V-22 enters full production

[alert5]

The U.S. Department of Defense Acquisition Board has given the go-ahead to begin full-rate production of the V-22 Osprey.

Bell will deliver 360 aircraft to the Marines, 50 to the U.S. Air Force and 48 to the Navy.

Current low-rate production of 11 aircraft per year will increase up to 48 aircraft.

http://www.alert5.com/2005/09/pentagon-gives-osprey-production-go.html

 

[jamnww]

About d@mn time...be glad to get it and see it in about 5 - 10 years...

 

[phrogdriver]

Try NEXT year. HMM-263 has already turned over their CH-46s.

 

[vvmountainvv]

by the way, the first SNA's to complete the osprey pilot training syllabus are getting winged today at NASWF. they will be the first brand new wingers to fly it as far as i know. congrats to them.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Is that an option for Navy SNA's too, or just the Marines as of yet?

 

[Fly Navy]

There are still a large amount of "Osprey's are death traps" people out there. No matter what facts you present them, they still go back to years ago when it was a different bird.

I think it's a bad a@@ aircraft.

 

[jamnww]

Try NEXT year. HMM-263 has already turned over their CH-46s.

I was thinking along the lines of when I finish training and there are enough 46s changed over where I will see them a lot more...

 

[jamnww]

Is that an option for Navy SNA's too, or just the Marines as of yet?

Just Marines at this point, I think the Navy is thinking mainly about the 60 right now and maybe the 22 much farther down the road...

 

[kb8018]

Yep, they are the first 4 to get winged through the tiltrotor syllabus

 

[Lawman]

There are still a large amount of "Osprey's are death traps" people out there. No matter what facts you present them, they still go back to years ago when it was a different bird.

I think it's a bad a@@ aircraft.

Funny how once an aircraft gets that title it almost never gets away no matter how good it comes out. Anybody else remember the Early Blackhawk years :icon_smil .

 

[Fly Navy]

Goes back further than that... CH-46 was (is?) a crash monster. Can we say F-14 prototypes?

 

[Marine4life]

Not to mention the YF-16 and the AV-8.

 

[TurbosaurusRex]

I spoke with a Master Sergeant from New River (good friend of my parents) who says they're CURRENTLY training Air Force and Navy pilots along with the Marines. Since I haven't heard of or seen any Navy SNA's selecting V-22's out of Primary, I'm pretty sure they must be senior 0-3's and 0-4's. Anybody else heard anything like this?

 

[phrogpilot73]

Not to mention the YF-16 and the AV-8.

Ahh, the North Carolina lawn dart... Got a bad rap actually, when it first came out they only had test pilots flying it, so their mishap rate was REALLY low. Then they figured, hey - it can hover - let's throw helo guys in there. Then there mishap rate went through the roof because of CFIT. Numbers can be deceiving.

 

[Fly Navy]

F-16 also has the title of North Carolina Lawn Dart, doesn't it?