Israel is continuing to evaluate a possible acquisition of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with fresh details having emerged about the experience gained by two of its helicopter pilots in flying the tiltrotor type.
The Israeli air force magazine has released parts of a report written by senior helicopter pilots, identified only as Lt Col Avi and Lt Col Nimrod, who flew the US Marine Corps' MV-22 in the USA during 2011 and 2012.
During their assessment, the pair flew the type in conditions ranging from daylight to pitch darkness, and during dust landings and operations in other extreme conditions. They were accompanied by Israeli technical experts, who also completed a thorough evaluation of the V-22 system.Avi, a Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter pilot at the Israeli air force's flight test centre, pointed out several factors with the tiltrotor concept that might challenge some pilots.
"The plane is naturally energetic. The accelerations are literally breathtaking and the mid-stage in which the plane transitions from a vertical standpoint to a horizontal one is problematic as well," he says.
"The pilot uses a control stick and a system that is similar to a throttle. In one standpoint, the control stick serves to determine altitude while the 'throttle' serves to determine speed. In the other standpoint, each of them serves the opposite role. In the mid-stage you feel like you're losing control of the plane. I imagined that the fly-by-wire system would function more smoothly, but discovered that in some cases we needed to intervene."
However, Avi says that in all other areas, the system surpassed his expectations. "One of the biggest problems that helicopter pilots have when flying a plane with fixed wings is stalling", he explains. "On regular planes it's very easy to lose control, while on the V-22 you need to try very hard to stall."
