 |
|
| Press Release Number: E200302241 | 24-Feb-03 |
V-22 INTEGRATED TEST TEAM COMPLETES PARA-DROP DETACHMENT |
|
| The V-22 Integrated Test Team recently completed a series of tests designed to prove the Osprey's utility as an aerial delivery platform. The ITT took Osprey No. 21 on the road for the "para-drop" detachment, using the ranges around Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and, over the course of three weeks, added to the program's string of successes since the platform's return to flight last May. "The airplane worked like a champ," said Gunnery Sergeant Ollie Oliverio, lead crew chief for the detachment, "and the ITT came together as seamless as ever. Whether military, civilian, contractor, or support folks, everybody got the job done." The team logged more than 30 hours of flight time during the detachment. Specific testing included deployment bag (what's left after a paratrooper jumps using a static line) trail tests to see how they reacted in the aircraft's wake, "hung jumper" tests in both the conversion and airplane modes using dummies that weighed between 150 and 360 pounds, and containerized delivery system tests with 500- and 1,000-pound bundles dropped up to four at a time. In addition to measuring the effects of the air stream on artificial jumpers or items rolled off the aft ramp, the team evaluated the internal equipment including the rollers, guide rails and vertical retention fittings that make up the Osprey's cargo handling system. "We never had to touch a single load," Gunny Oliverio said. "Once we cut the release gate, the loads smoothly transitioned out of the airplane. The rollers performed as advertised." After the testing was complete Osprey No. 21 made a fuel stop at MCAS New River, the base that will be home to USMC V-22's in the near future. The aircrews' morale, already high in the wake of a successful detachment, got another boost as the "hometown" crowd greeted them, as described in the Jacksonville Daily News, "like heroes returning from war." Meanwhile back at NAS Patuxent River, home of the V-22 ITT, and across the country at Edwards AFB, the ITT has continued to check off test points in earnest. Osprey No. 7 has made great strides towards proving the capability of the CV-22 variant's multi-mission radar. Osprey No. 8 is nearing the completion of Phase I of the high rate of descent testing, and both the test pilots and the engineers are pleased with their findings to date. Osprey No. 10 has been proving the V-22's impressive handling characteristics in the low airspeed regime. And Osprey No. 22, the ITT's most recent acquisition and the second LRIP model in the inventory, has been undergoing test modifications and will be part of the active test force very soon. Testing in the coming months will cover a wide range of subjects including formation flying, austere conditions, mission software, and IR survivability. Caption for photo: Bundles drop out of the back of Osprey No. 21 during recent testing over Fort Bragg, North Carolina. |
|
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
