National President's Message

Mastering the Machine

By CDR Emily “ABE” Stellpflug, USN

Just days ago, I was flying a brand-new CMV-22 over the Mojave Desert on a picture-perfect, CAVU day. Our mission: to practice automation features to confined areas or potential reduced-visual landing sites. The Osprey has an impressive autopilot, affectionately known as "George." George can fly an entire route of flight, transition from airplane to VTOL mode, descend, and decelerate to a perfect 20-foot hover over a specified waypoint. While George is a fantastic tool, the key is successfully commanding George and accurately assessing whether it is executing the commands. We had specifically pre-briefed for this flight that if George isn’t doing what we want, we will clear the panel and hand fly. In theory, if operated correctly, all maneuvers should be predictable and benign.

So, there we were. We had input a flight plan out to Rice LZ, set up an initial point prior to Rice that should align us with our intended landing course, and let George take controls. There are a few limitations to the automatic approach feature, including that the aircraft must be less than 800 feet above the waypoint elevation to capture the approach. We started dialing down George’s altitude to ensure we met that criterion. While setting up for the approach, we checked the DAFIF for the waypoint, which specified an elevation of 0 feet. We were gradually stepping down our altitude and dialed in 1200 feet MSL. George had us in a steady descent as my copilot said, “we look low.” A few seconds later, “we look really low.” At 500 feet AGL, we cleared the panel, as briefed, and took over hand flying. Something wasn’t right.

We hand flew the approach, landed uneventfully, and noted that the LZ elevation was actually 900 feet MSL. Once we inserted another waypoint with the proper elevation, George beautifully executed an automatic approach directly to the LZ. The consequences of our relatively simple error could have been much more severe and disorienting during a night-time approach.

This event was a great reminder that being a “Master of the Machine” takes a lot more than just wiggling the sticks. In flight school, we spend much of our time, focus, and energy on being the flying pilot and maintaining basic airwork during a series of maneuvers or flight regimes. However, once we hit the Fleet, we go beyond airwork and require the ability to tactically employ our aircraft. As aircraft become increasingly complex, mastering each capability is more challenging, yet it is imperative to being a professional Naval Aviator.

This issue, “Mastering the Machine,” is aptly named as we ring in 2023 and reflect on 100 years of rotary aviation. The new year also brings us closer to the NHA Symposium at Harrah’s Resort Southern California - 15-19 May! Mark your calendars now, and we’ll see you in May! Fly Safe!