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Socom Demonstrates Helicopter-Plane Hybrid

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

An Air Force Osprey takes off Wednesday at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE - Of all the instruments of warfare displayed here this morning for the Special Operations Command appreciation day, the attention mainly was focused on a bizarre hybrid of helicopter and airplane.

The Air Force's version of the Osprey, or CV-22, was swarmed by military personnel and journalists this morning. Three groups of reporters from around the world were treated to half-hour rides aboard the chopper-airplane with engines mounted on the tips of stubby wings. The engines are in vertical positions to lift the aircraft off the ground; then they rotate forward for speed.

It's the next best thing in the global war on terror, or as Air Force Chief Warrants Officer Tony Howdeshell called it, the "GWOT."

Lt. Col. Darryl Sheets has been flying for 13 years, and when he decided to take up flying the Osprey, "it was like learning how to fly all over again."

He has been flying the Osprey about four years now and hasn't looked back, even when the fleet was grounded while it was being developed by the Marines, he said. The grounding came after several training flight crashes that killed dozens of Marines.

"We did a redesign of the engines and the gearboxes on the wings," he said, and the problems were solved.

"We've got a clean bill of health," he said.

Warfare has changed over the past several years, he said. Now the emphasis is getting a small number of troops into an area quickly and efficiently. Getting them out is just as important, he said.

The Osprey has a wide range like an airplane but can hover and land like a helicopter.

The Air Force is planning to introduce the aircraft into combat in Afghanistan and Iraq by next year. Special Operations Command wants to purchase 50 Ospreys within 10 years.

Each one costs about $85 million.

The Air Force's Web site said the Osprey is equipped with integrated "threat countermeasures, terrain-following radar, forward-looking infrared sensors and other advanced avionics systems that allow it to operate at low altitude in adverse weather conditions and medium- to high-threat environments."

The Osprey was designed by the Marines. The first two Air Force test aircraft were delivered to Edwards Air Force Base in California eight years ago.

The first operational CV-22 was delivered to the Air Force Special Operations Command's 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field in the Florida Panhandle last year.

This morning, Sgt. Brian Bowling snapped his safety belt on and made sure all his passengers — all civilians except one — were buckled into the back of the Osprey.

The aircraft taxied slowly onto the runway in front of Hanger 3 and then lifted off, straight up into the air. The passengers couldn't see them, but the huge prop engines began to turn, facing forward like a twin-engine airplane. Then the pilot gave it the gas, and the Osprey was off. The ground fell away from the rear opening, and within seconds, the aircraft was rising and over the water. About a minute later, it was over Pinellas County. A few minutes after that, the Sunshine Skyway passed beneath. Some tight turns followed, along with some steep ascents and descents.

The aircraft returned about a half-hour later.

The display of weaponry was part of a weeklong schedule of events honoring the Special Operations Command, a big part of the U.S. Central Command, which runs the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and is located at MacDill Air Force Base.

Recent announcements of cutbacks there have concerned Tampa officials, worried that the cutbacks will be enough to affect the local economy. But even with the elimination of about 1,100 of the 3,400 Central Command jobs at MacDill, the effect will hardly be felt on the local economy, financial analysts say.

The federal government has a commitment to the base, which has a $6.7 billion economic impact on the region.

Last week, Congress allocated $9 million of a projected $36 million expansion of Centcom.

Construction projects totaling more than $800 million are in the works at MacDill, including $154 million for base housing. The loss of jobs could mean reassignments here from other military installations.

In April, a reserve air refueling wing in Michigan was reassigned here.

All in all, MacDill has 12,000 employees, making it the county's third-largest employer, behind the school district and Verizon, according to the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Although Centcom's reductions in staff will cut into the overall numbers, no civilian jobs will be lost, officials say. The positions eliminated are filled mostly by reservists and personnel from other military operations. Almost all are on temporary assignments that last six months to a year.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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