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At Full Tilt: Operational Imperative Revives Tilt-Rotor Fortunes
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
By Craig Hoyle, Editor
JDW Aviation

The V-22 programme has proceeded, but at a 'go-slow' rate during 2001 before changes and a return to flight can be issued.
Photo Credit: Boeing.

The past year has been a testing time for advocates of tilt-rotor technology. While it continues to face a somewhat uncertain future, the concept is set to start moving out of the doldrums with two developmental systems due to fly within the next six months.

Western companies such as AgustaWestland, Bell Helicopter-Textron, Boeing and the Eurocopter consortium are all involved in projects, mainly collaborative efforts, to tap the potentially massive military and commercial demand for the new generation of aircraft. All are also involved in projects to overturn widespread safety concerns about the concept in the wake of the loss of three developmental Bell-Boeing V-22 Ospreys and 30 marines in fatal accidents during tests.

The current campaign in Afghanistan clearly illustrates the allure of an aircraft such as the Osprey, with its ability to take off and land like a helicopter, but then transition to gain all the benefits of conventional aircraft during forward flight. While the USS Kitty Hawk carrier is being used as a base for special forces-operated helicopters (Jane's Defence Weekly 17 October), existing aircraft lack the range, payload and speed required to adequately meet the needs of the modern warfighter, especially in a theatre as remote and challenging as Afghanistan.
(More: Janes.com News Source)
2001 © JDW Aviation.

Dan