MARINE CORPS TEAM PREPARES MV-22 OSPREY FOR HARMFUL DUST IN IRAQ

Mike wrote:
Inside the Navy
MARINE CORPS TEAM PREPARES MV-22 OSPREY FOR HARMFUL DUST IN IRAQ
Date: June 25, 2007
LE BOURGET, FRANCE -- A team of experts is developing tactics,
techniques and procedures to help safeguard the MV-22 Osprey from dust
and sand particles when the tiltrotor deploys to Iraq in September,
according to the program manager. Parts of the Osprey that draw in air
will likely ingest sand and dust, too, causing wear and tear, Marine
Col. Matt Mulhern told InsideDefense.com on June 18 at the Paris Air
Show. "We think anything that's going to suck air into the airplane is
going to wear out," he said. The MV-22 Osprey achieved initial
operational capability this month. The certification allows the
aircraft to deploy to Anbar province in Iraq -- a desert region -- for
seven months, starting in September. The Osprey is a tiltrotor
aircraft that takes off vertically like a helicopter but has the speed
and maneuverability of a fixed-wing plane once airborne. Bell
Helicopter Textron and Boeing developed the aircraft. A few months
ago, officials from Bell-Boeing, engine-maker Rolls-Royce and the
Marine Corps formed a "dust team" that is determining the types and
quantities of filters required to protect the Osprey from the
environment, Mulhern said. "The challenge," he said, is identifying
the "right" parts to store in the inventory for deployment.

Anybody else think that this is a little "late in the day" for such a
team?

Vince