Tue, Dec 07, 2004
Important Step Toward Op Eval Next Year
The V-22 Integrated Test Team conducted Shipboard Suitability
Phase IVc for ten days beginning on November 12. This was the
fourth and final underway period for the ITT since the
program’s return to flight in May of 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.
“The team was able to get a lot done during our time
underway,” said Bill Geyer, the ITT’s lead shipboard
suitability engineer. “The data we gathered will help us
close the book on MV-22 shipboard developmental test. We’ve
given the operational testers and, in turn, the fleet the tools for
success at sea.”
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.
Geyer was quick to attribute the ITT’s success to their
hosts. “The Wasp was excellent,” he said. “The
bridge team went out of its way to get us the winds we needed, and
the Air Department was always willing to go the extra mile to get
the job done for us. Overall, it was the best experience I’ve
ever had at sea while conducting tests.”
(ANN salutes Ward Carroll, NAVAIR Public Affairs)
More News
Instrument Runway A runway equipped with electronic and visual navigation aids for which a precision or nonprecision approach procedure having straight-in landing minimums has been>[...]
Aero Linx: Alaska Airmen's Association The Alaska Airmen's Association includes over 2,000 members—we are one of the largest General Aviation communities in the country. We s>[...]
Also: Flt School Security, G600 Steep-Approach, Honduran Aid, PW545D Cert Two aircraft performing at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show clipped wings during a routine last Sunday, spooki>[...]
Also: SkyReach Parts Support, Piper Service Ctr, Airliner Near-Miss, Airshow London The Judge overseeing Icon's convoluted Chapter 11 process has approved $9 million in Chapter 11 >[...]
Also: Paramotor Champ's, Electric Ultralight, ICON BK Update, Burt Rutan at Oshkosh! The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out for help in rebuilding their private runway >[...]