V-22 Osprey

[Stiv]

Looks like they will finally put this puppy into production. Big news in my neck of the woods. It's supposed to replace Marine helos. Not too sure what to make of it myself. Would likely be a good thing in A-stan as the helos have a hard time with the altitude. Better than a Chinook?? In the futuer they say it will also see civilian duty for airlines. It has a hard history though. One helo pilot I know in service LUVS it.

Safety fear over Marine plane
By Francis Harris
(Filed: 30/09/2005)

A revolutionary helicopter-plane hybrid designed to race US troops behind enemy lines has been approved for full production despite a chequered safety record.

The $20 billion (£12 billion) Osprey was given Pentagon backing despite two prototype crashes that killed 23 servicemen.

The US Marines have waged a relentless campaign to secure an order for more than 350, planned to replace its helicopters in the coming years. The Osprey has huge swivelling wingtip rotors which can align in aircraft - or helicopter-style, so allowing both horizontal and vertical flight.

One of the crashes was blamed on faulty software and hydraulic lines, the other to pilot error. The makers and the Pentagon say the safety problems have been fixed.

[Prodigal Son]

I heard there were big problems with the Osprey -- any word on whether their tendency to crash has been fixed?

[jonas]

I have been an aviation enthusiast (geek) for a long time and have followed this thing from it's birth...it seems the crashes (from what I have read) were due to a previously uncommon phenomenon that became common with this new type of aircraft...in certain situations during rotary wing flight air was basically coming up over the top of the rotors and causing the plane to lose control...

I can dig up articles if anyone wants particulars but the rash of crashes seem to have been due to the aircraft being flown improperly (not saying it was the pilots' faults as they didn't know about this tendency)

My grandfather told me about shitloads of people crashing cars with power steering when it was new....learning curve is a bitch sometimes.

But this aside I do think it is a sexy beast.

[ROMAD_25]

Well......Here's my problem,




"I need a helo extract NOW!!!" Sounds cool enough, but


"I Need an Osprey extract NOW!!!" Sounds a bit Frisco......

[goat balls]

Magnificent aircraft. Thing of beauty. Gives me wood and I want one.



The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft with a 38-foot rotor system and engine/transmission nacelle mounted on each wing tip. It can operate as a helicopter when taking off and landing vertically. Once airborne, the nacelles rotate forward 90 degrees for horizontal flight, converting the V-22 to a high-speed, fuel-efficient turboprop airplane. The wing rotates for compact storage aboard ship. The first flight occurred in March 1989. The V-22 is the world's first production tiltrotor aircraft. Planned purchases include 360 for the Marine Corps, 48 for the Navy and 50 for the Air Force.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE SCUMBAG AIRFORCE GETS ANY???



V-22 Osprey Specifications
Primary Function: Amphibious assault transport of troops, equipment and supplies from assault ships and land bases
Contractor: Boeing Defense and Space Group, Philadelphia, PA; Bell Helicopter Textron, Ft Worth, TX; Allison Engine Company, Indianapolis, IN
Crew: N/A
Unit Cost: $40.1M (Total Program Recurring Flyaway, Constant Year, FY94$)
Powerplant
Two Allison T406-AD-400 turboshafts each rated at 6,150 shp (4586 kW) take-off and 5,890 shp (4392 kw) continuous running.
Dimensions
Length: 57' 4 inches - Spread
63 feet 0 inches - Folded
Width: 84' 7 inches - Spread
18 feet 5 inches - Folded
Height: 22 feet 1 inches - Spread
18 feet 1 inches - Folded
Weights
Empty: 31,886 lb (14463 kg) -- equipped
Maximum Takeoff: 60,000 lb (27442 kg) -- for STO
Performance
Speed: 316 mph (509 km/h / 275 kt) -- airplane mode
115 mph (185 km/h / 100 kt) -- helicopter mode
Ceiling: 26,000 feet (7925 m)
Range: 200nm Pre-Assault Raid with 18 troops
200nm Land Assault with 24 troops

[Outkast]

<i>My baby's always gonna be the Blackhawk...</i>

[media]

I was a crash site in Onslow County NC of one of these years ago. I was working in local news at the time and was there about 1 hr after it went down. It was a mess. Yes its a totally new type of flying and a very cool aircraft.

[Alessandro]

I don´t think it´s any good in A-stan, the down-wash is too big, hits up a lot of dust. I predict it can be useful at sea, but not in the desert. According to http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/milita ... sept05.pdf
10% of the people that rode on the this aircraft has died, 30 of 300
which is pretty poor.

But I do like the idea and I predict the civilian BA-609 will be a hit with the off-shore industry, see http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRTypen/FRBA609.htm

[Rupert]

They're producing those things in my neck of the woods too. Watched them test runs with them. They look cool, I just hope they don't become an empty promise that's to be a future pork barrel project.

[Alessandro]

Well Rupert, here´s one point of view, 5 crashes so far,
http://www.g2mil.com/V-22alive.htm

[Jumper]

This thing looks cool and thats about it. If it is slow on insertion, no mounted door gunners, no side doors, and very delicate then what good is it. It will kill alot of future passengers and warriors and has no place in a combat environment. When Bush decides to fly around in one, then I might start singing a different song. Thats my two cents.

[SeanPatrick]

I used to drive for a Colonel that always got a free pass while driving intoxicated. I'm sure he's a General by now. He always made me wait in the car for hours while he boozed up at the officer's club. Then the SGT major and him would jump in the car 3 hours later telling off color jokes and laughing up a storm. I bailed on the driving duty and almost got an Article 15 in the process.. It's just that I go so tired of him yelling, "Stop hitting the bumps in the road! I'm trying to sign papers.". I used to always piss him off all the time by walking along his right side. These guys were major clowns. Driving duty is lame. Super egomaniac assholes for sure. Lot's of high ranking military officials use makup... Believe it or not...

I caught one of his female assistants spitting in his coffee pot once... Maybe the Colonel stole her makeup... Tampering with food and beverages is unacceptable though. I didn't nark her out, but I had her make a fresh pot after washing it out.

Anyway, this colonel paged me at 11pm one night . He had jumped on some kind of helicopter earlier and was on his way to D.C. Later he called and said he was calling from the middle of a farmer's field and asked for me head out immediately.

The helicopter had a fuel problem and they auto-rotated to the ground and hit hard. When I arrived in West Point, Virginia, the Colonel was sitting on the porch with a bunch of farmers shooting the breeze and swigging back some beers. All the country folk came out of the woodwork to see the downed helicopter and Army people buzzing around... Since that day this colonel had a fear of helicopters. Unfortunately, I had to drive him around more often than I wanted to after that event. I only lasted 6 months as a driver and requested a new assignment in Panama.

[Royal]

V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor

Bell Helicopter Granted Approval for Full Rate Production of V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor

Providence, RI & Fort Worth, TX - September 28, 2005 - Marking a major milestone in aviation, Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) today announced that its Bell Helicopter unit has been granted approval by the United States Defense Department for Full Rate Production (FRP) of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Current plans include the delivery of 360 aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), 50 for the U.S. Air Force and 48 for the U.S. Navy. The total program is worth in excess of $19 billion to Bell and Textron through 2018.
With FRP, the U.S. Government has authorized Bell and Boeing (NYSE: BA) to increase current low-rate production of 11 aircraft per year up to 48. Today's FRP decision by the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) follows the successful completion of extensive Operational Evaluation testing, conducted last summer by the USMC.
This revolutionary tiltrotor technology combines fixed-wing airplane and vertical lift capabilities into one efficient and extremely capable aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, providing military customers with significant improvements in combat capabilities - including speeds and range two to three times more than that of conventional helicopters, as well as increased payloads, survivability and reliability.

"The V-22 Osprey is an unprecedented feat in aviation and an excellent example of how our investments in innovation are fueling organic growth for Textron," said Lewis B. Campbell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Textron. "Bell's tiltrotor technology is enabling new capabilities and more operational flexibility for our military customers never before thought possible and will undoubtedly take 21st Century flight to a new dimension. So much so that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is creating an entirely new class of aircraft specifically for the tiltrotor."
"Now that we are authorized for full rate production, U.S. Forces will soon have the most versatile aircraft in the world - which will provide a tremendous advantage in the face of ever-changing future combat challenges around the globe," said Michael A. Redenbaugh, Chief Executive Officer of Bell Helicopter. "Not only is this a pivotal moment for Bell and the literally thousands of employees who helped bring the V-22 to life, but today we mark a truly game-changing advancement in the aviation industry. With this decision, tiltrotor technology has come to life in a big way."

"In addition, today's FRP decision provides us with an opportunity to deliver on our customer commitment to produce the aircraft in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible, ultimately bringing costs down," added Redenbaugh. "And while there's a lot of work to be done, we have the talent, resources and infrastructure in place to achieve this goal." Redenbaugh also noted that Bell expects to reach in excess of $1.5 billion in annual V-22 revenue in 2012 when the program reaches planned capacity of 48 aircraft per year.
The initial Ospreys, called "MV-22s" will be delivered to the USMC for use in combat assault. Each Osprey can carry 24 Marines with full combat gear. The Air Force version of the tiltrotor, called the "CV-22," is a Special Operations aircraft designed for the long range insertion and removal of special teams. Other mission critical capabilities for the V-22 include combat search-and-rescue, aerial refueling and anti-submarine warfare.
With potential future foreign and domestic military sales and the possibilities for next generation tiltrotor development -- tiltrotor technology continues to be an important growth area for the company. Earlier this month the Bell Boeing team was awarded a research contract by the U.S. Army to perform conceptual design and analysis of its next generation tiltrotor technology called the "Quad Tiltrotor" aircraft for the Army's Joint Heavy Lift program.

Tiltrotor technology is also expected to play a significant role in commercial applications such as emergency disaster relief and emergency medical evacuation, regional passenger/cargo transport, search-and-rescue, offshore oil field support and anti-drug efforts, via the company's development of a civil tiltrotor aircraft, which is currently undergoing flight-testing.

Bell Helicopter, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is a leading provider of commercial and military helicopters and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce of more than 7,500 employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries.
Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company with more than 44,000 employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others.

[Q]

Anyone have a figure on how many Marines that POS costed?

[redfax]

I believe the number is 30, which at the current Marine/H.Sapiens exchange rate should be equal to a couple of toes... (sorry man, I had to let that one slip in)