V-22 Can't Fly More Than 30 Minutes Away

V-22s are no longer barred from flying, but they are now operating with a restriction that significantly affects their ability to carry out the mission.

Ward explores what this means to the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

And as an audiobook here:

[dougpendleton]

I met an Osprey pilot that recently elected to leave the military and pursue an airline career. He did not have anything bad to say about the aircraft. However, I was stunned to learn that his TOTAL TIME as a pilot is just over 300 hours!! He is trying to build time now as a CFI.

[edwatts]

"In the meantime, as long as the war is no more than thirty minutes away..." You, sir, are a HOOT! 😂

[rmps]

Was on TONS of these when I was in Afghanistan...they were my favorite ride. CRAZY powerful. Love them. Even if they are dangerous af. RIP to all those lost in these things over the years.

[brucecthompson]

Point of Order Mooch.... The current inventory of C-2A (Reprocured) Greyhounds started hitting the fleet in late 1985. Some 39 years ago, not 60 as you mentioned. This fact is often misreported when discussing the age of the current Greyhound fleet. I am a former C-2A Aircrewman (VR-24), FRS (VAW-120) Instructor (2000+ hours) and Grumman employee. Admittedly 39 years is still aging, however, it's certainly not 60.

[johnlewis]

I was at Eglin in 98 when the Air Force was testing the V-22. We would be riding around base & see one in a solid hover at about 1000/1500 feet for several minutes at a time.

[talesoftheamericanempire]

The basic issue is the V-22 can't fly well with one engine, and sometimes not at all. All this is made worse if it lands in the dirt or sand and its proprotors churn up a tornado of sand and dirt that gets sucked into the engine intakes causing problems.


It can't land vertically with just with one engine. If one is lost, both proprotors must still turn to fly, so there is a complex composite cross shaft with 14 segments to drive the other to continue flight in the airplane mode. But if the other rotor can't turn or engine can't tilt level, it flips over in seconds and goes head first into the ground. This happened with the now admitted clutch problem.


This last crash reported an engine on fire and the CV-22 quickly plunging downward, probably because the damage didn't allow the cross shaft to drive the other proprotor. The best option is to shut down both engines and glide for a crash landing, but with small narrow wings the sink rate is four times higher than regular aircraft, so it hits very hard. But the pilot has just seconds to realize the danger and shut down both engines before he's inverted.


It can't fly with just one engine like an airplane (unless it can drive both proprotors) because the yaw is too great with engines on the wingtips and the huge proprotor can't feather to reduce drag on a dead engine.

[jwm]

It means it has a 30min divert limitation.

It doesn't mean it can only go 30 minutes from point of origin.

[helpdeskjnp]

Man, the best most concise reporter I’ve ever watched. Ward is the most trusted name in news for me!

[kevinwilliamson]

Ward, you are killing it. Us old guys really envy your access.

[jimmccormick]

"ageing c-2a greyhound"...lol- it was "ageing" in 1985, when I was

[JP-AP]

This 20-year AF veteran really enjoys your presentations.

[centex]

As a HS kid I worked a summer job on Ft. Hood in the late 80's for a company that tested things for the Army before being fielded. All kinds of equipment and gear. The Osprey didn't survive the second day. Several people were injured attempting to run up to board the Osprey in a hazardous LZ test. The rotor wash knocked men down and threw them about causing injuries.

The Army locked down with a hard NOPE/ NO GO ever since on that disaster with spinning blades and turbines.

Time has only proved the Army got that one absolutely right.

[Pichouette]

I remember back in the 1980's people talking about the Osprey replacing the CH-46 Sea Knight (I was USMC Infantry). The Osprey would have been put into service before I got out in 1994 if it weren't for the fact that it kept falling out of the sky. The 46's were old; but, I enjoyed the view and it sure beat the hell out of walking. An old saying about the 46's: When you get inside, look up. If it's leaking hydraulic fluid, that's a good sign. It means it still has some 😊.

[vicnighthorse]

I am very impressed that these don't crash a lot more than they do. I imagine that most failure modes are catastrophic.

[corsair]

NAVAIR should've just updated the C-2 when the E-2 D-models were getting introduced. While Greyhound isn't perfect, it got the job done and was largely reliable.
At the very least, update the engine and nav gear.

[Opticheli]

Hey Ward just realized from one of your older videos I was on the CVN 69 with you for the late 91 cruse. I was a plane captain for VFA-136 knight hawks out of Cecil Field. I got my blue nose on that one as well.

[ManleyArts]

As a pilot I have a long list of aircraft I would love to fly. The V-22 is at the top of my list of aircraft I do not. God bless our troops.

[stug]

Looking at the interior of an E-2, you could rip all those cabinets out and put two rows of chairs in there. Most of what the C2 carries is boxes/bags of junk and passengers. The really bulky stuff isn't all the time. You could use otherwise retired/obsolete E-2's to make up for C-2's that are retiring until the Navy finally decides what it's going to do about the V22.

I've seen pics of E-2's without their radome, unsure if they're checked out to fly like that but if they were it likely would mean you're never MTOW limited for cargo ops.

[johnsteiner]

A UH-60 pilot I know wondered why they didn't design the V-22 with its engines in the hull rather than out on the wings.

[marclovelace]

Strong visual shout-out to the 1 SOS at Kadena AB, Okinawa in the thumbnail.