Mitch
08-01-2009, 01:14
How has the V-22 been performing in Iraq - thus far -- for those that know me, I have been opposed to this boodoggle aircraft for years - but, so far we have been lucky in Iraq - no Class-A incidents yet!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=axdXXwjEYNYc
In addition to keeping the plane grounded, these constant repairs put the plane’s flying cost at $11,000 per hour, double the original estimate.
http://www.g2mil.com/V-22survive.htm
The Fuselage is not Crashworthy
Tiltrotors perform so poorly that dozens of compromises were made to shed weight on the V-22, like using a composite airframe and composite parts. Original plans called for strong Kevlar flooring to provide ballistic protection and support combat vehicles, but that was dropped. That decision along with the composite fuselage caused it fall short of Navy safety standards, which require the fuselage to survive the impact of a crash landing without breaking apart or collapsing. The film "Blackhawk Down" shows Blackhawk helicopters crash landing without disintegrating or collapsing.
As a result, Bell-Boeing invented the idea of "mass shedding." As a V-22 makes a controlled crash, pilots must land like an airplane on a runway and keep the proprotors forward in the airplane mode. This will cause the large proprotors to strike the ground first, which is supposed to cause both wings to break-off along with the heavy engines. This sheds much weight, so Bell-Boeing argues the aircraft is much lighter when the fuselage strikes the ground two seconds later. Their calculations show this allows the V-22 to meet the Navy standard.
This has never been demonstrated. It is only possible if the V-22 is in the airplane mode and if an open area is available to land. This is a difficult challenge for pilots since they always tilt the proprotors upward as they land, and will instinctively want to do that to reduce airspeed, especially if they have some engine power. Moreover, V-22s are most likely to be hit by ground fire while slowly landing or taking off in the helicopter mode with rotors up. Since a V-22 needs 2000 feet of altitude to convert to the airplane mode as it falls, it will hit the ground with no mass shedding to cheat Navy standards.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=axdXXwjEYNYc
In addition to keeping the plane grounded, these constant repairs put the plane’s flying cost at $11,000 per hour, double the original estimate.
http://www.g2mil.com/V-22survive.htm
The Fuselage is not Crashworthy
Tiltrotors perform so poorly that dozens of compromises were made to shed weight on the V-22, like using a composite airframe and composite parts. Original plans called for strong Kevlar flooring to provide ballistic protection and support combat vehicles, but that was dropped. That decision along with the composite fuselage caused it fall short of Navy safety standards, which require the fuselage to survive the impact of a crash landing without breaking apart or collapsing. The film "Blackhawk Down" shows Blackhawk helicopters crash landing without disintegrating or collapsing.
As a result, Bell-Boeing invented the idea of "mass shedding." As a V-22 makes a controlled crash, pilots must land like an airplane on a runway and keep the proprotors forward in the airplane mode. This will cause the large proprotors to strike the ground first, which is supposed to cause both wings to break-off along with the heavy engines. This sheds much weight, so Bell-Boeing argues the aircraft is much lighter when the fuselage strikes the ground two seconds later. Their calculations show this allows the V-22 to meet the Navy standard.
This has never been demonstrated. It is only possible if the V-22 is in the airplane mode and if an open area is available to land. This is a difficult challenge for pilots since they always tilt the proprotors upward as they land, and will instinctively want to do that to reduce airspeed, especially if they have some engine power. Moreover, V-22s are most likely to be hit by ground fire while slowly landing or taking off in the helicopter mode with rotors up. Since a V-22 needs 2000 feet of altitude to convert to the airplane mode as it falls, it will hit the ground with no mass shedding to cheat Navy standards.