Newest MV-22 trainer delivered to Marine Corps

The newest MV-22 Osprey flight trainer was delivered to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. Nov.16.

The fully self-contained, $8.6 million containerized flight training device (CFTD) is the second of four MV-22 trainers for fleet use at MCAS Miramar, Calif.

"The arrival of this newest MV-22 trainer marks another crucial step in increasing the training opportunities for our fleet aircrews," said Capt. Darryl "Spike" Long, Aviation Training Systems program manager (PMA-205). ""V-22 crews use these type of trainers to accomplish more than 50 percent of their training requirements so when we deliver them early, on-time and on-budget, everyone benefits."

Another benefit to these new training systems is how they are designed.

"Once these fully self-contained training systems are built, they only require a concrete pad and dedicated power hookups," said Lt. Col. David Owen, PMA-205, Marine Corps Department Head. "This saves the Marine Corps quite a bit of military construction funding."

Once operational, the MV-22 CFTDs have a solid history of being reliable with very little maintenance downtime added Owen. "On average, these trainers have a 98 percent reliability rating with an average of only 12 to 15 hours of operational down time due to maintenance per year."

Over time, the cost of these trainers has gone down and their capability has increased according to Owen.

"When the first trainers were bought three years ago, they cost $12 million each but today they cost $8.6 million," said Owen, "with the cost reduction and the increasing power of today's computers, we are able to buy additional trainers that have more capability."

The third and fourth trainers are scheduled to be delivered to MCAS Miramar in early to mid-2010. A fifth V-22 flight trainer is scheduled for delivery to MCAS New River, N.C. in the fall of 2010.