The Osprey Goes to War

Kerryn Offord wrote:
BlackBeard wrote:
On Oct 1, 6:11 pm, Kerryn Offord wrote:
***
Maybe no more vulnerable to being shot at.. but the effect of being hit?

Although there are no perfect survivability systems out there, the
systems on the Osprey are 1) more numerous and 2) more advanced, than
the survivability systems on the CH-46


SNIP

At least the CH-46 gets to auto-rotate if hit...

And the Osprey switches to powering both props off one engine and, in
plane mode, keeps on flying. Losing an engine while heavily loaded and
in hover would present power problems, but the pilot would still have a
chance to make a powered landing.
OTOH, if either bird loses a *prop* in hover, they're both equally
screwed. The Osprey would probably be able to survive losing one prop
in "plane" mode, whereas the CH-46 would still be screwed, but most
helicopter combat losses take place in/near LZs. so the overall effect
of the Osprey's superior survivability in this flight regime probably
doesn't shift the overall survivability numbers much. But every bit helps.

And comparing the "brand new" V-22 with the CH-46 which is how old? (And
last up-graded?) says a lot for just how good the V-22 must be...

The Osprey is intended to replace the 46s, so the comparison is not
inappropriate. Also, in hover mode the Osprey is more similar to a
CH-46 than most other helicopters due to the dual-rotor configuration,
so some comparisons are better made against the more similar airframe.

How does it compare with a modern military helicopter? Heck, how does it
compare in survivability with even a Blackhawk?

The Osprey probably has better survivability against engine hits, since
its engines are so far apart and the props are cross-connected at all
times, IIRC. A serious engine hit or prop hit while in low hover will
probably be equally bad for both airframes (although the prop
cross-connect might make a survivable landing more possible for the
Osprey), but in plane mode the Osprey probably has better odds -- the BH
might be able to autorotate (though I've heard from some pilots that the
BH autorotates about the way a B-52 glides), but the Osprey has a decent
chance of staying airborne. The Osprey lacks a vulnerable tail rotor,
though as I mentioned above it shares the CH-46's vulnerability to
single-rotor/engine loss while in hover.
Just from a perspective of geometry and aerodynamics, the Osprey
shouldn't be any more vulnerable while hovering in an LZ than the CH-46,
and probably somewhat less than the Blackhawk. Once in full "plane"
mode, the Osprey probably has somewhat superior survivability due to
higher speed, and the ability to fly on one engine. During
transition... hard to say. There might be a window of increased
vulnerability, but if so it won't be very long.