thedrifter
06-25-07, 07:59 PM
Official: All but one Osprey cleared to fly
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 25, 2007 18:25:21 EDT
JACKSONVILLE. N.C. — All but one V-22 Osprey placed on inspect-before-flight notice last week because of a faulty switch has been cleared to fly, a Naval Air Systems Command spokesman said Monday.
“All of the operational squadrons have been cleared,” said John Milliman, NavAir spokesman. “We’ve gone through the replacement and inspections.”
One Osprey, a test aircraft at Patuxent River, Md., will return to flight status Tuesday, Milliman said.
In all, 21 of 59 Ospreys, more than 40 of which belong to the Marine Corps, carried the bad switches, he said. The Air Force has six CV-22 Ospreys, including four training aircraft.
Officials originally thought the problem — faulty switches in swash-plate actuators, which make the prop-rotors angle when they spin in helicopter mode — would affect less than a dozen aircraft. The switch lets the Osprey’s computer system know how much hydraulic pressure is in the actuator.
The problem was discovered June 11, when hydraulic fluid leaked during a government acceptance flight near manufacturer Bell Helicopter’s facility in Amarillo, Texas.
Switches were inspected first in MV-22 Ospreys belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, which is gearing up for its first combat deployment to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, in September.
Milliman said the Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.-based squadron’s aircraft were checked and cleared of the problem by 5 a.m. Saturday.
Ellie
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 25, 2007 18:25:21 EDT
JACKSONVILLE. N.C. — All but one V-22 Osprey placed on inspect-before-flight notice last week because of a faulty switch has been cleared to fly, a Naval Air Systems Command spokesman said Monday.
“All of the operational squadrons have been cleared,” said John Milliman, NavAir spokesman. “We’ve gone through the replacement and inspections.”
One Osprey, a test aircraft at Patuxent River, Md., will return to flight status Tuesday, Milliman said.
In all, 21 of 59 Ospreys, more than 40 of which belong to the Marine Corps, carried the bad switches, he said. The Air Force has six CV-22 Ospreys, including four training aircraft.
Officials originally thought the problem — faulty switches in swash-plate actuators, which make the prop-rotors angle when they spin in helicopter mode — would affect less than a dozen aircraft. The switch lets the Osprey’s computer system know how much hydraulic pressure is in the actuator.
The problem was discovered June 11, when hydraulic fluid leaked during a government acceptance flight near manufacturer Bell Helicopter’s facility in Amarillo, Texas.
Switches were inspected first in MV-22 Ospreys belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, which is gearing up for its first combat deployment to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, in September.
Milliman said the Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.-based squadron’s aircraft were checked and cleared of the problem by 5 a.m. Saturday.
Ellie