Otis Willie
July 7th 03, 11:02 PM
Marines fight for $48 billion high-tech air fleet
(EXCERPT) Staggering costs, fatal crashes have plagued vertical
take-off
LESLIE WAYNE NEW YORK TIMES SERVICE
PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, Md.— In the clear summer sky, the
V-22 Osprey was showing its stuff. It went backward, zoomed at an
angle, hovered close to the ground and then shot straight up into the
air. Buck Rogers himself couldn't have created a more dramatic sight:
a hybrid craft, half helicopter and half airplane, that danced in the
sky and appeared to defy the laws of aerodynamics.
It was exactly the performance the Marine Corps wanted to show.
After 20 years in development, the Marines, with the Osprey's
contractors, Boeing and the Bell Helicopter subsidiary of Textron, are
in a final push to gain Pentagon approval for the Osprey, an aircraft
as high in promise as in problems.
The government has spent more than $12 billion (U.S.) on the Osprey,
which has suffered three fatal crashes in test flights, leading to the
deaths of 30 people, 26 of them Marines.
Still, the Marines are determined, and they see the Osprey as crucial
to their mission in the world.
"It won't be long before everyone wants one of these," said Col.
Daniel Schultz, the V-22 program manager. "It's the promise of the
future.''
The Osprey, which can take off like a helicopter and fly like a...
U.S. and friendly nation laws prohibit fully reproducing
copyrighted material. In abidance with our laws this report
cannot be provided in its entirety. However, you can read it
in full today, 07 Jul 2003, at the following URL. (COMBINE
the following lines into your web browser.) The
subject/content of this report is not necessarily the
viewpoint of the distributing Library. This report is provided
for your information and discussion.
http://torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1057529409266&call_pageid=970599119419
---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com
(EXCERPT) Staggering costs, fatal crashes have plagued vertical
take-off
LESLIE WAYNE NEW YORK TIMES SERVICE
PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, Md.— In the clear summer sky, the
V-22 Osprey was showing its stuff. It went backward, zoomed at an
angle, hovered close to the ground and then shot straight up into the
air. Buck Rogers himself couldn't have created a more dramatic sight:
a hybrid craft, half helicopter and half airplane, that danced in the
sky and appeared to defy the laws of aerodynamics.
It was exactly the performance the Marine Corps wanted to show.
After 20 years in development, the Marines, with the Osprey's
contractors, Boeing and the Bell Helicopter subsidiary of Textron, are
in a final push to gain Pentagon approval for the Osprey, an aircraft
as high in promise as in problems.
The government has spent more than $12 billion (U.S.) on the Osprey,
which has suffered three fatal crashes in test flights, leading to the
deaths of 30 people, 26 of them Marines.
Still, the Marines are determined, and they see the Osprey as crucial
to their mission in the world.
"It won't be long before everyone wants one of these," said Col.
Daniel Schultz, the V-22 program manager. "It's the promise of the
future.''
The Osprey, which can take off like a helicopter and fly like a...
U.S. and friendly nation laws prohibit fully reproducing
copyrighted material. In abidance with our laws this report
cannot be provided in its entirety. However, you can read it
in full today, 07 Jul 2003, at the following URL. (COMBINE
the following lines into your web browser.) The
subject/content of this report is not necessarily the
viewpoint of the distributing Library. This report is provided
for your information and discussion.
http://torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1057529409266&call_pageid=970599119419
---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com