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V-22 Completes At-sea Period

Osprey No. 10's initial approach to the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) demonstrated how the V-22 differs from the platforms it's 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 any resemblance between a fixed-wing "break" maneuver and the V-22's approach ended as test pilot Lt. Col. Kevin Gross, a Marine who logged combat hours in the AV-8B Harrier during the Gulf War, tilted the engines from airplane to helicopter mode. Seconds later Osprey No. 10 hovered over Spot Nine and, with the LSE's signal, smoothly touched down on the non-skid. With that, the Osprey was back at sea, the environment where the MV-22, the Marine Corps variant of the rotorcraft, will spend much of its operational life.

"It felt very good," Lt. Col. Gross said after logging his fifth landing for the day. "We didn't have any surprises. Even with a lot of wind across the deck the airplane handled with ease."

The waters nearly 100 miles east of the Maryland coastline are not the friendliest place to conduct flight tests in January, and the V-22 Integrated Test Team was handed their fair share of challenges from Mother Nature. 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 ITT'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.

"We accomplished nearly all of what we needed to do, which is impressive considering what we were up against," Lt. Col. Gross said. "This week is another in the series of successes we've had lately as we work to get the Osprey to the fleet."

Cut line for photo #1: Osprey No. 10 approaches the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) during recent shipboard testing by the V-22 Integrated Test Team off the coast of Maryland.