USMC
Same old story. Just wanted to write something down.
I saw the Transformers movie today and thought the opening scene was interesting: a squad of Army Special Forces in an Air Force CV-22 Osprey.
I immediately thought of the Marines.
The Osprey is a highly advanced tilt-rotor, VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft that has recently entered service in the USMC, to replace out-dated CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters (in active service since 1964), and in the USAF, for special operations applications. The V-22 has two rotor blades, each mounted at the end of a wing, that can tilt 90°: from vertical (take-off & landing) position to horizontal (fuel-efficient, plane-like) flight configuration. This means that the Osprey can hover like a helicopter but can also fly at higher speeds & altitudes, and with better fuel-efficiency by tilting the rotors forwards like a plane. The aircraft is an amazing feat of engineering with very important battlefield applications.
In the history of the Osprey's development are written the stories of 26 Marines and four Boeing employees who lost their lives testing the V-22. There were four crashes during the testing phases. The first crash occurred when one of the rotors struck the ground while the aircraft was hovering at 15ft and caused only minor injuries to two crew-members. The second crash was the result of a gearbox leak that resulted in an engine fire and the aircraft plummeting into the Potomac river at Marine Corps Base Quantico, killing three Marines and four Boeing employees in front of an audience of Congressmen and other government officials. Crash three was in April of 2000 when a V-22 simulating a rescue mission, loaded with Marines, attempted to land at a small airport northwest of Tuscon, AZ. The aircraft descended too quickly, stalling one of its engines at 245ft as a result of vortex ring state, and resulted in the aircraft rolling, crashing, and exploding, killing all 19 Marines on-board. A vortex ring state occurs when the recirculation of air around the rotor blades is so great that it negates all of the helicopter's lift, putting all of the thrust generated from the rotor blades right back on top of them. The fourth crash involved a hydraulic leak in the lines to one of the rotors, causing the aircraft to fall 1,600ft and crash in a forest near Jacksonville, NC, killing the four Marines aboard.
Twenty-six Marines.
I just thought it was odd to see the Osprey bearing the USAF insignia.
Although, it is getting easier to forget about my initial desire to join the Marine Corps; I seem to be making progress. I don't know how far that extends, but it seems to help to focus on different periods of warfare. I went through the War of Secession and now I'm about to move on to ancient wars. I think next week, or the week after, I'll start the Iliad and I can go on from there. I have to get out the book I had started reading earlier this year called 'The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Ancient Greece' and get through that: it'll help, lots.
Oh, and Murphy's Law strikes again. When I stop looking for problems and building some confidence, here they come again.
I saw the Transformers movie today and thought the opening scene was interesting: a squad of Army Special Forces in an Air Force CV-22 Osprey.
I immediately thought of the Marines.
The Osprey is a highly advanced tilt-rotor, VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft that has recently entered service in the USMC, to replace out-dated CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters (in active service since 1964), and in the USAF, for special operations applications. The V-22 has two rotor blades, each mounted at the end of a wing, that can tilt 90°: from vertical (take-off & landing) position to horizontal (fuel-efficient, plane-like) flight configuration. This means that the Osprey can hover like a helicopter but can also fly at higher speeds & altitudes, and with better fuel-efficiency by tilting the rotors forwards like a plane. The aircraft is an amazing feat of engineering with very important battlefield applications.
In the history of the Osprey's development are written the stories of 26 Marines and four Boeing employees who lost their lives testing the V-22. There were four crashes during the testing phases. The first crash occurred when one of the rotors struck the ground while the aircraft was hovering at 15ft and caused only minor injuries to two crew-members. The second crash was the result of a gearbox leak that resulted in an engine fire and the aircraft plummeting into the Potomac river at Marine Corps Base Quantico, killing three Marines and four Boeing employees in front of an audience of Congressmen and other government officials. Crash three was in April of 2000 when a V-22 simulating a rescue mission, loaded with Marines, attempted to land at a small airport northwest of Tuscon, AZ. The aircraft descended too quickly, stalling one of its engines at 245ft as a result of vortex ring state, and resulted in the aircraft rolling, crashing, and exploding, killing all 19 Marines on-board. A vortex ring state occurs when the recirculation of air around the rotor blades is so great that it negates all of the helicopter's lift, putting all of the thrust generated from the rotor blades right back on top of them. The fourth crash involved a hydraulic leak in the lines to one of the rotors, causing the aircraft to fall 1,600ft and crash in a forest near Jacksonville, NC, killing the four Marines aboard.
Twenty-six Marines.
I just thought it was odd to see the Osprey bearing the USAF insignia.
Although, it is getting easier to forget about my initial desire to join the Marine Corps; I seem to be making progress. I don't know how far that extends, but it seems to help to focus on different periods of warfare. I went through the War of Secession and now I'm about to move on to ancient wars. I think next week, or the week after, I'll start the Iliad and I can go on from there. I have to get out the book I had started reading earlier this year called 'The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Ancient Greece' and get through that: it'll help, lots.
Oh, and Murphy's Law strikes again. When I stop looking for problems and building some confidence, here they come again.