Military Officer - January 2007 - (Page 55)

Vortex Ring State The V-22 Arizona crash in 2000 was found to be a result of a phenomenon known as vortex ring state (VRS). “It’s not unique to the V-22; it’s something that can happen to any rotary-wing aircraft,” says Capt. Drew Norris, USMC. “The problem arises when you’re going too slow forward and descending too fast vertically. You’re descending into dirty air — into your own ‘propwash’ — and the rotors have nothing to grip.” Extensive testing after the incident (in which test pilots repeatedly attempted to induce VRS by operating well outside the flight envelope) proved that the Osprey actually was less susceptible to VRS than other vertical-lift aircraft, says Norris. Nevertheless, audible and visual warnings were incorporated into the flight control system to warn the pilot if VRS was imminent, and a procedure to escape the phenomenon was added to the flight manual. Pilots now are taught to tilt the rotors forward (by pushing the nacelle-control thumb wheel forward for two seconds) and add power, allowing the aircraft to exit the turbulent air that causes VRS. Flight simulators provide handson learning and require less fuel and money. A line of Ospreys (below) warms up before joining a group of 16 others in flight. control that allows me to maneuver the aircraft and put it exactly where I need it. Of course,” he adds, “I can’t do it without the pilot’s permission.” The rear of the plane is also where the ship’s gun will be located. “It’s a 240 Golf 7.62 mm machine gun, rampmounted on a swiveling pivot,” says Norris. “We’re not doing offensive missions, so the gun is just to keep the enemy’s head down while you’re ﬂying away.” A belly-mounted GAU machine gun that would provide 360-degree coverage might be in the airplane’s future, possibly along with a chin gun. V-22 U. A complex aircraft needs a robust training program, and the V-22’s certainly meets that criterion. The New River Osprey training facility boasts ﬁve fully immersive motion simulators and a classroom simulator where pilots can watch each other’s responses to induced mechanical failures and other undesirable events. Maj. Jim Kessler, USMC-Ret., spent 20 years ﬂying the CH-46 at New River and now spends his days teaching incoming pilots to operate the V-22. Until his retirement in 1997, Kessler worked to prepare New River for the Osprey and ended up with about 100 hours in an early version of the PHOTOS: RIGHT, LANCE CPL. JEFFREY A. COSOLA, USMC; TOP, FLIGHT SAFETY INTERNATIONAL/USMC simulator. That experience led him to his current training position. It takes about 30 hours for a trainee to be minimally qualiﬁed for ﬂight, says Kessler. “The whole syllabus from the basic level to becoming a V-22 copilot is about 100 hours, including both simulator and ﬂight time,” he notes. “Because the plane is fairly stable in a hover, it doesn’t take pilots very long to learn.” But a pilot must ﬁrst unlearn the automatic responses developed while ﬂying helicopters. “The difference is that you’re really ﬂying two completely different airplanes. With a helo, the ﬂight control’s power is up and down and the airspeed is controlled with your stick position forward and aft. In an airplane it’s the exact opposite: When you want to go up and down you pull back and forth on the stick, and when you want to go faster, you push power. So you have to learn to transition between those two modes of ﬂight. If you’re transitioning from another aircraft, it takes about 10 hours to unlearn those responses.” Will all the training and years of development pay off with an aircraft that has yet to see its ﬁrst taste of combat? Even supporters agree that the V-22 must prove itself under ﬁre. In August 2006, two MV-22Bs from New River made the aircraft’s ﬁrst-ever transatlantic ﬂights, demonstrating a capability the CH-46 helicopter lacks. The 4,000-mile trip in challenging weather was just the beginning. MO JANUARY 2007 MILITARY OFFICER 55

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - January 2007

Military Officer - January 2007 Contents From the Editor From the Chairman Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Osprey Rising? Battlefields of the Great War I Resolve ... New Mission Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Member Books Encore

Military Officer - January 2007

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