Posted on 05/13/2002 3:28:16 PM PDT by Bobsat
It has been widely reported that the V-22 Osprey will resume testing in May 2002. However, the big surprise is that no redesigned V-22s are ready for testing. According to the April 2002 V-22 Report to Congress - pdf (it's not blank, click down after it loads), the only modification to the new test V-22s over the last 16 months was to strengthen the hydraulic lines and upgrade software. The actual V-22 redesign will occur in three stages over the next six years, in Blocks A, B, & C. Block A aircraft will not be ready for flight testing until the end of 2003, and the final Block C changes will not be done until 2008, assuming no delays occur. Operational Evaluation by Marine crews are tentatively scheduled to start in FY2005. This is why the Bell-Boeing team and some Marine Generals continually emphasize that testing has no timelines, and will be "event driven" and not "schedule driven". In fact, they've established a scheme where NAVAIR (the Naval Aviation development section) must approve each phase of testing to certify safety. The report to Congress lays this out in section 3.2.10.3 where NAVAIR must "assess operational risk factors before authorizing increased risk flights (e.g. assaults, night flying, weather flying)." Last year, there were many statements that aggressive flight testing to determine if the V-22 was safe would begin in April 2002, which became April 29, then May 10. The Report to Congress reveals that flight testing will not begin until August 2002. NAVAIR explained that pilot requalification will take three months. However, since the final redesigned V-22 will not be ready until 2008, any real testing may be "unsafe", and could result in a career-ending crash for senior officers at NAVAIR. So the V-22 will simply repeat the same "safe" tests that were performed in the 1990s, and if anyone asks why serious tests have not been conducted, they can point at NAVAIR, and claim the moral high ground of "Safety First". Even if a V-22 crashes during regular flights, they can point out it was the "old" V-22 design, and the problem is being corrected. Meanwhile, another $12 billion will flow into the pockets of Bell-Boeing over the next six years while dozens of new V-22s roll off the production line and into storage hangers. Brownout testing
Since the V-22's small rotors produce three times more downwash than helicopters, many pilots have expressed concern about "brownouts", which occur when dirt and dust fill the air blocking all vision. (note the water in the photo above) The US military has damaged several helicopters in Afghanistan when hard landing occurred due to brownouts. The extent of this problem with the V-22 appears serious, but according section 3.2.6.2 of the Report to Congress: "The planned development testing does not include unimproved site ops where brownout is typically encountered..." The reports suggests that brownouts can be avoided by using "non-hover landings".
Air Combat Maneuvering
One of the problems of the V-22 is that its unstable design does not allow it to maneuver aggressively in hostile landing zones. Section 5.5.1.2 of the Report to Congress states this problem has been solved. The Bell-Boeing team pressured the Department of Defense to create a term, "Defensive Maneuvering; which is defined as "...maneuvers performed within the design specifications of the aircraft performance " In short, if something can fly, it's ready for combat.
The V-22 Redesign Ignores Vortex Ring Problem
Experts were unable to develop a solution to the Osprey's fatal "vortex ring" problem, which causes the V-22 to fall from the sky if it descends too fast at slow speeds. The real problem is stalling one of the asymmetric rotors , just like stalling a wing of an aircraft, but calling the problem "vortex ring" is preferred by Bell-Boeing since it sounds minor. They concluded that a device which can measure low forward air speeds could help the pilot avoid this fatal problem, and recommended developing a prototype. (see Section 3.2.35 of the Report to Congress.)
The February 2002 issue of Armed Forces Journal, explains: "since the V-22 has asymmetric rotors on its wing tips, if one of them encounters the vortex ring state phenomenon before the other, the aircraft will be inclined to roll over. That's one of the reasons why V-22s are presently limited to a rate of descent of less than 800 feet per minute. While that would be adequate for a commercial operation, it's far short of what the military needs -- several thousand feet per minute -- during tactical insertions." This was hidden in an article about Optical Air Data Systems, where Phil Rogers describes his efforts to save the V-22 program. Rogers said: "Right now, there's nothing that can measure low forward speeds -- below 40 knots -- accurately enough to let them get to that envelope, but not into it. The standard pneumatic systems that are used for that purpose are not sensitive enough to measure below 40 knots. The other problem with pneumatic systems is that they are in the rotor wash. So unless you have a high forward speed, the rotor wash dominates any measurements that are made." Rogers' company is conducting a feasibility demonstration to determine if a laser can measure low forward air speed. This story reveals that after 20 years of tiltrotor development, and two years after the vortex ring state problem was proven a fatal flaw, no solution has been developed. V-22 pilots cannot rapidly descend for combat missions because no instrument can accurately measure forward airspeed to warn them they may flip over. Until this problem is solved, there is no point in restarting V-22 testing, or continuing to build flawed V-22s. This problem has already been studied for years and the only hope is a laser theory which has produced a "feasibility study". In short, a laser measurement device may be perfected within a few years, which may help pilots avoid the V-22's fatal vortex ring problem. Meanwhile, combat maneuvering will not be tested in the V-22 because NAVAIR will rule it unsafe until a low forward airspeed measurement device is invented. The V-22's NATOPS (operating manual) used by ALL pilots of the V-22 clearly states on Page I-4-13, WARNING "Air Combat Maneuvering and Aerobatics are PROHIBITED." This is a simple and direct mandate. There is little room for argument. It is in essence a form of regulation, the violation of which can lead to an investigation by the Navy JAG, along with some form of punishment, transfer, loss of ratings -- or worse. NATOPS provides further evidence that the "Flight Envelope" of the V-22 is highly restrictive, with words such as: "During Maneuvering at low airspeed, Accelerated Stall can be achieved at moderate bank angles and/or load factor." Here are more worrisome NATOPS extracts - pdf These limits are an admission that the V-22's fundamental instability problems remain, so pilots are directed not to make abrupt movements or descend rapidly, lest they roll over and drop from the sky. When a US Army MH-47 helicopter was hit by a small rocket while landing in Afghanistan, the pilot yanked the stick so abruptly to escape that a Navy SEAL was thrown out the back ramp. If this were a V-22, the pilot would have crashed the entire aircraft, killing everyone on board because: "Abrupt multi-axis control inputs are PROHIBITED" The Osprey is unarmed Even if a new device allows a V-22 to safely and SLOWLY descend into a combat landing zone; this is where 91% of combat losses occur. Transports have a "door gunner" on each side who shoot a rapid-fire machine gun (called mini-guns, right) at enemy positions below to "suppress" enemy fires. When several helicopters land in formation, the volume of fire pouring down is impressive. However, the V-22 will have no door gunners because the tandem rotor design blocks half their view and field of fire. No one wants a door gunner attempting to shoot around a massive rotor and wing sticking out the side of an aircraft; the rotor wash would affect his accuracy anyway. The V-22 program has dodged this issue. The original explanation was that it could be added later in the program. In the 1990s, they The past 16-month delay for the V-22 redesign was the ideal time to add the gun into the test aircraft. This is important because the gun's weight and vibration while firing will affect aircraft performance. Since the GAU-19 is a proven gun, there is no reason to delay. However, testing will resume without the GAU-19. In fact, the current plan delays adding the gun until the very end of testing in 2008. The Bell-Boeing team may imply the GAU-19 is something which can just be bolted on at the very end. If its that simple, why not bolt it on now? Obviously, there is a major problem with adding the GAU-19, so Bell-Boeing will continue to dodge this issue until it goes away. As a result, if a safe V-22 is ever developed, it will fly into combat completed unarmed. Since the V-22s are much faster than the Cobra attack helicopters that escort transports, they will have to fly as slow as helicopters and negate their only advantage. The Tilt-rotor may Tilt sideways aboard ship While in flight "the location of the engines, gear boxes and rotors at the wing tips causes relatively high roll and yaw inertia". This is a direct quote from NATOPS section 9.2. This also causes serious problems aboard ship. The roll of a ship or gusts from nearby aircraft can cause a V-22 on ship to tilt over on the deck and squash sailors and Marines nearby. A NAVAIR report by Kurt Long -pdf states this danger is "VERY significant" and "...could prohibit ALL shipboard ops." This problem was ignored in the redesign because no solution exists. STOL Payload and Range Most people are confused by the V-22's payload and range. For example, why can it lift 20,000lbs of payload internally, but only 15,000 externally. Here are the official maximum take-off weights:47,500 lb Vertical Takeoff/Landing (VTOL)* *Last year, the new V-22 project manager inexplicitly raised the max VTOL weight to 52,600, while the V-22 was grounded. Apparently, if the V-22 must take off vertically like a helicopter, its maximum take-off weight drops by 7500lbs. When operating from large land bases, STOL "rolling" short take-offs are no problem. STOL take-offs from LHA/LHD carriers are possible if the deck is cleared. However, this becomes very difficult during amphibious operations when 30 other aircraft are operating from a ship. In Fleet operations, no one will ever attempt a rolling take-off with a heavy payload because cargo comes in many sizes and forms, and mistakes about weight are common. A helicopter or V-22 attempting to lift something vertically quickly learns he cannot lift off, so they off-load some weight. However, an overloaded V-22 attempting a rolling STOL take-off, or one whose engines are not providing 100% power, may roll off the deck and plunge into the sea. The first time that happens, rolling V-22 take-offs from ships will be banned forever. AV-8B Harrier jets make rolling take-offs all the time, but they have wings for added lift, know exactly how much their fuel and ordnance weighs, and can eject if problems develop. So whenever Bell-Boeing mentions the V-22 range or payload, they are probably assuming STOL. A report on the V-22 sea trials by V-22 test pilot LtCol John Rudzis reveals the maximum STOL take-off weight attempted was only 47,300 lbs, nearly 8000lbs less than advertised. He also mentioned that : "A left seat landing under relative winds over deck of 355 deg relative and twenty-five knots resulted in a roll excursion of thirty-seven degrees angle of bank while only ten feet above the deck level. Only that the left rotor was over the water and full power had been applied to initiate a climb, prevented the nacelle or rotor from impacting the ship. Further testing in these conditions was suspended until this event could be thoroughly investigated." Fewer V-22s can fit on ship Few people realize the V-22 weighs almost as much as the powerful CH-53E, which can carry twice as much. The V-22 can automatically perform a contortionist routine to save space, although maintenance officers cringe when shown the photo at right. They know that after a few years of wear and countless automatic folds, every moving part eventually breaks.
This is why the LHA/LHD Replacement program recently emerged. Some people want to spend billions of dollars to design a new class of bigger flattop amphibs just to carry a MEU composite squadron with twelve V-22s, rather than continuing to buy modern LHDs. The LHDs are already larger than any World War II aircraft carriers, and larger than any foreign aircraft carriers. Even if this expensive idea for larger ships is adopted, it will be ten years before the first appears in the Fleet, and 35 years before the last "undersized" LHD retires, along with the last V-22s. Bell and Boeing Lack Confidence in Tiltrotors One of the selling points for the V-22 is that tiltrotor technology will revolutionize civilian aviation. Bell teamed up with Augusta several years ago to produce a smaller tiltrotor, called the BA609 (photo of mock-up at right). They decided to use the standard 3000psi hydraulic system, rather than the new 5000psi system which has plagued the V-22. Many were surprised the V-22 redesign kept the leak-prone 5000psi system. Bell claimed to have orders for 80 BA609 aircraft for VIP use, which doesn't require as stringent safety specifications as passenger aircraft FAA certified for commercial use. When the V-22 crashes raised questions about the safety of the tiltrotor, Bell did not press on with the BA609 to demonstrate its confidence in tiltrotor technology. Instead, Bell halted plans to begin BA609 flight tests and seek FAA certification, and recently stopped all work on the BA609. Boeing is the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft. Why isn't Boeing marketing a commercial version of the V-22? This would not require research, testing, or development funding. They can simply put passenger seats in V-22s which can come off the established production line and sell them to airlines, just as companies have done with military helicopters. However, Boeing has made no effort to market a commercial version of the V-22. Why? Helicopter expert Harry Dunn says the reason is the V-22 can never pass FAA safety tests due to its unstable design. Meanwhile, Boeing is working on a new VTOL canard wing design where the entire wing can also spin like a big helicopter blade (left). So if tilt-rotor technology is safe and revolutionary, why has it been dismissed by every foreign and domestic aircraft maker, including Bell and Boeing, the makers of the V-22? The Russians built two tiltrotor prototypes for testing, and determined the concept was unsafe. Why has the V-22 been rejected by the US Army, US Coast Guard, and recently the US Navy? The US Air Force is still officially in the program only because Congress adds money each year for the CV-22. Meanwhile, Bell-Boeing has been sued by several family members of those killed by the V-22 whose lawyers said they could prove that executives knew the V-22 was unsafe. Bell-Boeing denied this charge, yet refused a chance to refute these charges in open court and settled each case, all with a confidentially agreement which required that facts be withheld from the public. The Navy MH-60S is superior Recently, Congress began asking about alternatives to the V-22. The Marine Corps dodged this issue, then offered the European EH-101 as a possibility, knowing that Congress would never support the purchase of a foreign aircraft. The Corps ignored the new Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, which has been sold to Ireland and Communist China. It claimed it would take years to develop a "navalized" version of the Army Blackhawk, ignoring the Navy HH-60H Seahawk, which has been in service for years, and an advanced version, the MH-60S Knighthawk, which just entered Navy service. The Knighthawk can carry a crew of four and 13 passengers or 10,000lbs of cargo, which is twice the payload of the older CH-60A Blackhawk in service with the US Army. The Marine Corps can simply sign a production contract to join in the Navy buy for Knighthawks in FY2003. Navy H-60 spare parts and training programs have been functioning for years, and the Corps already operates eight VH-60s as part of the Presidential helicopter squadron. If the Marine Corps joined the Army, Navy, and Air Force by adopting the Sikorsky H-60 series for basic transport, all services would save money and improve interoperability. This year, the Navy bought 17 MH-60S for $17 million each, they would cost even less if purchased at a higher rate with a joint Marine Corps buy. The MH-60S can carry almost as much as the MV-22, at one-sixth the price. The Navy is impressed with the MH-60S and will use them to replace their CH-46D helicopters, rather than buying 48 HV-22s. Adopting the H-60 design would allow the Marine Corps to add a new capability by modifying some MH-60S as EH-60E electronic warfare or MH-60Q Medevac helicopters, using components already in service with the Army. The Corps can also buy some MH-60Ks (right), which have larger fuel tanks and refueling probes which allow it to fly much farther than the MV-22. Another advantage is that the MH-60S is equipped to carry 16 Hellfire anti-tank missiles. This would quadruple the airborne anti-tank firepower of the Marine Corps. For example, MEU composite squadrons which the Corps maintains forward-deployed include four Cobra attack helicopters which could be supported by twelve MH-60S carrying Hellfires and machine guns. The MH-60S Knighthawk is also far superior as an assault aircraft. First, it is smaller and thus harder to hit. Second, it can safely descend three times faster than the V-22 with no worry of flipping over. Third, it has machine guns for suppressing enemy fire. Fourth, it has side cargo doors to allow Marines to leap out immediately, rather than wait their turn to file out the back ramp of a V-22. The Army suffered many casualties using CH-47s in Afghanistan when two were shot up as soldiers waited to file out the back ramp. Fifth, the downwash from the V-22 is so bad that Marines must lie down until the V-22 leaves, and rope ladder extractions are impossible. Finally, a $17 million MH-60S is easier to replace than a $118 million V-22, which is why former Marine James Webb opposed the V-22 program in the 1980s when he was Secretary of the Navy. The US lost thousands of helicopters during the Vietnam conflict; they must be affordable. The FY 2002 budget provides $1.3 billion for 11 MV-22s ($118 million each) plus $447 million for testing (or $159 million each in annual costs). The Marine Corps could have purchased 103 MH-60S helicopters with that money. When will the V-22 Scandal end? The V-22 program was canceled by the Bush administration back in 1989 after two prototype crashes. After an extensive review, then Navy Secretary Sean OKeefe told the House Armed Services Committee, "The V-22 cannot be built to meet the requirements specified. Its an engineering impossibility." However, politics revived the flawed program and another $10 billion was spent on testing and development until two disastrous crashes led to the grounding of the V-22 in December of 2000. Nevertheless, production was authorized and four billion dollars later the V-22 will fly again, while performing all five phases of aircraft creation simultaneously: research, development, testing, production, and upgrades. This bizarre arrangement produces a new $159 million V-22 each month which is unsafe to fly. It rolls off the assembly line and into storage awaiting upgrades, or eventual donation to an aviation museum. Even if a safe V-22 has not been developed by 2008, the V-22 team will argue that 100 flawed V-22s have already been built, and the Marine Corps cannot afford to cancel the program. If politicians have such confidence in the V-22, why not announce the first V-22s will become part of the President's VIP helicopter squadron-HMX-1. This Marine Corps squadron has a secondary mission of testing helicopters, and flying VIPs around the East Coast is much easier for the V-22 than operating from ships or in combat zones. NAVAIR's website claims "The Osprey's size, speed, range and ability to land in tightly confined areas would create a revolution in the Executive/VIP transport role." Flying politicians around will prove their confidence in the V-22s safety, yet it's unlikely they will risk their lives in an unsafe aircraft. Meanwhile, where are the dozens of unflyable V-22s today? As a final example of how bad this program has become, here is a recent Navy contract announcement. That's right, taxpayers will pay Bell almost $6 million dollars to store 19 of their defective V-22s, that's $301,000 for each, just of storage. The V-22 has become the biggest scandal in US military history, with some $16 billion wasted thus far. New technology always presents problems, yet many are unsolvable so the project was cancelled. It's clear the tiltrotor idea has failed, which is why even Bell and Boeing are not building commercial tiltrotor aircraft. Every month the Bell-Boeing team can stall, it gets another $159 million, payments which are not "event driven". Unless action is taken, there is no doubt the V-22 will still be testing and developing in 2010. Carlton Meyer editor@G2mil.com More details about V-22 flaws can be found in two G2mil articles from last year: The V-22 Fiasco and MV-22 Lies. Many helicopter experts were so appalled by the findings of the V-22 "Blue Ribbon Panel", which was formed to keep the V-22 program going and consisted of no rotorcraft experts, they formed a "Red Ribbon Panel" to present the truth. They produced a detailed technical report on the cause of the V-22 crashes which you can read here: Red Ribbon Panel Study Their coordinator, Harry P Dunn, is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy - with several months of USMC training - and a retired Colonel in the US Air Force. He was Flight Test Director of H-3 Jolly Green Rescue helicopter and the world's first In-Flight Refueling for Helicopters Program with some 45 years of direct association with helicopter/rotorcraft/VSTOL programs. He contributed to this article and can be reached at Hpdunn@aol.com if anyone wants to discuss technical aspects as to why the V-22 is fundamentally flawed. ©2002 www.G2mil.com |
Maybe JohnHuang2 has an appropriate ping list as well. Thanks!
Yeah, I loved that euphemism too! It sounds great, much better than "settling without power" or "fresh out of ideas." Then when you found out it meant "everything's working fine, but you're gonna crash anyway," appreciation for those political marketing types went down the toilet....
At least in fixed wing, it was "behind the power curve," which didn't sound like a good place to be, and it wasn't.
I have a feeling this machine was not really well designed by the engineers for a specific realistic military mission scenario anyway. It is fast but small, hence requiring more trips than the biger Sikorsky, hence defeating the purpose when speaking in terms of number of troops deployed in a short time. It may have longer range or loiter abilities though, maybe making it into a potentialy useful anti-sub machine, but then again, was it designed for this mission? What was the request for proposal behind this machine? 80s style Iran hostage rescue? Not good either with bullets flying around, though the support needed for such machine would have been lower as regular helicoters have such little range and are slower and more vulnerable.
There is a strange silence surrounding about what the design goals were and if they were actualy reached. Usualy with a machine like the JSF it is obvious to what the machine is supposed to do, its missions, and if it can accomplish them. The V-22 seems like a cool idea or concept looking for a mission instead, typical of the useless consumerist carreerist engineering culture pervading accross US universities and aerospace companies lately unfortunately - as opposed to the serious jobs the older guys would do for specific military strategic purposes in mind.
God forbid they should give guns to Marines. They might behave aggressively!
I wouldn't want my co-pilot focused on firing a weapons system during a takeoff/landing sequence, especially in this bird. I want him focused on the aircraft and able to take control. Several hundred rounds won't last long either. Sounds like someone slapped the sytem on there to satisfy the Commandant without much thought put into the effort. If I were a grunt, I'd rather take my chances in an old beat up CH-46 with some door gunners than this thing.
But I'm not so sure it is cancelled. Didn't Congress tuck the money for it in the last appropriations bill despite Bush warning them not to do that?
The Osprey is another matter. It's never worked, insider experts say it never will work and that it's hopelessly unstable, and it's been a giant boondoggle from the git go.
A .50 firing from an already unstable platform controlled by the least competent member of the crew? Puhleeze! M60s were great door guns because they could be instantly pointed anywhere needed and spray the area. And guess what? Door gunners don't get much of a chance to actually see what they're shooting at. Having to use electronic sighting and control for suppressive fire would be a real handicap. Nothing beats the old eyeballs for instantly sizing up a situation. The whole Osprey project may have been an attractive idea, but now it's hopelessly FUBARed.
Leadpenny I think you are right.
Thanks again Bobsat so much.
On NOW at RadioFR!
6pm/9pm - Dr. Mike and "Faith in Action"! Tonight Dr. Mike celebrates the faithfulness of Yahweh's promise. "Who ever heard of such a thing? Before she travailed she gave birth" God's faithfulness is what we are praising tonight. We can surely count on all He has spoken.
7pm/10pm - The "Banana Republican", our own Luis Gonzalez, has a spirited interview with...none other than JACK THOMPSON!
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