wrbones
05-16-03, 05:56 PM
http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21478~1394296,00.html
Pentagon buys 11 new Ospreys
Government: $817M purchase shows faith in problem-fraught program.
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Pentagon on Thursday ordered 11 new V-22 Osprey aircraft for $817 million, giving a boost to a program plagued by deadly crashes .
The program had been in danger of being eliminated after 23 Marines died in crashes during testing in 2000. The aircraft's maker, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter unit, had to redesign parts of the aircraft to fix hydraulic and other problems.
The Osprey has changed wings and propellers that can tilt upward so the craft can take off and land like a helicopter, then tilt forward so it can fly like an airplane. The Marine Corps wants to use the Osprey as a replacement for its aging transport helicopters. The Air Force and Navy are interested in using the Osprey, too.
A December 2000 crash in North Carolina that killed four Marines was blamed on a design flaw that allowed electrical and hydraulic lines to rub together while the rotors were being tilted, causing the hydraulic lines to burst.
The lines have been rerouted to solve that problem.
The deadliest crash was blamed on an aerodynamic condition that happened during an unusually rapid descent. Nineteen Marines died in that April 2000 crash near Tucson, Ariz.
The Pentagon ordered another round of testing after the redesign, and officials have said those tests have gone well. The new Ospreys will be built in Ridley Park, Penn., and Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas.
Pentagon buys 11 new Ospreys
Government: $817M purchase shows faith in problem-fraught program.
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Pentagon on Thursday ordered 11 new V-22 Osprey aircraft for $817 million, giving a boost to a program plagued by deadly crashes .
The program had been in danger of being eliminated after 23 Marines died in crashes during testing in 2000. The aircraft's maker, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter unit, had to redesign parts of the aircraft to fix hydraulic and other problems.
The Osprey has changed wings and propellers that can tilt upward so the craft can take off and land like a helicopter, then tilt forward so it can fly like an airplane. The Marine Corps wants to use the Osprey as a replacement for its aging transport helicopters. The Air Force and Navy are interested in using the Osprey, too.
A December 2000 crash in North Carolina that killed four Marines was blamed on a design flaw that allowed electrical and hydraulic lines to rub together while the rotors were being tilted, causing the hydraulic lines to burst.
The lines have been rerouted to solve that problem.
The deadliest crash was blamed on an aerodynamic condition that happened during an unusually rapid descent. Nineteen Marines died in that April 2000 crash near Tucson, Ariz.
The Pentagon ordered another round of testing after the redesign, and officials have said those tests have gone well. The new Ospreys will be built in Ridley Park, Penn., and Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas.