to extend their range and flying time. “We can be a giver now,” Robertson said. While the aircraft’s chief responsibility is troop and cargo transport, the Osprey can carry an M240 machine gun or a 50-cal. machine gun on the back ramp or a modified GAU 17 mini-gun in the belly. Ospreys operate in such harsh environments, which include flying low through desert dust storms, that ground support and maintenance teams conduct rigorous inspections leading up to and following each flight. “This is a quality aircraft,” said Cpl. Colton Slaybaugh, a VMM-365 mechanic. “It has a lot of (or redundant) systems that back it up. If one goes out, it has two more to back it up. With other aircraft, when one goes down, you can’t fly.” After returning from an overseas mission, the Ospreys are taken apart and given a complete overhaul. New River hangars were remodeled or upgraded for the aircraft, and available Ospreys are sometimes traded among 22 | BOEING FRONTIERS squadrons, with logos sandblasted off the tails and new ones attached, to fulfill immediate deployment needs. Ground crews must be as resilient as the aircraft they service. There is much to learn. “Coming into it, the V-22 was pretty complicated and it felt overwhelming, but with the training they gave me I feel confident to work on it,” said Cpl. Quinten Rigney, a VMM-365 avionics technician. “It was exciting to see it fly away after what I did.” It is easy to forget that the Osprey,
Frontiers February 2016 Issue
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