HALF decent V-22 segment on PBS

[phrogdriver]

Jim Lehrer NewsHour

Some good footage and good interviews with Marines. The interviews with the others, not so much.

My biggest beef is how a lawyer with a lawsuit against the Corps is portrayed as an expert, counterpointing some of the Corps' most experienced pilots.

Additionally, the report can be hard to take when the narrator mispronounces "helicopter."

The VRS discussion is absolute crap. Fundamental misconceptions of the nature of the "problem" and rotary-wing tactics and employment from the critics.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec07/osprey_07-18.html

 

[MIDNJAC]

Jim Lehrer NewsHour

Some good footage and good interviews with Marines. The interviews with the others, not so much.

My biggest beef is how a lawyer with a lawsuit against the Corps is portrayed as an expert, counterpointing some of the Corps' most experienced pilots.

Additionally, the report can be hard to take when the narrator mispronounces "helicopter."

The VRS discussion is absolute crap. Fundamental misconceptions of the nature of the "problem" and rotary-wing tactics and employment from the critics.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec07/osprey_07-18.html

I liked the General's response to the woman's "safety" questions. It was an interesting segment, but still kind of biased IMO. These shows never put aircraft under development in a historical perspective......just like most a/c I can think of (F-14, F-111, B-1, F/A-18, F-22, etc), there have been teething problems, and it seems like the anti-defense spending mafia conveniently likes to disregard this. And who was that former "weapons tester" they kept interviewing? It seemed as if he had no clue what he was talking about...am I wrong?

Anyone on here featured on the segment? I know there are a couple V-22 transition pilots on the board

 

[usmcecho4]

"From Sept. 29, 1994, through Jan. 20, 2001, Coyle was assistant secretary of defense and director, Operational Test and Evaluation, in the Department of Defense, and is the longest serving director in the 20-year history of the office. In this capacity, he was the principal advisor to the secretary of defense on test and evaluation at DOD...

As director, Operational Test and Evaluation, Coyle had responsibility for overseeing the test and evaluation of over 200 major defense acquisition systems. This included reporting to the secretary of defense, and to Congress, on the adequacy of the DOD testing programs, and on the results from those testing programs. Coyle was called upon regularly to testify before Congress and to brief Congressional staff on the status of major defense acquisition programs..."

http://www.cdi.org/staff/staffinfo.cfm?StaffID=60

Semper Fi,
usmcecho4

 

[MIDNJAC]

^^ so I'm wrong

 

[Flathatter13]

The media consistantly likes to point out the failures of aircraft rather than what they are doing to move us forward in technology.

I have had a chance to spend some time out at Amarillo with Bell and while I will be the first to admit the V22 or the MV-22 varient that I was involved with is not the "end all / do all" that some people in the military try to make it out to be it is an improvement over some systems currently employed.

If memory serves me correctly the F14 crashed during development, the F18 destroyed an A4 chase plane during weapons release trials, the B1 had a lot if issues with terrain following and wing sweep, and the F22 has just an unending list, aka the cockpit refusing to open in Tyndall that resulted in it having to be cut open around the pilot, the wing spars being made incorrectly and thus having a shorter life expentancy, and best of all lossing the majority of their onboard INS systems when they recently deployed to Guam due to a Lockheed software glitch that had them diverting to Hawaii.

Anything that is ever going to be "cutting edge" is going to have just as many issues. The best that you can hope is to get them resolved reasonably and end up with the airframe the designers invisioned.

 

[Flathatter13]

Here is the link on the stuck cockpit, I think everyone has heard or at least made fun of the INS dump already.

http://www.flightglobal.com/article...usafs-new-135m-f-22a-raptor-after-canopy.html



I misquoted it's location was at Langley not Tyndall.

 

[Lawman]

Im surprised nobody has mentioned the TFX project (F-111) yet in terms of teething problems.

-4 Aircraft lost (3 during Combat Lancer in Vietnam) due to problems directly related to the horizontal stab.

-Extreamly complicated and unreliable electronics issues due to the nature of them being brand new at the time

-Cost overruns due to the unfortunate idea of mandating a joint program between the Air Force and Navy though much of this was negated when you look at how much of the R&D directly aided the F-14 development

Yet it ended up being a Real success once those problems were overcome.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Im surprised nobody has mentioned the TFX project (F-111) yet in terms of teething problems.

-4 Aircraft lost (3 during Combat Lancer in Vietnam) due to problems directly related to the horizontal stab.

-Extreamly complicated and unreliable electronics issues due to the nature of them being brand new at the time

-Cost overruns due to the unfortunate idea of mandating a joint program between the Air Force and Navy though much of this was negated when you look at how much of the R&D directly aided the F-14 development

Yet it ended up being a Real success once those problems were overcome.

see post #2

 

[phrogdriver]

The AV-8B is still having teething problems after 30 years of service.

Also, the media represent aircraft readiness rates without any context. The story quotes an FMC rate of 68% as if that's some travesty. That's not stellar, but it's pretty decent, considering, and they make it sound horrible, not comparing it to other airframes, and not mentioning that not being FMC doesn't mean one can't fly.