Development

The first Osprey wing structure, to be used in the Ground Test Article (GTA) was completed in April 1987. Testing with the GTA began in late September 1988. The GTA featured a complete wing, with the engines and full drive system, mounted on a wheeled framework.

The first Osprey, serial number 163911, was rolled out at Arlington on May 28th 1988, with a first flight scheduled for August 15th. This, and subsequent dates, were not met because of problems with the GTA that delayed essential gearbox tests. The first aircraft required nearly 55 hours on the run stand, involving a full shakedown of the drive and rotor system, and flight controls. Electromagnetic compatibility testing was carried out during this period as well, to ensure that the Osprey's RF emitters were compatible with ship systems. There were further delays in early 1989. On March 12th a small fire erupted in the IR suppressor on the right-hand engine during an engine run on the test stand.

The maiden flight of aircraft 1 was finally made at Arlington on March 19th 1989. Boeing's Dick Balzer and Bell's Dorman Cannon performed 12 minutes of initial helicopter mode tests. The aircraft's second flight was delayed by bad weather until March 21st.

Aircraft two, 163912, made its first flight at Arlington on August 9th 1989. It was later ferried to Boeing's test facility at Wilmington, DE in a 1210nm cross-country flight.

On September 6th 1989, aircraft 1 flew with the nacelles at 45 degrees. On the 14th, Cannon and Roy Hopkins (also from Bell) carried out the first full conversion at 155 knots and 6000 ft (1829m) altitude.

Aircraft 4 (163914) flew at Wilmington on December 21st 1989, and aircraft 3 (163913) flew at Arlington on May 9th 1990. By October 5th 1990 aircraft 1 had flown 87 times for 69 hours, #2 had 72 flights for 938 hours, #3 had 15 flights for 10 hours and #4 had 34 flights for 37 hours.

The main functions of the FSD aircraft were planned to be as follows:

A/c Operator Planned hours Principal purpose
1 Bell 615 Envelope expansion, high-altitude and H-V performance, heavyweight landing and takeoff
2 Boeing 650 Flight control system, flying qualities, icing, aircrew training
3 Bell 565 Envelope expansion, flight loads and structures, vibration and acoustics, initial sea trials
4 Boeing 1080 Proprotor/propulsion, performance, avionics, shipboard compatibility, climatic testing, CV evaluation
5 Boeing 610 Avionics integration, autopilot, aircrew training, operational evaluation
6 Bell 590 Mission equipment demo, EMC testing, icing, operational evaluation

The Osprey's first sea trials were carried out by aircraft 163913 and 163914 on board USS Wasp (LHD-1) from December 4th to 7th 1990, as part of Development Test 2B. The latter became the first Osprey to land on a ship. Aircraft movement on the flight deck, elevators and hanger deck, as well as supportability trials, were conducted. Fifteen takeoffs and landings were carried out.

Sling trial loads began in February 1991. This commenced with a 2000lb (907kg) load hanging from the aft hook. This was extended to 4000lb (1814kg), and dual-hook loads were soon being lifted. The aircraft proved capable of accelerating to 100 knots in less than 30 seconds with a slung load.

By the end of February 1991 the four test aircraft had accumulated 400.8 flight hours in 340 flights.

On June 11th 1991 Osprey 5 (163915) crashed three minutes into its maiden flight at Wilmington, impacting the ground from a 15ft (4.6m) hover. Handling difficulties were apparent from the beginning, with aircraft responses wildly out of phase with pilot inputs. The first attempt to land caused the left nacelle to strike the gound, destroying the IR suppressor. On the second attempt, the left nacelle and proprotor struck the ground, flipping the aircraft onto its back. Both pilots managed to escape with only minor injuries, but the aircraft was destroyed.

The cause of the crash was attributed to two of the three roll-rate gyros being wired in reverse. To compound the problem, the flight control built-in test was not run before the flight. With the flight control voting logic discounting the correct gyro signal, the aircraft was doomed.

The remaining test aircraft were flying again by September 10th 1991.

Aircraft 4 spent February through July 1992 being tested in the USAF's climate lab at Eglin AFB. It was subjected to temperatures ranging from -54 to +52 degrees Celsius, rain at 5 in/hr, freezing precipiation, snow, and wind to 45 knots.

Aircraft 4 left Eglin on July 20th 1992 and headed for MCAS Quantico, VA, where it was scheduled to conduct a week of troop trials and operational demonstrations. However, 18 seconds from landing the aircraft suddenly descended at a high rate and impacted the Potomac River about half a mile from the runway. The three Marine and four civilian crewmembers on board were all killed.

The cause was traced to a leak of flammable fluid in the right nacelle, which had not drained away. When the engine was tilted up during the conversion, this fluid flowed into the engine, casing three power surges and a fire. The engine then failed. The loss of power was not immediately fatal, as the left engine continued to drive both proprotors. But the fire reached the composite drive shaft, causing it to fail in seconds. At this point, the right proprotor began to spin down, and the left engine's power output was automatically reduced to prevent loss of control. With a near-total power failure, the aircraft was doomed. A number of changes were made to the engine nacelle and drive shaft as a result of this accident.

Following the crash of aircraft 4, the Ospreys remained grounded for 11 months. The political wrangling and the resulting lack of certainty appeared to have killed the project. Bell ceased virtually all V-22 work, while Boeing continued only a low-level effort. Most of the flight envelope had been cleared, with the following achievements:

Aircraft 6, which was being assembled at Arlington, was abandoned before June 1991 when funding ran out.

However, the Osprey refused to die. The Marines still had an urgent need for the aircraft, and made it their number one acquisition priority, despite the fact the DoD was refusing to fund it. Eventually, in October 1992 a $550 million interim contract aimed at V-22 risk- and weight-reduction was signed. Bell-Boeing managed to come out 389lb (176kg) below the weight reduction goal.

In April 1993 a $2.65 billion development contract was awarded to the Bell-Boeing team. The previous FSD contract was cancelled after nearly $2 billion had been spent. The new contract covered testing of the two remaining FSD aircraft and the construction of four new flight test articles.

The Osprey didn't fly again until June 18th 1993. The two FSD survivors were given safety enhancements before their next flights and further modifications to test EMD changes. EMD risk-reduction was expected to see 335 hours accumulated on both machines. The work concentrated on completing flight envelope expansion, airload investigations, and icing trials.

In September 1993 it was decided to relocate all Osprey testing from Arlington to Pax River.

Aircraft 2 supported flight control system optimization, hover performance measurements, initial operational assessments, demonstration flights and air-to-air refuelling tests. Although the aircraft did not have a refuelling probe, its instrumentation boom was of a similar length, which allowed it to fly in close proximity behind KC-130 and KC-135 tankers. No handling qualities or detrimental interaction with either the drogue or the tanker were reported, although the boom was found to be too short, and the basket had a tendency to disappear beneath the nose as the aircraft closed to the contact position.

Inflight icing trials were carried out in February and March 1994, as part of the ongoing development of the icing protection system. Special attention was paid to the IPS at the engine intakes, rotors, windscreen, pitot-static probe and angle-of-attack system. The tests included high-speed flight behind an NKC-135A which had a spray attached to the refuelling boom which produced a cloud of water droplets at an altitude where it would freeze on the aircraft following behind. Low-speed tests were performed at Duluth, Minnesota, behind the Army's CH-47 fitted with the Helicoper Icing Spray System rig.

Aircraft 3 was devoted to envelope expansion work, including airloads, aeroservoelasticity, high angle-of-attack tests, rejected takeoffs, external loads, sea trials and height-velocity characterization. The latter defines the altitudes and airspeeds at which a safe landing can be made following single or dual engine failure.

Data on high-altitude takeoff performance was collected by aircraft 2 during mountain flights at Hot Springs, VA, in August and September 1994.

The first operational test period (OT-IIA) was performed from June 10th 1994 to July 7th 1994 using aircraft 2 and 3 at Arlington, Pax River and Quantico. The two aircraft flew for 14.8 hours during 21 flying days. Evaulation included confined area landings, simulated AAR, formation flight and night operations. The Navy, with Air Force support, published a joint evaluation report addressing most mission areas the V-22 was to perform.

Aircraft 2 (163912) was displayed at the 1995 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, which was held from June 11th to 17th.

The second test period (OT-IIB) was conducted from September 28th to October 20th 1995, using aircraft 3 only, at Pax River. It comprised 10.4 flight hours in 8 flights, plus ground evaluations. Partly in response to concern expressed over the severity of V-22 downwash in a hover observed during OT-IIA, the Navy conducted a limited downwash assessment concurrently with OT-IIB, from July to October 1995. The OT-IIB report expressed serious concerns regarding the potential downwash effects, and recommended further investigation.

The second integrated testing period, IT-IIB, was conducted between January 1st 1996 and March 31st 1997, using aircraft 3. In this peiod, initial steady-state autorotation and power-off glide evaulations were performed. Similar work was performed during IT-IIC (September 1st 1996 to March 31st 1997).

The third test period (OT-IIC) was conducted in six phases at NAS Patuxent River and Bell-Boeing facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas, from October 1st 1996 through May 30th 1997. OT-IIC saw 36.1 hours accumulated on aircraft 3 with much the same conclusions being reached as in previous tests.

Altohugh the FSD aircraft were not representative of the production aircraft, risk reduction added 343 hours on the FSD Ospreys for a total of over 1100 in over 1000 flights before the EMD aircraft took over. The aircraft had reached 252 knots and 18500 feet in level flight, 322 knots in a dive, pulled 3.2G and carried a sling load at 220 knots. A cruise airspeed of 265 knots had been demonstrated (the requirement was 240 knots). About 85% of the flight envelope had been explored.

Assembly of the first of four EMD Ospreys, 164939, began in April 1995. The aircraft made its maiden flight on February 5th 1997 at Arlington, and it was delivered to Pax River on May 15th. Because of absurd time constaints, the EMD aircraft left Arlington only partially completed, and many months of work were required at Pax before they could begin productive flight testing.

The testing timescale was very tight, with little or no margin allowed for unexpected problems or delays. Needless to says, unexpected problems did crop up, and these were quickly corrected or defered to allowing testing to continue providing there was no safety impact. On the whole the EMD aircraft were of a higher build quality than the FSD aircraft, but maintenance was still a burden on test productivity. The frequent maintenance periods and test equipment reconfigurations caused more delays. Other causes were delays in avionics software development, slow delivery of anti-icing hardware and software, as parts shortages as low-rate initial production began.

During 1997 only 7.1 hours of test flying was being performed per aircraft per month, whereas the target was 15 hours. In 1998 this was brought up to 19.8 hours per airframe. But so much time had been lost that the EMD schedule had to be extended by nearly a year.

The Integrated Test Team's goal of eliminating government-only testing meant that there was essentially only one integrated test period, IT-IID, which began in January 1997. There was a second operational test period in the middle of this test period which required an interim test period, IT/DT-IID, to test some of the more operationally-oriented capabilities and systems to clear them for OT-IID. This inevitably created delays in the integrated test schedule.

The EMD aircraft introduced significant flight control system changes, which required almost the full spectrum of stability, control and flying quality tests to be carried out again. Fine-tuning of the optimal handling qualities for all aspects of flight were performed.

The basic sling load envelope was cleared without much difficulty. In 1998 the AAR envelope began to be cleared with dry 'plugs' on a KC-130 tanker. The Special Insertion and Extraction rig was also tested. This equipment allows up to four persons to be attached to a cable dangling from the aft cargo hook. Further trials were conducted over Cheasapeake Bay, with parachute drops and fastropes being conducted from the ramp.

In early 1998 rotor performance trials were carried out at Hot Springs, West Virginia. High-density altitude testing was performed with aircraft 8 at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in September-October 1998. This included a hover performance test with the aircraft tethered to the ground to measure lift force.

By August 23rd 1998 the EMD testing had accumulated 627.7 hours in 316 flights. Basic envelope expansion had been considered complete at the end of July 1998. The aircraft had reached 342 knots, 3.9G, 60500lb (27.4 tonnes) gross weight, 25000 ft (7620m) altitude and had flown with a 4.5-tonne slung load at 230 knots.

The V-22's second set of sea trials were conducted by aircraft 164942 aboard USS Saipan (LHA-2) in January 1999. Landing trials began on January 14th. It was planned that aircraft 10 would operate from six of the ship's nine helicopter spots under varying crosswind conditions to examine the interference that airflow over the deck would cause to hover and maneuver capabilities. Short takeoffs were performed easily, offering a means to get airborne with a heavy load when deck space permitted. With the nacelles at 70 degrees, gross weights of 21.5 tonnes and moderate headwinds, the aircraft was able to get airborne with a very short ground roll. The application of full power then allowed a rapid climb-out.

During the tests on the Saipan a control problem had come to light caused by airflow off the superstructure interfering with the right rotor, and exceeding the control system's capability. On one occasion this nearly caused aircraft 10's rotor to strike the superstructure. Much work on control system software was required to eliminate this instability.

The first low-rate initial production MV-22 (165433) was delivered on May 25th 1999.

In June 1999 the vulnerability of the aircraft to lightning was tested when aircraft 10 was subjected to 10000-amp charges while inside a copper wire grid.

The two aircraft selected for the CV-22 programme were flown back to Arlington in the summer of 1999. 164939 was selected for terrain following/avoidance trials and given auxiliary wing tanks and radar. 164941 was given the full complement of CV-22 systems plus the Active Vibration Suppresion System (AVSS).

In August 1999 the control system changes were tested by aircraft 10 on board the Saipan. LSD operations were conducted in September 1999 on board USS Tortuga (LSD-49) with its two helicopter spots. The 75 launches and recoveries which were carried out completed the embarked sea trials. A total of 642 day and night shipboard launches and recoveries were performed, which cleared the aircraft for OPEVAL.

The four EMD and two FSD Ospreys had logged 3600 flight hours by the time that operational evaluation started on October 1st 1999. Each EMD aircraft had logged a total of 711 flights for 1470 hours, which was much lower than most new military aircraft development programs.

In early 2000 aircraft 10 went to CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia, for initial natural-ice flight testing.

CV-22 164939 was the first CV-22 development aircraft to fly gain, on February 29th 2000. It was flown to Edwards AFB on November 20th 2000.

On April 8th 2000 MV-22 165436 crashed during a noncombatant evacuation OPEVAL mission. The crash claimed the lives of 19 Marines. The Osprey was one of four flying from MCAS Yuma, Arizona, and it crashed at Marana Airport near Tucson. The mishap aircraft was one of five production aircraft delivered to the Marine Corps for operational use. In the last seconds of its flight, the mishap aircraft was in a high rate of descent at a relatively low forward airspeed. These characteristics can lead to a condition known as power settling (or vortex ring state), in which a rotary wing aircraft with a high rate of descent and a low air speed falls into its own rotor turbulence and loses lift. The primary cause of the crash was that the pilot descended two-and-a-half times faster than the acceptable rate. A modification introduced as a result of this crash gives the crew an 18-second warning that they might be entering a vortex ring state.

As a result of the crash of 165436, 165433 (which was also taking part in the exercise) landed heavily when the resulting explosion blew out its ground cushion. It was struck off charge on July 16th 2001.

Despite this accident, EMD was declared complete on April 30th 2000, even though many planned tests had not been fully carried out. The MV-22B failed to meet some maintainability and reliability requirements, and was really still a developmental model. Among the outstanding issues was a disconcerting tendancy for the vehicle to settle when interim power was de-selected; NBC protection needed further work; the cargo system was incomplete; the rescue hoist was unusable. Flying into icing conditions, air-drop, and air combat maneuvering were prohibited.

Following the crash of 165436, MV-22s were flying again on May 19th 2000. Aircraft 15 was assigned to OPEVAL when it was delivered in June. Resuming on June 5th, OT-IIE ended on July 22nd after 522 sorties and 805 flight hours.

CV-22 164941 flew again on August 21st 2000, and was flown from Arlington to Edwards on September 18th 2000. Maj. Tom Currie was at the controls for the six-hour flight. The aircraft was refuelled en route at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.

The OPEVAL report was released on October 13th 2000. This found that all key performance parameters were met, and in many cases exceeded program requirements. Although deficiences were noted, the aircraft was found to be operationally suitable for the Marine Corps mission. However, the aircraft was not cleared for shipboard deployment because of maintenance and serviceability problems. The blade fold/wing stow (BFWS) was unreliable which made it difficult to move the aircraft below deck.

Bell put in a major effort to resolve the BFWS problem, which was required before full-rate production could be authorised. An MV-22 was deployed to USS Bataan (LHD-5) on October 31st 2000 for a day of BFWS evaluations, which were passed easily.

On December 11th 2000 MV-22B #18 (165440), with just 157.7 hours on the clock, crashed in North Carolina during a night training mission. Four Marines were killed when the aircraft came down in a remote wooded area about 10 miles outside Jacksonville. The crash was the fourth accident involving the V-22 since 1991. The Navy and Marine Corps grounded all MV-22 flights until further notice. The accident investigation concluded that a leak in a chafed hydraulic line, coupled with a software glitch, had caused the crash. The software problem contributed to the aircraft going out of control, rather than compensating for the hydraulic leak.

Following the December 2000 crash, a number of upgrades were implemented including redesign of hydraulics and wiring in the nacelles and improved flight control software.

The independent V-22 'Blue Ribbon' panel reported on April 19th 2001. It basically found that the aircraft was of value to the US military and US economy, that the basic tilt-rotor technology was not flawed, and that starting again would take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to get back to the state that the V-22 had by then reached. However, it recommended that production be kept as low as practically possible so that fewer aircraft would need to be required to be modified to the final operational configuration.

After September 11th 2001, and the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, deficiencies in the Marines' CH-46 fleet became more apparent. The long flights required from ships in the Indian Ocean to the land-locked country were wearing out the Sea Knights at an accelerated rate. The USAF also had to revise its plans to replace the MH-53 with the CV-22.

The enforced pause allowed the programme to be restructured to become event- rather than schedule-driven. A list of hundreds of changes was drawn up, but only a subset, called Block A, had to be corrected, and flight tested, before any training aircraft could be returned to flight. The remaining changes were broken into Block B (enhanced suitability and nacelle maintenance access), and Block C (improved mission capabilities). All were to be made as modifications to existing aircraft or introduced into the production line.

The new flight test program began on May 29th 2002 when aircraft 164942 took to the air at Pax River. The 18-month program was intended to validate the engineering and design changes made to the aircraft, and continued with the development testing that was halted in 2000. A total of 1800 flight hours were scheduled using seven aircraft.

On July 2nd 2002 CV-22 164941 began testing its electronic countermeasures equipment in the Benefield Anechoic Facility at Edwards AFB. The aircraft spent three months suspended in the BAF while the CV-22 ITT checked out the ECM packages, known as the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC).

Aircraft 21, the first production machine modified with the Block A changes, flew on September 7th 2002 and was ferried to Pax River on October 12th.

Aircraft 8 resumed flying on October 19th 2002, with high rate of descent testing as its main task.

In January 2003 the V-22 completed its first series of shipboard suitability tests since the program resumed flight testing in May 2002. Osprey 164942's initial approach to USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) on January 14th demonstrated how the V-22 differed from the platforms it was designed to replace.

With the nacelles fully forward, the Osprey flew up the starboard side of the ship at 220 knots before rolling left and performing a 180-degree, three-G level turn. From there test pilot Lt. Col. Kevin Gross, a Marine who logged combat hours in the AV-8B Harrier during the first Gulf War, tilted the engines from airplane to helicopter mode. Seconds later, the aircraft hovered over spot nine and, with the landing signal, smoothly touched down.

High winds, rough seas, bitter cold and sudden snowstorms all forced adjustments to the plan over the five-day test period. But in the end, the Integrated Test Team�s hard work paid off. Along with completing the deck-landing qualification for one of the pilots, the team gathered crucial data on both H-53 and H-1 rotor downwash characteristics, quantified the effect of a hovering H-1 on the V-22 parked behind it and collected air wake figures for the LHD-class out to 52 knots of wind over the deck.

On April 4th 2003 the V-22 program reached another milestone when Osprey No. 7 (164939) a CV-22 variant, successfully reached the multi-mission radar's low altitude target for the airplane mode of flight. Test pilots Air Force Maj. Tom Goodnough and Marty Shubert took the aircraft down to a 200-foot "set clearance plane" at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

On July 17 2003, the V-22 Integrated Test Team achieved another flight test milestone when Osprey No. 34 (165848) took to the skies for the first time. It was the first new-build aircraft to fly with the "Block A" modifications incorporated. With Bell-Boeing pilots Jim Lindsey and Dean Vey at the controls, the aircraft performed a series of aerial maneuvers for about an hour at Bell Helicopter's tiltrotor assembly center in Amarillo, Texas.

The Integrated Test Team took delivery of its first "Block A" MV-22B Osprey on August 20th 2003 when 165848 touched down at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, MD. The aircraft's arrival increased the test program's inventory to seven MV-22s.

After being grounded since December 2000, CV-22 164939 resumed flight testing on September 11th 2002. During the initial flights the two-man test crew successfully conducted several runway-landing patterns, and put the aircraft into a hover to test its rotor track and balance. Later in the day the test team returned to the air and successfully converted the aircraft to airplane mode. Bell CTP Marty Scubert was at the controls for the return to flight.

On October 5th 2002 CV-22 164941 completed testing the SIRFC in the Benefield Acoustic Facility. After adjustments were made to antennae, the test team moved on to more than eight weeks of electronic warfare testing, where they examined SIRFC's response to threat systems.

On April 4th 2003 CV-22 164939 successfully completed its first terrain-following radar exercise at Edwards AFB. TF capability is clearly essential for the special operations mission.

The second CV-22, 164941, returned to the air on July 14th 2003 after spending nearly 2 years being modified. During this period the aircraft's electrical and hydraulic line clearances were updated, and electronic warfare and heat-seeking missile countermeasures were installed. The aircraft also spent three months in the Benefield Acoustic Facility. The flight on July 14th evaluated the aircraft on basic flight performance, airspeed calibrations and handling qualities.

Osprey No. 24 (165838) left Naval Air Station Patuxent River on November 7th 2003 bound for the CFB Shearwater, near Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Integrated Test Team sent a 67-person detachment to eastern Canada to continue the development of the Osprey�s Master Ice Protection Control Unit. The Halifax area was selected for this phase of testing because of the characteristics of the ice that forms within clouds around the Maritimes.

In November 2003 the Integrated Test Team completed a detachment in USS Bataan (LHD 5), the second at-sea period for the Osprey program in 2003. During the eleven days of the Phase IV shipboard suitability testing, the ITT conducted deck landing qualifications for five V-22 pilots, completed test points necessary to expand the Osprey�s wind-over-deck envelope, and measured the effects of hovering H-53 and H-46 helicopters on a V-22 on deck behind them. Osprey No. 22 (165444) was used for the bulk of the testing and was joined for the final two days of the detachment by Osprey No. 10 (164942).

In late November 2003 the V-22 program passed 1000 flying hours since the Osprey�s return to flight testing in May 2002. Osprey No. 24 (165838) reached the milestone during an icing test flight over Nova Scotia

Since the V-22 program�s return to flight, the Osprey went through exhaustive developmental testing, highlighted by two at-sea periods and a battery of high rate of descent tests that clearly defined the airplane�s robust operating envelope and led to Tom Macdonald, the chief corporate test pilot, receiving the Society of Experimental Test Pilot�s prestigious Iven C. Kincheloe award. Additionally, the program received important shows of confidence from Department of Defense during the two most recent defense acquisitions boards held at the Pentagon. In months that followed, the program focused on other facets of developmental testing as well as supporting VMX-22, the tiltrotor test and evaluation squadron based at MCAS New River as it prepared for the Osprey�s operational evaluation in 2005 year and eventual fleet introduction of the aircraft.

On March 9th 2004 Osprey No. 9, CV-22 164941, flew its first electronic warfare flight over China Lake�s Electronic Combat Range. Initial assessments of the flight showed that the EW system (ALQ-211 SIRFC) performed as designed and had a good correlation to previous ground testing.

On March 22nd 2004 the V-22 Integrated Test Team flew the first air-to-air refueling flights since May 2002. Over the course of two one-hour sorties using Osprey No. 22 (165444), test pilots Lt. Col. Kevin Gross, USMC and Steve Grohsmeyer each logged five "dry plugs" behind a VX-20 KC-130F operating near NAS Patuxent River. The primary reason for the flights was to re-establish Gross and Grohsmeyer�s day aerial refueling qualifications. Eventually the ITT will have six pilots qualified to tank day and night, and at night while wearing night vision goggles � all part of the developmental test plan. This particular refueling exercise was done at an airspeed of around 200 knots and an altitude of 10,000 feet.

Although Osprey 165444 has an eleven-foot fixed probe, the qualification flights were the initial step toward testing a new retractable refueling probe. The retractable probe is just over nine feet long when extended but is flush with the nose when stowed � a necessary feature for shipboard operations. The V-22�s air-to-air refueling features are the cornerstone of the improvements in self-deployment capability and operational range over the legacy systems it will replace.

Osprey hardware modifications to correct a flight control irregularity discovered during testing in mid-December were recently installed in Osprey Nos. 8 (164940) and 10 (164942), several weeks ahead of initial estimates. Flight testing began on March 26th. The most recent analysis demonstrated the hardware modification alone should be sufficient to relieve the current flight limitations that restrict pilots when operating non-telemetered aircraft in helicopter mode. Flight testing was completed in late April, and at that point, the hardware will be incorporated into the rest of the fleet and the flight restriction will be lifted.

On April 19th 2004 both CV-22s flew in the first ever CV-22 multi-ship interoperability sortie at Edwards AFB. This test was required to show that aircrafts' radars did not interfere with each other while conducting terrain-following operations. During the interoperability testing, 163939 flew at a gross weight of 59000 lb (26.7 tonnes), in order to show that the aircraft can safely follow terrain even at its maximum all-up weight. It also achived a new record of 707 flight hours.

On April 22nd 2004, during a flight by one of VMX-22's Block A MV-22s, the V-22 fleet passed the 2,000-flight hour milestone since the program's return to flight. The mark includes hours flown by the MV-22 Integrated Test Team based at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, the CV-22 ITT based at Edwards AFB, California, and VMX-22, the Osprey Test and Evaluation squadron based at MCAS New River, North Carolina.

While VMX-22 remained involved in preparations for the Osprey's operational evaluation early in 2005, the ITT continued to realize success in developmental test. Osprey No. 24 (165838) returned on April 29th from a productive six-month icing detachment in Halifax, Nova Scotia while Osprey No. 10 (164942) had nearly finished its high-wind testing in Lubbock, Texas. Future ITT efforts in support of VMX-22's OPEVAL include Phase IV of shipboard suitability, formation flight, austere landings, air-to-air refueling using the new retractable probe, and mission software validation.

During the icing trials conducted at CFB Shearwater, near Halifax, Nova Scotia, 165838 logged 67 hours, of which 37 were in actual icing conditions. The Osprey has a requirement for a robust ice-detection and anti-icing system, as it may often have to fly in bad weather. The prototype system tested in Canada worked well with only minor configuration changes.

On June 29th 2004 the V-22 Integrated Test Team completed Phase IVB of the Osprey's shipboard suitability testing, the fifth of six at-sea periods during the aircraft's developmental testing. This was the latest in a series of tests leading to the aircraft's operational evaluation and subsequent full-rate production decision next year. During the eight days aboard the USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) operating in the waters off the coast of Maryland, the ITT did much toward proving the Osprey's capability on and around an amphibious assault ship.

In the course of shipboard testing in 1999, the V-22 demonstrated a tendency to tilt along its lateral axis when sitting on the flight deck behind a hovering aircraft - a phenomenon known as "uncommanded roll on deck." Because the Osprey has a digital flight control system, engineers are able to reprogram the flight controls to eliminate undesirable characteristics such as roll on deck. Previous shipboard suitability phases have tested the performance of the Osprey behind a hovering H-1, H-46, and H-53. Phase IVB was designed to test the effect on a V-22 behind a hovering V-22, and results were as good as or better than expected.

A series of firsts were accomplished during this test period. Along with the first shipboard interaction tests of a V-22 in the vicinity of another V-22, it was the first time a V-22 had landed on Spots 5 and 6 - the landing points adjacent to the ship's island. Additionally, the wind envelope for LHD-class V-22 operations was expanded - an important element toward a successful OPEVAL.

The Integrated Test Team was offered another challenge when Osprey No. 22 (165444) experienced a component failure in the right nacelle while hovering over the flight deck during the final V-22/V-22 interaction tests on June 28th 2004. The pilot landed and secured the aircraft.

The initial evidence pointed to a failure in the nacelle blower, which cools drive system components. Initial investigation revealed wear on several other blowers. As a result, blowers will be changed once they reach 100 hours of use, and every 100 flight hours thereafter, until either additional investigation permits an increase in the number of hours, or the blower design is changed.

In mid-July 2004 the V-22 Integrated Test Team began a three-phase test event at Pax River to verify the aircraft's evasive flight capabilities within the current flight envelope. The first phase focussed on loads and structural testing. The remaining phases tested numerous flying qualities, and were planned to conclude by the end of 2004 with a flight demonstration by VMX-22 in a fully-instrumented test aircraft.

During a series of safe separation test flights flown between late September through October 25th 2004, the CV-22 Integrated Test Team fired four different countermeasures - both chaff and flares - designed to deflect threats, clearing the way for the Air Force Special Operations Command to use them in the field.

Engineers designed the safe separation tests to take aircraft 9 (164941) to its maximum flying capabilities envelope and ensure the countermeasures were safely cleared from three buckets - storage areas of the aircraft that house the countermeasures - located on the left and right rear side of the aircraft, as well as under the nose.

In 12 flights over the Precision Impact Range Area at Edwards AFB, engineers tested the M211 Special Materials Covert Flare, M206 MagTef Flare, M212 Flare and the RR188 Chaff because these types of munitions are similar to other munitions in the Air Force inventory utilized by the AFSOC.

On October 8th the US Air Force's two top leaders flew in Marine Corps' V-22 Ospreys. Air Force CAS piloted one aircraft, while SECAF, Dr James Roche, was a passenger in a second. Amry General Bryan Brown, commander of US Special Operations Command, also flew in one of the aircraft, but jumped out of the back with a team of special ops parachutists.

From November 12th to 23rd 2004 the V-22 Integrated Test Team conducted Shipboard Suitability Phase IVC testing on board USS Wasp off the mid-Atlantic coast. This was the fourth and final underway period for the ITT since the program�s return to flight in May 2002. Phase IVC�s successful completion was an important step on the path toward the Osprey�s operational evaluation early next year.

The primary objective of this phase was to complete interaction testing between a V-22 parked on the flight deck and another V-22 hovering in front of it. Additional test objectives included flight envelope expansion for all port side landing spots aboard the LHD, developing a night short takeoff envelope, and evaluating the latest flight control software version.

While the ITT was busy working on the Wasp�s flight deck, a group of maintainers from VMX-22, the V-22 operational test and evaluation squadron based at MCAS New River, were in the hangar bay conducting maintenance demonstration testing. Tests included removing both engines, jacking the aircraft and cycling the landing gear, and removing prop-rotor hubs and blade assemblies. The VMX-22 team�s findings will serve them well during the squadron�s upcoming operational evaluation.

In November 2004 the V-22 test team returned to CFB Shearwater (probably with aircraft 165838) for a further 6 months of anti-icing trials. These trials focused on longer flights in icing conditions, failure modes, helicopter mode flight, and the overall performamce and reliability of the production anti-icing system.

On November 19th the V-22 at CFB Shearwater lost a 20 x 4 inch piece of rotor blade in-flight, apparently after being hit by ice which broke off from another part of the aircraft.

On February 26th 2005 a third CV-22 Osprey, tail number 165839, was delivered to the Integrated Test Team at Edwards AFB. This aircraft had been at Boeing/Philadelphia since October 2003 being modified from an MV-22.

165839 underwent several weeks of modifications to install special instrumentation to meet the needs of Air Force Special Operations Command: night flying, low altitude operations in bad weather, and search and rescue. The test program includes inertial navigation, electronic navigation, multimode radar and integrated system evaluations.

On April 29th 2005 Osprey No. 24 returned to NAS Patuxent River following its second six-month season of icing tests around Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pilots for the transit were Maj. Frank Conway, USMC, and Maj. Steve Augustine, USMC. Flight test engineer Jason Patterson performed crew chief duties.

During this period the V-22 Integrated Test Team explored what effect degraded systems modes had on the airplane�s ability to shed ice. The main two test points focused on the loss of a variable-frequency generator, which forces alternate instead of simultaneous de-icing of the prop-rotors, and the loss of the prop-rotor parting strip � the device that continuously prevents ice from forming on the leading edge of the prop-rotor. Test results were satisfactory and after a comprehensive data analysis and review, the program expects to issue the Osprey's initial icing flight clearance.

During the test period an orange windshield wiper fairing was added to prevent ice from accumulating on the wiper blades during extended flight through icing conditions.

On October 6th 2005 members of the integrated test team completed a "hot & high" testing detachment in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they validated the MV-22's performance envelope at high altitudes and air temperatures, and high gross takeoff weights.

On February 22nd 2007 the V-22 Airframe Fatigue Test Program surpassed 20,000 effective flight hours. The Fatigue Test Program, involving a full size V-22 aircraft, began in June 1998, and is the first ever conducted for a tiltrotor type aircraft.

The Test Team conducted 60,000 simulated flights that included takeoffs, airplane and helicopter maneuvers, landings and ground maneuvers during the 20,000 flight hours of low cycle load testing, covering the equivalent of two lifetimes on control surfaces and aft fuselage structures.

The program soon will begin a block of high cycle loading equivalent to 30,000 flight hours applying up to 18 million load conditions.

On October 2nd 2007 BAE Systems unveiled its new remotely operated Remote Guardian System (RGS), designed to provide 360 degrees of suppressive fire for the MV-22 Osprey. RGS, designed to be belly-mounted on the V-22, is the first remote weapon system capable of delivering accurate, sustained fire throughout the aircraft's entire flight envelope. It features a compact, retractable design that saves valuable aircraft cabin space and was designed to be completely compatible with the V-22's avionics suite. The system should be available for installation beginning in the third quarter of 2008.

In January 2008 BAE Systems installed a GAU-2B mini-gun in the belly of a CV-22 at Hurlburt Field, Florida, for ground and air testing. The weapon is designed to provide 360 degrees of accurate, sustained suppressive fire throughout the CV-22�s flight envelope.

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© David Hastings