NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
Boeing Bell V-22 Osprey aircraft are the world's first production military tilt-rotor vehicles. It is used to transport troops, equipment and supplies for amphibious and land assaults.
The U.S. Marine Corps is scheduled to have a total of 360 Ospreys. The U.S.A.F. anticipates acquiring 50 and the U.S. Navy another 48.
V-22 Osprey projected expenses currently make it the most expensive rotor aircraft ever produced. It is anticipated that the unit cost will be reduced once the tilt rotor vehicle
is sold to other countries in sufficient quantities to bring the unit costs down. Both Britain and Japan have expressed an interest in the aircraft.
Ospreys are slated to replace the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. The CH-46 is a 1964 design and costs about US$ 18 million each.
The V-22 Osprey has had quite a number of safety issues throughout the years. During a 1992 test flight one went down killing seven aboard. There were two fatal crashes in 2000 taking a total of 23 lives.
In 2006 two Ospreys were on a trans Atlantic flight as a demonstration of their long range capabilities. One was forced down in Iceland due to engine problems. The flight was delayed while a new US $2.5 million replacement engine was flown in.
The Marine Corps say that Osprey aircraft is safe. However, they do predict that there will be more crashes, "as with any new technology rotorcraft." They say that the benefits far out weigh the negatives.
The V-22 Osprey can fly higher and faster, and is more maneuverable than any current rotor aircraft. That means it should be available for more missions.
While getting ready for their Iraq deployment, the tilt rotor aircraft experienced fuel system leaks, nose landing gear failures, flight control computer failures, and air conditioning break downs.
Ten aircraft were transported by ship to Iraq in January of 2008. They have since completed their missions. It is anticipated that the V-22 will next be deployed to Afghanistan.
On June 15, 2009 the U.S. government contracted with the manufacturer for an additional US$11 million as part of a total $25 billion program to redesign major systems of the Osprey
prone to premature failure and the purchase of 252 aircraft to complete their order.
The U.S. General Accounting Office, in June 2009, reported that over the last 1 1/2 years, including both the U.S. and Iraq, premature parts failures
has resulted in V-22 Osprey operational readiness at under minimally acceptable levels.
Due to the heat generated by the Osprey's exhaust, areas of decks of amphibious assault vessels which carry them have been buckling. The U.S. Navy says that this can eventually lead to total deck failures. As a result, in November of 2009 the
Pentagon issued a request for proposal for a light weight heat shield system capable of being installed over existing decks.
In late December of 2009 the USMC announced that due to a new program of being able to repair rather than replace parts,
the overall readiness rate of the V-22 Osprey has risen to 65%. We are told that the readiness rate
for Osprey operations in Afghanistan, to date, has exceeded 70% and may reach as high as 80%.
The picture immediately above is of the rc V-22 Osprey for sale by Rotomast, Carrolton, Tx. Its wingspan is 35". In a video on the site it is shown flying just like the actual aircraft.
We have seen some other rc V-22 Osprey projects posted in RC Groups and also on a site called RC VTOL'S. We don't have many details of these, but none appear capable of performing all the maneuvers of the actual aircraft.
The first picture below is of Norbert from Austria and his most recently built rc V-22 Osprey. It has a wingspan of 118" with 55" rotors and weighs about 37 1/2 lbs. Norbert built another rc V-22 Osprey with power by a single Webra 1.20 engine and all up weight of around 24 lbs.
The second picture down is of the V-22 Osprey ARF for sale by Ready2Fly. Its wingspan is 33", length is 38 1/2" and weight about 40 oz. Included are motors, folding counter rotating rotors, a flight battery, plus charger.
The motors are capable of rotating up to forty degrees to enable STOL flight.
The third picture below is of the rc V-22 Osprey built by Brian Cinti. It uses two Hyperfly rotor heads.
The fourth picture down is of the rc V-22 Osprey built by Tom, as seen on You Tube. It has been described as a profile model pairing 450 size motors and electronics with special mixing.
The fifth picture on this page is of the rc V-22 Osprey built by Larry Chapman.
The last picture below is of the rc V-22 Osprey RTF for sale by Banana Hobby. It has three channel control that produces helicopter-like flight with four motors and two co axial rotors. It has a length of 9 1/2" with rotors that are 12 1/2" in diameter.
For a quick video showing the start of a rc V-22 Osprey build, check out Viemo.
There is a second short Viemo video showing some more building of the rc V-22 Osprey.
RC Groups has some interesting posts you may want to check out from V22Chap and others about the complexities of building a fully functioning rc V-22 Osprey scale rc model.
If you can provide more information about rc V-22 Osprey airplanes shown on this page, we would appreciate hearing from you. Or, if you have any information on any successful rc V-22 Osprey, please email us so we can share it with everyone.
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Norbert and his rc V-22 Osprey.
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The rc V-22 Osprey from Ready2Fly.
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Brian Cinti and his rc V-22 Osprey.
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The rc V-22 Osprey profile model
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Larry Chapman and his rc V-22 Osprey.
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Banana Hobby's rc V-22 Osprey.
A thread about the rc V-22 Osprey was started by rdresch in RC Groups.
In RC Groups Shaschon posted pictures of a rc V-22 Osprey.
Pikle6 of RC Groups started a thread about wanting to build a rc V-22 Osprey.
There is a post by JUSTGLUEIT to RC Groups about his rc V-22 Osprey hovering.
Videos of a rc V-22 Osprey were posted to RC Groups by V22 Chap.
Chris.a posted to RC Universe about building a rc V-22 Osprey.
There are pictures and a description by voltman of his rc V-22 Osprey at RC Universe.
Helifreak.com has a video from Thrasymedis about his turbine powered rc V-22 Osprey.
Boeing Bell V-22 Osprey
