identities midflight that there is an endless request for its services, according to Lt. Col. Kirk Nelson, VMM-266 Fighting Griffins commander at New River. “It’s done everything,” Nelson said. “The Osprey has proved that it’s up to the mission requirements. It’s battletested. People see the benefits. They want it. It’s in high demand.” Over the past decade, the Marines’ oblong, shale-colored aircraft has established itself by expeditionary assault from land or sea, recovery of aircraft and personnel, air evacuation, aerial refueling, and rapid insertion and extraction. For the Marines, the Osprey has more than replaced the 1960s-vintage Boeing CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter, also known as the Phrog. The Osprey was borne from a military need to fly farther and faster while getting in and out of conflict zones, a requirement escalated by the 1980 Iran hostage crisis, Marine personnel say. Bell and Boeing engineers ultimately came up with a transitional aircraft that could take off and land like a conventional helicopter yet cruise as fast as a turboprop airplane. “It’s a pretty smart bird,” said Lance Cpl. Hannah Melconian, a VMM-266 crew chief. “You have so many uses for it; it’s whatever the Marine Corps wants it to do. I like the ability to go somewhere, do it quickly and do it effectively.” To become fully deployable, the Osprey had to pass muster time and time again, demonstrating great resilience in the face of a rigorous development process that lasted more than two decades. In the end, the aircraft withstood changing technology, changing world affairs, accidents, modifications and delays. Named after a bird of prey that tolerates a wide variety of habitats and can take flight vertically, the Osprey can fly at speeds over 270 knots (310 mph, or 490 kilometers per hour)— or twice the speed of a conventional helicopter. It can reach altitudes up to 24,000 feet (7,320 meters), which requires those on board to use supplemental oxygen. Unlike other rotorcraft, it can fly over the top of inclement weather at a high altitude. The Osprey’s advanced technology includes a digital cockpit, mission management system, advanced communications and an overall greater situational awareness for pilots and crew. “When I was going through flight school, it was kind of new,” said Capt. Jacob Dyer, a VMM-365 pilot. “There weren’t a lot of people who knew a lot about it. We thought it looked kind of cool. It was a new adventure.” The Osprey operates like this: It has large, pod-like nacelles at the end of its short wings that contain engines that turn black three-bladed rotors, each of which are 20 feet (6 meters) long and 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 meters) wide from one end to the other. The nacelles can transition from vertical to horizontal, changing its flight capability from that of a helicopter, with rotor blades overhead, to flight similar to a prop-powered airplane. Marine pilots estimate they fly 90 percent of the time in airplane mode. The in-flight transition from helicopter to airplane and back creates a physical sensation that 14 | BOEING FRONTIERS CRUISING SPEED Approximately 270 knots | 310 mph, or 490 kilometers per hour CEILING 24,000 feet | 7,320 meters MAXIMUM VERTICAL TAKEOFF WEIGHT 52,600 pounds | 23,980 kilograms MAXIMUM ROLLING TAKEOFF WEIGHT 60,500 pounds | 27,440 kilograms BUILDER Bell Boeing
Frontiers February 2016 Issue
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