The crash in Marana, just NW of where I live, was not a demo for brass. The mission was flown out of MCAS Yuma to the Marana Airpark to fast rope Marines to do a "field take down". It was an operational test, it's how you learn how to employ the machine.Originally Posted by Hiroshima
Same reason they loaded out the Bradley or the Striker with passangers. Product demos for the Brass. When the Brass want to see how this **** looks without bullets flying in their direction, they order up a demo.Why did they have to load the pre-production V-22 with 23 humans?
If it was weight stress testing they could have used potato sacks as far as I'm concerned
The very sad fact is that with new technology, especially in aviation, there is always the loss of life, but you continue on. You better that technology, just don't give up. Look at early jet technology, hell look at the first airplanes. Should the Apollo missions have been completely cancelled after Apollo 1? The P-51 Mustang was a POS, but they improved it, and it became the best fighter of World War II. The F-16 suffered many crashes early on but it was improved, etc etc etc. I am getting ready to head back to MCB Quantico to start my career as a 2nd Lt and I would ride in the MV-22 Osprey any day.
There was an article in Wired a few months back on the V22, it's development, problems, and the things they've done to fix those problems. Took forever but it looks like it might be a good aircraft.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/osprey.html
good read JKD
I truly hope they fixed those problems, thats all I ever heard about that aircraft and alot of people died because of them.
i really hope they fixed those problems so no one else will have to die test flying it
wasnt the marine corps gonna mount a gun on the rear ramp?
sure why not, it would basically be the same mount as the CH-46's
The other crash in 2000 occured when it crashed into the Potomac river while being watched for a demonstration by the brass, needless to say, they were less than impressed.
yea, and a cannon in the nose under the refuelling probe.
Well said Aocbravo. If a crash during testing was insurmountable then the armchair generals would have had the b-17 cancelled.
...and as has been pointed out many times but appeared again earlier in the thread.... the v22 ain't a 'replacement' for the marines helicopters. Its an addition with a specific role (which involves its higher speeds and range)
Well, it is a replacement for the CH-46, but not for the CH-53, as some people seem to believe. I'm sure the Corps recognizes that the Osprey can't even come close to matching the cargo-carrying ability of the Stallion, which is why they're going to upgrade their CH-53E's to the 53X.
exactly.... but in every thread some one tries to generalize that it will replace and do the functions of all the corps helo's. It won't and it ain't meant to (thus the specific mission).
V-22's will not be hauling thousands of marines to landing beaches in lieu of helo's... but they probably will eventually be used to rescue other marines or support embassies in trouble etc...
and I am not an authority on marines, but a quick search shows that several sources show that the marines are looking for two replacements for the ch-46. One is the v-22 and the other is a helo replacement yet to be named.
"Several helicopter alternatives to fulfill the
requirements of the MLR ORD are being considered by the
Marine Corps. These aircraft include upgraded versions of
the CH-46, CH-60, CH-53, EH-101, AS-332, CH-47, and a new
production helicopter. "
And the navy has been replacing its ch-46 helos with the mh60 helo since 2002 in amphib operations. So it appears there are alternatives to the ch-46 other than the v-22...
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/disp...?story_id=6671
Still think its an addition
yes its an adition and it should be a good one if they got allt he problems fixed.
Considering the V-22 has a better safety record than the Blackhawk, I wonder why so much hate.
It had some issues, as any revolutionary technology will, and it cost some Marines their lives, which is tragic. But this system could change the way the Marine Corps fights wars.
im just curious is this safety record for the blackhawk from training and testing or from combat?
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