via nwfdailynews.com
HURLBURT FIELD — The oldest CV-22 Osprey in the Air Force’s inventory flew its last sortie Thursday morning.Wait.
The 12-year-old CV-22, called an Additional Test Asset (ATA), is a specialized version of the aircraft designed to test new software and hardware modifications for the fleet.
It is expected to go on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio by the end of the year.
“This aircraft has done just about everything from structural testing to software testing to (radar) testing to electronic warfare testing,” said retired Lt. Col. Tom Goodnough, a test pilot for Air Force Special Operations Command. “Everything that’s been released into an operational aircraft has gone through this aircraft first.
“Because it was one of the early pre-production aircraft, it’s become a unique maintenance challenge,” Goodnough said. “It isn’t the same as all the other CV-22s. It has its own logistics and because it has such advanced software, the maintainers don’t always have the technical orders up to date because it hasn’t been released operationally.”
What?
It has its own logistics and because its such advanced software they don't have the technical orders up to date so they have to retire it????
Bullshit meter is spiking.
AFSOC rode CH-53J's hard...till the rivets were popping out and this plane is being put out to pasture now? Something doesn't smell right with this story.
Yeah, I had the same reaction too. Twelve years? Hell, that's just long enough to get broken in as a helicopter. All of the MH-53Js (and later MH-53Ms) I flew were built in the late 1960s. Even the AFSOC Hueys were old. The UH-1N I flew my Fini flight on in 2012 was tail-number 69-6554...which means it was built in 1969 and flying combat mission for MACV-SOG by the time I was born in 1970.
ReplyDeleteAnd buying six tilt-rotors won't give you anything much. That squadron in the article (8th SOS) used to have 8 aircraft for a long time. That allowed them to schedule three lines a day (8 total - 2 in depot - 2 or 3 down for MX = 2 or 3 operational plus one spare), or the equivalent load of two CH/MH-53s. What Israel is going to do with that meager addition I have no idea.
CSAR for an Iranian or Syrian airstrike / special forces insertions and extractions.
DeleteThis was the oldest V-22 (D0007) still in the air all the Marine V-22 comparable to this one, were used for live fire testing, crashed or are in a museums. The was also the first aircraft that was considered a non-"FSD" airframe it was an "Additional Test Airframe".
ReplyDeleteMV-22 FSD, c/n D0006, aircraft not-completed airframe used for live-fire tests
USMC BuNo 163915 c/n D0005 w/o crashed on first flight, 11Jun91, airframe destroyed by fire, no fatalities
USMC 163914 c/n D0004 w/o Crashed near MCAS Quantico, VA, 20Jul92, 3 military crew, 4 civilian passenger fatalities
USMC 163913 c/n D0003 Preserved at the American Helicopter Museum, West Chester, PA
USMC 163912 c/n D0002 23Mar99 retired from flight test and used for live fire testing
USMC 163911 c/n D0001 preserved at MCAS New River, NC.
The oldest V-22 is now being used structural load work:
USMC 164940 c/n D0008, EMD flight test, ff 23Aug97 NAS Patuxent River / Towers Field HX-21 NAS Pax River, Structual Loads testing for the V-22 Flight Test Program
164942 10 12 Feb 2003 Not Reported; test aircraft overstressed (photo); scrapped
165433 11 08 Apr 2000 Not Reported; hard landing at Marana, AZ; scrapped 04 Apr 06
165434 12 Unknown Not Reported; scrapped 02 Oct 07
165436 14 08 Apr 2000 Reported; crashed after roll over at Marana, AZ; 19 killed
165437 15 Unknown Not reported; overstressed; GIA at New River, NC; photo
165438 16 Unknown Not reported; overstressed, GIA at New River, NC; photo
165439 17 Unknown Not reported; overstressed; scrapped 13 Sep 2004
165440 18 11 Dec 2000 Reported; crashed near New River, NC; 4 killed
165441 19 Unknown Not reported; overstressed; GIA at Pensacola FL
165442 20 Unknown Not reported; overstressed; stored at NAVAIRSYSCOM
D0009 Is not the old USAF CV-22 Suspect when it is time for PDM is will join D0007.
Solomon will feed you to his hogs for pointing out his stupidity.
Deleteyou're showing fear boy. i never said i had hogs. i said i know where herds of wild hogs roam. those are the ones i was going to feed you to if you kept up your silliness. besides, while momma boar is chewing on your intestines i can kill the piglets and have a freezer full of baby back ribs (get it...piglets...baby back ribs???)
DeleteSolomon, I highly suggest you read a book called "Dream Machine"
ReplyDeleteIt is an in-depth looks at the V-22 aircraft and development history, going all the way back to the 1950s tilt-rotor experiments by Bell. This particular V-22 is mentioned in the book as a prototype that was never supposed to be used for ANYTHING other than testing out stuff. Now that it's finished, it will most likely head off to a museum.