Message posted by Magoo on April 10, 2000 at 17:46:11 EST:
The two Ospreys were conducting an emergency evacuation exercise at a small town not far from Yuma, where at least six Ospreys (five, now!) are based. I think the Marines that were killed were playing the part of civilians that were being evac'ed. The aircraft apparently hit really hard, although the cause is yet to be determined. The transition from level to vertical flight is always a tricky manoeuver, especially for something as big as an Osprey. The Osprey will be able to carry twice the load of the CH-46 and CH-47, at twice the speed and twice the range. The special forces version will be able to carry 40+ fully armed troops at 400 knots over 800 miles, and then defend itself with Stingers and a minigun. Not a bad quantum leap, and one that usually brings inherent technical difficulties unfortunately. In the lead up to Initial Operational Capability (IOC), all aircraft types are worked particularly hard to see whether they can actually perform the stated mission under operational conditions. An example of this is the C-17 - prior to IOC, about 12 C-17s were used for 7 straight days to fly back and forth from the US to Bosnia via Germany in the lead up to that campaign back in 94 or 95. They all flew continuously with just crew changes and minor maintenance being done, just to see what would break when. Prior to this phase, all test aircraft are almost always under some amount of control of the manufacturer and on a controlled test schedule, and are therefore not always 'stretched' as far as they could be. It is sad, and it is the third crash of the V-22 since testing began back in 1990. But in the overall scheme of things, such a capability leap will almost always result in early technical difficulties that will eventually be overcome as the aircraft matures. The V-22 will be around for at least 50 years. The Marines and Air Force are going ahead with the purchase of at least 250 of these excellent aircraft. Magoo
In Reply to: Osprey Incident. posted by Al on April 10, 2000 at 13:51:02 EST:
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