Henry J Cobb
July 18th 06, 05:04 PM
http://www.shephard.co.uk/Rotorhub/NewsAnalysis.aspx?Action=745115149&ID=1bb47a2b-e820-454a-9103-60a42dc65400
> It’s often said Osprey flies like a plane and lands and takes off like
> a helicopter – but that is both a cliché and an understatement that
> hides the synergy that comes from combining both.
>
> This aircraft today twisted, turned, climbed and dove like no
> helicopter or turboprop transport ever could.
>
> One could almost imagine the frustrated missile and RPG firers below
> the random flight paths it followed, desperately trying to get in
> their shot but unable to get the necessary tracking solution.
>
> In truth, though, the aircraft here is not performing to its maximum
> potential. Back home at New River, NC., where rehearsals are actively
> underway for the first ‘go-to-war’ MV-22B squadron (VMM 263) , pilots
> routinely take the aircraft further into the flight envelope.
>
> On a scale of one to ten, officials said, the Farnborough pair are
> about a five to six, the result of mainly airspace restrictions (they
> don’t have airspace rules for tiltrotors), but also because company
> test pilots - rather than USMC line pilots – are at the controls for
> various reasons having to do with airshow flights overseas.
-HJC
> It’s often said Osprey flies like a plane and lands and takes off like
> a helicopter – but that is both a cliché and an understatement that
> hides the synergy that comes from combining both.
>
> This aircraft today twisted, turned, climbed and dove like no
> helicopter or turboprop transport ever could.
>
> One could almost imagine the frustrated missile and RPG firers below
> the random flight paths it followed, desperately trying to get in
> their shot but unable to get the necessary tracking solution.
>
> In truth, though, the aircraft here is not performing to its maximum
> potential. Back home at New River, NC., where rehearsals are actively
> underway for the first ‘go-to-war’ MV-22B squadron (VMM 263) , pilots
> routinely take the aircraft further into the flight envelope.
>
> On a scale of one to ten, officials said, the Farnborough pair are
> about a five to six, the result of mainly airspace restrictions (they
> don’t have airspace rules for tiltrotors), but also because company
> test pilots - rather than USMC line pilots – are at the controls for
> various reasons having to do with airshow flights overseas.
-HJC