V-22 Osprey Moving On Up!

The Osprey is on track to reach combat-ready status in 2007, said Bob Carrese, Bell's executive director of V-22 business development, in an Air Force Association press briefing. Bell Helicopter is a unit of Textron Inc. (TXT).

On Sept. 27, the Pentagon has scheduled a defense acquisition board to decide whether the program can enter full-rate production. Last week, chief Pentagon weapons buyer Ken Krieg notified Congress that the aircraft recently went through "successful operational testing" of key functions.

Sounds good to me! I love the Osprey. Its like a helicopter and transport plane put into one ever-so-cool aircraft! I hope they pass this, cuz it could be a really great addition to the military and Air Force.

Original Article

Ah the " Widowmaker " Im suprised they didnt scrap this thing yet.

This project started in 1986 under Reagan
V-22 cost was estimated at $24 million

In 1989 the Bush administration cancelled the project
V-22 cost estimated at $35 million

1992 Cheney had pressure put on him by congressional supporters of the v-22 and even Republicans suggested Cheney's opposition to the Osprey was hurting President Bush's reelection campaign in states like Texas and Pennsylvania where the v-22 was slated to be built.

Cheney relented and suggested $1.5 billion to be spent between 1992-1993 on the project.

2005 the V-22 'officially' cost $40m a piece but if you break down the 2005 budget numbers it cost like $100m more then that.

Billions of dollars decades of work into this turkey and we have a bunch of dead marines and a projected 2007 service date to show for it

[edit on 14-9-2005 by ShadowXIX]

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Ah the " Widowmaker " Im suprised they didnt scrap this thing yet.

You mean the Harrier...

nah the V-22 has also been earned the nickname Widowmaker

The second V-22 crash killed 19 Marines alot more widows from a single V-22 carsh then a harrier

If Harriers carried as many people as V-22s, it would have killed over 100 people.

True At least they will have the JSF to replace it soon

hey the harriers a great aircraft if it werent the marines wouldnt fly it

I thought that the Harrier was to be replaced by the VTOL UAV. The JSF is scheduled to replace F18's and F-14's on the Carrier decks, isn't it?

The UAV VTOL is an unmaned drone. currently we do not have the technology for an unmaned drone to fly close support missions for the US marines as the harriers have. I believe that JSF is not meant to replace the F-14 as it is the best air superoirity fighter the navy has. It might be meant to replace the f18 but im sure that the fa-18 will continue to fly missions for a couple more decades.

any pics?

BlueAngel

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
The second V-22 crash killed 19 Marines alot more widows from a single V-22 carsh then a harrier

That was in fact the third crash.

First crash in June 11, 1991 at maiden flight, no one died.
Second crash in July 20, 1992, 7 died (3 marines + 4 civilians)
Third crash in April 8, 2000, killing 19 marines
Forth crash in December 11, 2000, killing 4 marines

[edit on 14-9-2005 by PopeyeFAFL]

Originally posted by Danie
The UAV VTOL is an unmaned drone. currently we do not have the technology for an unmaned drone to fly close support missions for the US marines as the harriers have. I believe that JSF is not meant to replace the F-14 as it is the best air superoirity fighter the navy has. It might be meant to replace the f18 but im sure that the fa-18 will continue to fly missions for a couple more decades.

The F-14 has already been replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The JSF is meant to replace just about everything else, including the Harrier. The V-22 is badly needed. Just about ANY V/STOL airframe is going to have problems. The AV-8 when it first started was flown by the best helicopter pilots the Marines had, with no losses, after which time they said "Hey, this isn't a hard plane to fly." and let everyone fly it. THAT is when the crashes started, and kept happening.

Originally posted by PopeyeFAFL
First crash in June 11, 1991 at maiden flight, no one died.
Second crash in July 20, 1992, 7 died (3 marines + 4 civilians)
Third crash in April 8, 2000, killing 19 marines
Forth crash in December 11, 2000, killing 4 marines
PopeyeFAFL]

The good news is that its been crash-free for the last 5 years, and is currently in low-rate initial production.

VTOL's will never be as "safe" as normal aircraft, but their ability to land with no runway will always keep them here. Helicopters crash all the time, its not like we stop building them.

I like the Osprey, and hope the Coast Gaurd (among others) get several of them. They are a great platform for mass rescue. and I really like how it can shrink itself for the carrier, thats cool to watch.

V-22 Osprey


and Shadow talked about its history...It has taken awhile to come to focus, but there have been other projects that are the runoff from the Osprey.

Like Bell's Eagle Eye, an unmanned tilt rotor.


and the Bell/Agusta 609, the first commercial tilt rotor.


[edit on 15-9-2005 by Murcielago]

Originally posted by NWguy83

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Ah the " Widowmaker " Im suprised they didnt scrap this thing yet.

You mean the Harrier...

Nope. The Starfighter...

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Billions of dollars decades of work into this turkey and we have a bunch of dead marines and a projected 2007 service date to show for it

How long did the F111 take to develop? and how much money? It's had a few fatal accidents, too, but no-one is screaming for them to be axed.

Without the Osprey there is nothing to replace the DH4 Caribou or the Chinook and Chinook 2 has serious faults, too.

This is an example of Pork Barrel spending at it's finest.

Originally posted by HowlrunnerIV

Without the Osprey there is nothing to replace the DH4 Caribou or the Chinook and Chinook 2 has serious faults, too.

The V-22 has been crash free for the last couple of years as pointed out by Murcielago. But looking at the crashes is scary These happened in ideal weather conditions in a controlled enviroment by highly trained pilots.

Now imagine a pilot with less training trying to land this thing full of marines in less then idea weather while under hostile fire And I havent seen a design with defensive weapons yet

Its not that I think the VTOL's are a bad concept or that we dont need something like that. Just I think its been poorly executed in the V-22.

A huge price tag estimated as high as 165 million a unit by some. Poor Lift Performance, three times more downwash then a simliar helicopter design. That will be fun in places like the middle east "brownouts" anyone?


Id rather have a new three engine seven blade MH-53E (sea dragon) anyday over the V-22.

Every revolution has a price to be paid, along with a learning curve. It is completely new technology, and an awesome idea. Next it needs to become as big as a Herc, then become turbofan powered. Spending lots of money to develop new ideas is the way new ideas become new inventions.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Id rather have a new three engine seven blade MH-53E (sea dragon) anyday over the V-22.

I used to work in the squadron that is supposed to get the first operational ospreys. I can say that I'm glad I got out of that situation.

This is supposed to replace the MH-53(M)J Pave Lows with less cargo room, less defense measures, and more moving parts that can fail?

I'll try to find some links that have these figures...

Osprey

The next step from the Osprey is probly yeah, turbofan powered. For those who have played C&C Tiberian Sun/Tiberian Dawn/Renegade I would like to see a real-life version of the Orca, which is cool enough even without making it a reality.