The Navy is tweaking takeoff and landing procedures to increase the cargo load of its helicopter of the future -- the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey.
Helicopter Test Squadron 21 performed nine days of tests in October aboard the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, said Naval Air Systems Command spokesman Billy Ray Brown. The team flew 25.6 flight hours, performing 69 short take-offs and minimum run-on landings. This maneuver is used to transition from forward flight to a landing when there may not be sufficient power available to sustain a hover as might be the case when the helicopter/airplane hybrid is at high gross weight.
Testing was a success in that engineers were able to complete the assessment plan without missed or canceled events, Brown said. However, in-depth analysis is still required before the maneuvers can be added to an Osprey pilot's repertoire.
Results, expected in late spring, will be used to expand the envelope for the Marine Corps and Air Force variants of the V-22, known as the MV-22 and CV-22 respectively, as well as a future variant that will be employed by the Navy.
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