Posted on 03/28/2006 10:31:04 AM PST by spetznaz
The Associated Press Monday, March 27, 2006; 11:28 PM
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. -- The Marine Corps said Monday it was investigating an accident with an MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft that damaged its right wing and engine.
No one was injured, either on board the aircraft or on the ground at the air base at Jacksonville, the Corps said in a statement.
"The aircraft damage resulted from an inadvertent takeoff followed by a hard landing" during a test flight following maintenance on the Osprey, according to the statement.
The statement offered no further details. A base spokesman couldn't be reached by telephone.
The Osprey was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This thing has been flying since the 1980s. Is it worth the trouble?
inadvertent takeoff
How do you takeoff inadvertently?
Hmm
Yes.
"Flying" is a relative term when it comes to this thing.
"What happens when I pull this thingy.....?"
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!!"
"...inadvertent takeoff followed by a hard landing..."
I hate it when that happens.
Maintenance personnel after engine and control work are allowed to start and run the engines and check the controls.
Do I recall that a spinning shaft extends the entire length of the wingspan, without which the rotors are out-of-sync and cause it to crash? That's a hell of a weak spot. I'd think that lasers or some electronics might work just as well.
I thought these things were grounded for good a long time ago.
IIRC, they can only take one month's pay with an Article 15. Compared to a $70+ million aircraft, that guy got a bargain ride.
I see this a lot. Yes they have been around for a while. about one a year has a problem. Check that against how many Blackhawks crash and burn. No one seems to think a thing of that. Then check out what it will do...
Specifications First flight: March 19, 1989
Model number: 907
Classification: Tiltrotor transport helicopter
Rotor diameter: 38 feet
Span: 83 feet 10 inches (rotor included)
Fuselage length: 57 feet 4 inches
Gross weight: Short takeoff, 55,000 pounds; vertical takeoff, 47,500 pounds
Top speed: 363 mph
Cruising speed: 317 mph
Power: Two 6,150-shaft-horsepower Allison gas turbine T406-AD-400 engines
Accommodation: 3 crew, 24 passengers
This ain't your grand daddy's Model T....
Both engines feed into a power-sharing transmission.
If one engine is damaged, the other can take up the slack to operate the opposite rotor, as well.
With your idea...how do you get power from the left engine to the right rotor if you lose the right engine?
'Maintenance personnel after engine and control work are allowed to start and run the engines and check the controls.'
With an FCP in the cockpit. No way MarCorps maintenance non-pilots turn a bird.
I doubt many of us here are qualified to answer that question.
Hell, I spent my free Huey ride to the Freedom Bird wondering if the main rotorshaft was going to break.
And I seem to recall that the Blackhawk didn't like flying near commercial radio stations because the electronics would go crazy.
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