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From: dnwiebe@cis.ohio-state.edu (Dan N Wiebe)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: V-22 Osprey
Message-ID: <1991Apr10.024157.20540@amd.com>
Date: 9 Apr 91 15:30:13 GMT
Sender: military@amd.com
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
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From: dnwiebe@cis.ohio-state.edu (Dan N Wiebe)


Eric Anderson writes:

>Max mission radius:	660 nmi
>Max mission endurance:	3.9 hrs
?
>The last two figures are footnoted to the effect that they hold for vertical
>take off, [...]

As a clarification, I believe it's the case that the Osprey, unlike the
Harrier, can *only* take off vertically.  It looks to me from illustrations
like the rotors are big enough that they can't be spun in forward-thrust
mode without hitting the deck.

Knowing next to nothing about the V-22, I would suggest in theory only
that A) horizontal takeoffs might be possible if you dug a deep gouge on
either side of the catapult track to accomodate the rotor sweep, and
B) without the gouges, you might be able to tilt the engines just a bit
forward (45 degrees, maybe 60) and do a short rolling takeoff like the
Harrier can.  Given that this last is possible, would it result in
significant fuel savings for a propeller-driven craft, considering that
probably some percentage of its mission will be spent hovering anyway
(otherwise, just send an Orion)?

Dan Wiebe