I always thought these had a reputation for being a real life version of the fallout vertibird and unfortunately they seem to have lived up to that here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_V-22_Osprey
Wiki not updated as I type this, but this would be the 11th crash since entering service in 2007.
Honestly I expected more, but that still seems quite bad given that only about 400 have been built.
While the Osprey is the best of both worlds in terms of range, speed, and operational flexibility, it’s the worst of both worlds in terms of engine-out survivability. It doesn’t have enough wing area to glide like a plane to a safe landing, and the rotors don’t have enough inertia to preform an autorotation landing like a helicopter, unless the aircraft was already configured for vertical flight. Training pilots is also difficult, as you basically need someone who’s skilled in both helicopter and fixed-wing flight.
This shit again?
Why does it feel like the US Military has more Osprey incidents than there are car crashes involving Honda Civics?
These things make the Comanche attack helicopter look like proven technology.
Australia just scrapped theirs after a few people died in one.
They seem inherently unstable. One fan stops working at the same speed as the other and wheeeee.
I read that the rotors share a common drive shaft that runs all the way across to keep them locked in sync and so one engine can power both equally. I guess they feather the blades differentially to control bank angle?
I’m not able to find it in the video linked below right now, but if I remember correctly, helicopter programs are pretty deadly in general. The Apache and other helicopters had a bunch of crashes when they were introduced, they just have had much longer to work out all the problems. But I don’t remember what the exact failure rate comparison is, especially since you’d need to adjust for fight hours. The Osprey is definitely pretty complex with it’s folding wings and rotors.
Ospreys are easily the coolest and dumbest machines we’ve got. They need to be phased out ASAP.
