise helped everyone in the aircraft maintain the skills needed to make it back safe.”