Video: About the Ospreys’ flyover …

Did you see/hear the V-22 Ospreys flying over the city a bit earlier? We were downtown when we saw them, but a couple notes say they passed over West Seattle too. We and others had been searching for info for a while – and then, the video above turned up. It was tweeted from Snohomish County by Tyler Brunkhorst, who described it as the Presidential ~~helicopter~~ fleet preparing for President Obama‘s scheduled visit to the Oso mudslide zone on Tuesday. This CNN.com story suggests the Ospreys just joined the Presidential fleet last year.

P.S. In what so far as we know is just a coincidence, an Osprey flyby was reported here exactly three years ago, on April 19, 2011 – Anne and Doug dug up the WSB link.

P.P.S. While trying to find info about today’s sightings, we noted that NEXT Saturday (April 26th) is the Mariners’ Salute to Armed Forces Night. In years past, that’s brought flyovers. The pre-game events next Saturday are scheduled for 5:30 pm.

mpento April 19, 2014 (2:52 pm)

Damn, they were so loud I had to get up off the couch for a look. When I saw the helicopters I had to double check when the pres is coming up to Oso. At least I have another week to paint my political opinions on my roof.

clark5080 April 19, 2014 (3:50 pm)

Wouldn’t the Prez be using Paine Field for the OSO trip?

JoB April 19, 2014 (5:15 pm)

oh.. helicopters
and i thought the birds were setting up a welcome for the president :)

Pibal April 19, 2014 (10:53 pm)

clark5080:
From the FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR’s) that have been established for the President’s visit, Air Force One will indeed land at Paine Field. Additional restrictions cover the airspace over Arlington Airport and Oso, undoubtedly for the President’s helicopter overflights.

Mike April 19, 2014 (11:32 pm)

tiltrotor aircraft, not helicopter. Pretty effective way to get the speed/range of a turbo prop plane with the flexibility in landing/takeoff of a helicopter. Folds up nicely for storage too.

brad April 20, 2014 (1:16 am)

I heard them today. They were louder and sounded different than helicopters, which got me looking outside up into the drizzly skies. I didn’t see them but it sounded like either a couple of slow-flying C-130 turboprops or a few large CH-53’s.

Pibal April 20, 2014 (3:59 am)

Although the tiltrotor V-22s have been added to the “Presidential fleet,” the President hasn’t flown in one and it is not known if and when he will. The President flies in a VH-3D or a VH-60N, both are heklicopters. Both the tiltrotors and the helicopters are present for this trip.

charles April 20, 2014 (9:24 am)

Osprey gets support role in Marine One squadron

WASHINGTON — The Marine helicopter squadron responsible for flying President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, cabinet members and other VIPs has a new aircraft: An MV-22 Osprey.
HMX-1’s tilt-rotor aircraft is painted green and will be used in a support role, transporting the president’s staff and the media, Marine spokesman Capt. Richard Ulsh confirmed.
Helicopters that transport the president are typically painted white on top and referred to as “white tops.”
“The Osprey is a staple within our fleet. It has proven itself in the most difficult environments as a capable and reliable asset,” Ulsh said, noting that including the Osprey in the HMX-1 fleet “highlights the maturity of the technology and safety of the aircraft.”
The Osprey, which flies like a plane but can take off and land like a helicopter, has flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but had a difficult developmental history and roused controversy when it was announced that some of the hybrid aircraft would be based in Japan. Japanese citizens and officials were concerned about the Osprey’s safety record, citing two high-profile crashes in 2012.
The U.S. and Japanese governments conducted independent investigations of the two crashes and found that the pilots, not faulty aircraft, were to blame.
HMX-1 is based at Marine Base Quantico, Va., and operates a fleet of “white top” VH-3D Sea King and VH-60 White Hawks, as well as “green top” CH-46E Sea Knights.
Since the Osprey entered the fleet, the Marine Corps has been gradually replacing its Sea Knights with the new aircraft.