Stephen Posted December 7, 2024 Report Posted December 7, 2024 Aircraft Review - V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor XP12 Is it a helicopter or an aircraft? that is usually the first question asked about the V-22 Osprey. It's formal title is "Tiltrotor", so you would say helicopter with those massive three blades per side, but the machine can also convert to a forward flying aerodynamic winged aircraft, and then flies in that same configuration as a normal aircraft. It doesn't fly like a helicopter either with no collective to bite the air or cyclic... it is a strange machine. The failure of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis underscored that there were military roles for which neither conventional helicopters nor fixed-wing transport aircraft were well-suited. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) initiated a program to develop an innovative transport aircraft with long-range, high-speed, and vertical-takeoff capabilities, and the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) program officially began in 1981. A partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The story starts with the Bell XV-3 (Bell 200), an American tiltrotor aircraft developed by Bell Helicopter for a joint research program between the United States Air Force and the United States Army in order to explore convertiplane technologies in the middle 1950's. The XV-3 featured an engine mounted in the fuselage with driveshafts transferring power outwards to two-bladed rotor assemblies mounted on the wingtips. But flutter and that the driveshafts was carrying power from the fuselage out to the wingtip rotors, along with the gearbox and tilting mechanisms at the wingtips, they found that the concept had substantial loads placed upon them and were very heavy, as they were transferring large amounts of power and torque long distances for an aircraft power transmission system. Another XV-15 experimental aircraft introduced a major design concept advance. instead of engines in the fuselage, the XV-15 moved the engines out to the rotating wingtip pods, directly coupled to the rotors. The normal path for power was now directly from the engine into a speed-reduction gearbox and into the rotor/propeller without any long shafts being involved. There was still a driveshaft along the wings for emergency use to transfer power to the opposite rotor in case of engine failure, but that shaft did not normally carry any power loads, allowing the overall system to be lighter. The success of the XV-15 created the concept of an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. The V-22 is operated by the United States and Japan, and is not only a new aircraft design, but a new type of aircraft that entered service in the 2000s. The first of six prototypes first flew on 19 March 1989 in the helicopter mode and on 14 September 1989 in a fixed-wing mode. The third and fourth prototypes successfully completed the first sea trials on USS Wasp in December 1990. The V-22 however has had a mixed safety record, marked by several high-profile accidents, especially in its early years of testing and deployment. While the aircraft has since become an integral part of military operations, its development and operational use have been frequently marred by crashes that has raised always questions about its safety and design. This X-Plane 12 version of the V-22 Osprey is from Angle of Attack (AoA) Simulations, mostly AoA aircraft are military designs like the F-22A Raptor and F-35B Lightning ll and T-7A Red Hawk. The original V-22 Osprey for X-Plane 11 was released March 2018. Honestly X-PlaneReviews never reviewed the AOA XP11 version of the V-22. We looked at it at the time and followed it's development, but it was a very quirky aircraft with a few quibbles that needed more development (okay a lot more), these aspects now have been all done, and this is the X-Plane 12 release of the Osprey, it's an aircraft now presented in a far more completed mature form. It certainly looks the part. If anything else the V-22 Osprey is a very dramatic looking aircraft, feels odd, with those huge rotors suspended in the air, and not at all like most helicopters (okay maybe a Chinook). Its a transport machine, so more in the C-130 Hercules vein, with a couple engines lopped off, and the inner engines turned skywards. Modeling and design by AoA is very good, certainly not in the ultra X-Trident category of their high standard of finesse quality department, but the V-22 still looks very well done even impressive in X-Plane 12. Fuselage is very modern military, with nice normal raised rivets to show the construction. Panels are mostly drawn on here, but it's still well done. A lot of the developer's attention has gone towards those two Rolls-Royce AE 1107C-Liberty turboshaft engines, specially designed for the Osprey, and their complex nacelles. Blades are 38 feet (11.58 meters) long per rotor, they are are a carbon fiber and epoxy resin composite blade, built for strength, durability, and weight reduction. Detail of the exposed areas of the pod and wing are really very well done, with all the inner tilt hydraulics and mechanism are well detailed. The wing is also really well detailed with ribbing and laminar flow aerodynamics. Cockpit glass is a bit thin, the (light) reflections are there, but not pronounced, and there are no scratches or rainbow glass effects. The undercarriage is a bit basic, just the piston and extension guide, no plumbing or hydraulics to be seen. There are animations on the V-22, manually they are accessed by ↕︎ arrows... the front right door opens, first in an observer top door open position, the secondly the lower drop down walk up stairs. Also the main rear ramp, again two positions, half (for dropping loads), and also a full down ramp. There is also separate pop-out menu found on the X-Plane banner/Plugins Menu called "Options". (Support tab is the AoA email address) All the external door animations are on the graphic top, plus engine/pitot covers and tags (very nice), refueling probe, and under belly load hooks. Also on the pop-out menu is the selection of the four different variants, and each version has its own unique internal (fuel) configuration and external distinguishing elements. US Marine Corp MV-22B (default) USAF SOCOM (Special Operations Command) CV-22B US Navy CMV-22B COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) Japan Self Defense Force MV-22J Inside the V-22 it is quite cavernous at 20ft long, 5 feet wide and 6 ft high, and has a workable 430 cubic feet. The V-22 internal cargo area detail is impressive from AoA, really well done, there is also the option to add in four Marines from the menu, two forward right and two rear left... however another option for a full load of Marines would have been nice though. The internal door to the cockpit can also be opened with the top or lower sections moved separately. Into the cockpit... the instrument layout is very jet fighter military, with four Multi-Functional Displays (MFD) and one large Control Display Unit (CDU) center. There are some really nice Marine pilots, and they will swap seat positions depending on which seat you use, if you don't want one or both, then just click their helmets, and they will disappear, and the helmet(s) are hung on the side of the OHP (Overhead Panel) There is the third crew member in the Flight Engineer in the rear center seat, selected via the Menu, all crew members are very realistic and relatable to their roles. Although this a menu driven aircraft, overall there is mostly also automated processes to relieve the pilots of high workloads, so both the upper OHP and lower center console are both quite sparse in their layouts and are easy to use. hint the wipers are noted as W/W on the console keyboards. On power up, the backup instruments are activated first, then the primary instruments via the OHP "Avionics" switch. Each MFD display has 22 soft keys. The five across the top are “T” keys. The two at the bottom are Caution/Advisory and Acknowledge keys. The remaining 14; seven on the left (L1-7) and seven on the right (R1-7) are all page dependent. "T" keys include HVR (Hover Trim Key) or VSD (Vertical Situation Display) and Rotor Position Indicator (RPI) are to the left , NAV, FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared), STAT (Status) and SYST (System) Blue-sky Attitude Direction Indicator (ADI) on the upper half of the display and a 170 degree HSI style compass card is shown on the lower half. The Blue-sky can be turned off, mostly with the VID (Camera) Function. TACAN, Nav2 VOR/ILS or GPS are selectable on the NAV HVR shows you your vertical position to the ground (In the hover mode). NAV will also show the standard X-Plane map, but you can also use the pop-out the G1000 MAP panel and it's tools besides the HSI. VSD (Vertical Situation Display), is a version of the PFD without the compass card. FLIR is a camera (view) that does not have any flight information on it. STAT shows you the various system status in; FUEL, FCS (Flight Control System), ENG (Engine), ICE and ELEC (Electrical) SYST (System) has engine parameters and a full menu of options. There is also a built in PREFLIGHT "Checklist" and Flightplan Planner. As with most military aircraft there a load of various menus and options, far too many to list here, however AoA do provide two very good comprehensive manuals in a detailed User Guide and 68 page Cockpit Display Guide. The Control Display Unit’s (CDU) primary display mode is the Engine Instrument Crew Alerting System page, with dedicated Copilot and Pilot keyboards which are located below the CDU. Above are the backup Instruments that generalise the V-22s systems and PFD (Primary Flight Display). Traffic Collision Advisory System display and the CDU menus can be swapped LtoR for both pilots. The glareshield holds the Flight Control System (FCS) Autopilot, and the NAC (Nacelle) control from AUTO to MAN modes, both glareshield ends has the Remote (Radio) Frequency Indicators (RFI) that display Com1 radio Active and Standby frequencies. The SEL key will flip the active and standby frequencies around each other. Maintenance Mode One great feature is the folding of the Rotors and Wing for Carrier operations. To use the feature however is a bit of a trick to get access to the "BLADE FOLD/WING STOW selections on the pop-out Menu. The way to switch it on however requires a specific set of settings... Flaps have to be up (stowed), Power and APU has to be on for the hydraulics to do the operation... Then you go to the SYST and the MAINT MODE (R-7). The AUTO NAC (FCS) has to be set in MAN Mode and finally selecting BFWS or "Blade Fold and Wing Stow system" (R-4)... then wallah, the BFWS popup Menu should now be active. First operation is to FEATHER / UNFEATHER the blades... ... Then FOLD / UNFOLD the Blades, then you TILT / UNTILT the Nacelles to the forward position... ... Finally you can then rotate the wing assembly to the STOW / UNSTOW position. Yes it is a great feature and done really well here by AoA, in it being very authentic to the real BFWS system. On the OHP the Radio Panel is available in flight, but the panel itself is inert, in Engine shutdown mode or the Rotor Brake on, it coverts into systems situation panel, noting which systems are active. AviTab is available on the Menu... (Note: Plugin is required and the latest v0.7.1 version). It is positioned only on the right side of the cockpit, as in the V-22 the Primary Pilot is in the right hand seat, like with a Helicopter pilot, not like a fixed-wing left seat position. Both side windows can be opened (Animated) via hot-spots. Internal Lighting I hope you like GREEN? as it is very green in here, as everything is bathed in the Military night mode colour. Looks brilliant though. You can adjust the CKPT DOME main lighting as well as the SECONDARY lighting, on the Secondary switch their are two more options for NVG NORMAL, and DAY/NIGHT. Primary Lighting (Three knobs) will adjust the instrument panel and each pilot side lighting. The essential backup CDU goes white instead of green, and this is particularly well done. External Lighting There are two Landing lights built into the nose, also Navigation lights (known here as "Position") each nacelle and white rear. Two Beacon lights are set under fuselage and left upper tail light. There are two sets of "Formation" lights, also call SLIME lights, used to help identify friendly aircraft, particularly during formation flying or carrier operations at night, usually made of phosphorescent or electroluminescent materials, which emit a soft greenish-yellow glow. The main body strips are on the nacelles, upper wing and tail, but there is also the exciting option of also the separate selection of "Prop Tips" Slime lights, which looks amazing in flight with those massive rotors. Flying the V-22 Osprey Starting the Osprey is quite easy, as most of the start procedures are automated. Power (Battery) on and APU started, then set to RUN/ENGAGE to provide system power... to start the engines, then you just move the Fuel Levers to CRANK, Then START/LEFT ENGINE then finally FLY.... simple! Both rotors will turn together as they are cross-frame connected, but only the left engine is actually running... There is a second start option for an "AUTO START". This is on the pop-up Menu (top) and the aircraft has to be in the Cold/Dark state to activate the feature. Press the button "AUTO START ENGINES" and start the sequence that will go though the full start up procedures, showing you the checklist phases by text boxes lower screen. It is fully automated including the view movements. Once the "AUTO START sequence is finished, you go out of the mode via switching the "Timer" back to time (ACK) on any MFD as noted on the last text message. The last Pop-Up menu option is the "WEIGHT & BALANCE", this brings up the standard X-Plane "Weight & Balance" Menu to set up your aircraft preferences. To control the angle of the nacelles, you need to set keyboard command key or a throttle hardware switch to tilt the nacelles DOWN and back UP again. (see X-Plane in sim Settings drop down menu, Joystick or Keyboard tab, locate and assign “vector or sweep forward” and “vector or sweep aft”), I used the F11 and F12 keys. There is a manual nacelle adjuster wheel, it is on the TCL or "Throttle Control Lever", but it is a little tricky to use looking forward while flying. The Nacelle Tilt Angle Indicator (NTAI) angle display is set upper left on the PFD... 90º is straight up, 97º is backwards, and on the ground you are restricted to the (red) boundary of 60º because of those huge rotors. So is flying the V-22 Osprey the same as taking off in a Helicopter, well no, as for one there is no collective, just a throttle lever (TCL) to create the downward thrust. It is a heavy machine as well, here set at 21260 kg at Takeoff. So the V-22 does not react like a light Helicopter, or a drone for that matter, but it is closer to takeoff like a (very heavy) drone, more than a Heli. Flaps are totally automated, and move to the correct position for that phase of the flight, so there is no need to mess with the flap lever. TCL up (slowly) 90º nacelle position and the V-22 rises off the ground... any joystick inputs forward, backwards, left or right, even very small movements will take you in that direction, this HOVER mode. Press the rudder pedal down left or right and the Osprey will rotate in that direction, so low flight manoeuvres are quite easy, Helicopterish without that massive tailrotor pressure thrust. You can move forwards just by moving the stick slightly forward, but remember to keep the power on so the V-22 doesn't lose height as you start to gain speed, it's not going to be fast in this mode, so you move the nacelles now forward to 60º... You require more TCL, but your also moving forwards into a transition phase very quickly, and already moving at a speed of 100 kts+ The Osprey is extremely nice to fly, being heavy, it feels solid unlike a shaking Helicopter... There is another if quicker way to get airborne. “Jumps” are short rolling takeoffs with the nacelles rotated down just forward of the vertical. With the nacelles at 85, 80 or 75 degrees these takeoffs are called “Jump 85”, “Jump 80” or “Jump 75”. The aircraft rolls forward only a few tens of feet before getting airborne. In practise you let the park brake off and increase the TCL power... As you increase the power, you move forward only a short distance before literally "Jumping" bouncing quickly into the air, this could easily be done on a carrier, no problems... and your now flying. The technique to accelerate the aircraft into forward flight is to “bump” the nacelles forward and down using the “thumb wheel” on the inside of the TCL. (or keyboard command), as expected the ground limitation boundary is now gone in the air. The transition to forward flight is to configure the aircraft to the wings without losing height, so you move the nacelles slowly forward, but you have to be careful, as when past 30º, the nacelles will quickly rotate to 0º. You need to quickly give a little backstick and add in more power, if not the V-22 will lose height or dip very quickly, but once transitioned, you can reduce the TCL a little and you are now at around 240 kts forward speed. Notice the nose dip? you soon recover from it, the trick is to do transition more slowly and explore this change of flight parameters. But boy, the Osprey really accelerates forward once configured. The V-22 has a maximum speed 316 knots (363 mph or 584 km/h) in Airplane mode, and a Cruise Speed of 241 knots (277 mph or 446 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m). Typically your speed is in the 110-120 knots range in the hover or transition phase. Combat Radius is around 390 nautical miles (450 miles or 720 km) with internal fuel and a standard payload. And the Ferry Range is 2,100 nautical miles (2,400 miles or 3,889 km) with auxiliary fuel tanks. Service Ceiling is 25,000 ft (7,620 m) with a standard load. And you cover ground very quickly, very different from a Helicopter. And you are very aware of those massive blades only feet away from the cockpit. Autopilot is very simple to use. Select the Heading (HDG), and Altitude and just press the activation button below your selection, to go climb or descend, deactivate the ALT (Altitude) and adjust the V/S (Vertical Speed), it will reset the ALT when it achieves the set new altitude. One thing I did find in the HDG and set ALT. that the V-22 tended to slightly roll left and right? a slight touch of the joystick to counter the movement usually centered it, but it would get slightly annoying if going a distance. Another factor is that in airplane mode the V-22 doesn't turn very well, on the AP or manually, even with a fair bit of rudder to push the nose around, yes you can do a crazy 45º turn, but it still takes a fair circle to achieve the full turn manoeuvre, so you have to forward plan out any tight (wide) turns to accommodate the Osprey. The "VID" Video or “Synthetic Vision” is excellent, with a great visual of the landscape outside, you can easily fly by the instruments or in a head down mode with the amount of detail shown here. Other AoA features include "Roll to See" where in the mode, the view is rolled to the angle of the aircraft. The second is "Target Track", were as the plug-in code takes command of the pilot point of view camera in order to point the camera at a selected AI plane and follow it, keeping it in view at all times while it is in your aircraft’s forward hemisphere. Other features include Air-to Air Refuelling, 2D or 3D cockpit modes, one is a locked view, the other free. And the V-22 supports the default X-Plane slung load system. You just choose a slung load object and weight in the weight and balance menu. Navigate to the payloads folder and select one of the available OBJ files. Now is the transition phase in reverse... The Osprey loves it's speed, so you have to pull the TCL quite a way back before you lose speed. Tricky is that the NTAI does not show until you go under 220 kts, then you still have rub off speed before it will allow you rotate the nacelles at around 198 kts. A slight nose up atitude will slightly rub off the speed, but when you reach 50º up angle then the speed passes away a lot quicker. So you are now losing height and losing speed... 75º is a very nice approach speed of around 55 knts, but be aware of like in a Helicopter there is that very ineffective "Transitional Lift" zone, so you have to be very, very aware of your thrust, as the point of aerodynamic lift is replaced by thrust lift, yes you can sink, and quite quickly, but the slight annoyance is as you move the nacelles to 80º the upward thrust comes in with a bang, the trick is finding a perfect transitional balance (thrust) between the two phases. But that 80º position is a sweet spot, the nacelles are far enough forward to keep you moving in the approach... a creeping forward momentum. ... any moment you go to the straight up (90º) the Tiltrotor stops in it's tracks... I tried the MFD HVR feature... but to a point it didn't work as I expected? one was the VID was still a forward view, I expected it to be pointing downwards to show you underneath the Osprey, second, although you had a movement counter 1.2.3 - -1. -2. -3 if you went backwards or forwards, the crosshairs didn't move as much as it did on the AW-109... so it's not much help in that repect. Time to go down, unlike a Helicopter the V-22 is quite easy to hold in the hover, just gentle stick movements will correct your position... ... one great bonus you have, is that if the nacelles are put to 97º the Osprey will fly in reverse, or act like an airbrake on approach... These adjustable powerplants give you an amazing amount of control, and it is far easier than your Helicopter control, if done in a different way. So low hovers and a quiet touch landing is very easily done, no twitching or fighting the tail yaw like with a Helicopter. On the ground there is the there is an option on the menu pop-up to "Brake with Stick", or pull back on the stick to brake the aircraft (you can release the brakes as well) when taxiing or slowing down with a rolling landing, I never used this, as I use the foot pedals, but you can use in on say a vertical landing to stop the aircraft moving, handy on a Carrier ship. The V-22 Osprey is an amazing machine, but challenging to fly? no not really like in a Helicopter sense, but unique to itself is the best statement you could make... overall I love it immensely. There are no liveries with the package, but there are few you can download... CV-22B SOCOM and VMX-22 "Metallic", and the latest is the CMV-22B "Titans" livery, which is very nice. ________________ Summary Is it a helicopter or an aircraft is usually the first question asked about the V-22 Osprey. It's formal title is "Tiltrotor", so you would say helicopter with those massive three blades per side, but the machine can also convert to a forward flying aerodynamic winged aircraft, and then flies in that same forward configuration as a normal aircraft. So a bit of both. The success of the XV-15 created the concept of an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft This X-Plane 12 only version of the V-22 Osprey is from Angle of Attack (AoA) Simulations, mostly AoA aircraft are military designs like the F-22A Raptor and F-35B Lightning ll and T-7A Red Hawk. The original V-22 Osprey for X-Plane 11 was released March 2018. The original AoA for X-Plane 11 felt a little under developed, but that was a long time ago (in X-Plane sense) and here it has been completely reworked and upgraded to X-Plane 12, basically it is a different aircraft in now being very matured and far more wholesome. It needs to be because the V-22 role requires really good handing and dynamics to experience the "Tiltrotor" actions, thankfully that aspect is very well delivered here, it is a very unique flying experience and comes with excellent simulator pilot intergration. Modeling, design and detail is really good, certainly in the cargo and highly detailed cockpit, and looks far better in X-Plane 12 than XP11, and not for the obvious reasons, it just feels overall far more complete and refined. Great animations for doors external and internal, pilots including Flight Engineer and Marines in the rear, carry hooks (yes you can sling loads), refueling probe, a clever realistic Blade Fold/Wing Stow animation, and Autostart feature, standard (XP) Weight and Balance menu. Standard AoA features like Roll to See and Target Track are also included, there are also four menu selectable V-22 variants. Lighting and Sounds are also top notch. The V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor is unique, and the Angle of Attack X-Plane 12 version gives an excellent immersion into this incredible aircraft. The V-22 is unique to fly as well, and more accessible than a Helicopter, so you can fly vertical flight, and fast horizontal flight, so the Osprey combines the two skills. The V-22 becomes very, very addictive, mainly because it's flight envelope is so wide, takeoff vertically, "Jump" into the air, and still do carrier operations, the Osprey has it all, I loved it, addictive... Highly Recommended! ______________________ The V-22 Osprey XP12 by AOA Simulations is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store: V-22 Osprey XP12 Priced at US$55.00 Currently US$44.00 You Save:$11.00(20%) Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows , Mac (M1/M2 Supported), Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 495 MB Current version: 1.03 (December 3rd 2024) This aircraft is noted as a new version, to date there are no upgrade deals from the X-Plane 11 version, but that may change. ________________ Installation and documents: download for the V-22 Osprey is 446Mb and the aircraft is deposited in the "Military" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 645MBb AviTab Plugin is required for this aircraft (latest v0.7.1 version) Documents supplied are: 1-V-22 User Guide.pdf (41 Pages) 2-V-22 Cockpit Display Reference.pdf (68 Pages) 3-Enter GPS Waypoint.pdf 4-Osprey Start Checklist.pdf V-22 1.0 notes.pdf V-22 copyright.txt Documentation consists of a User guide (41 Pages), and the excellent Cockpit Reference guide (61 Pages), also provided is a Checklist (pdf) and Notes Designed by Fabrice Kauffmann and David Austin of AOA Simulations Support forum for the V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor _____________________ Update Review by Stephen Dutton 6th December 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications: Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD. Bose Quietcomfort Headphones Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.1.2 Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - KTCM - McChord AFB - Seattle - Boeing Country 10.5 by Tom Curtis (Sorry not now available) (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved Kiwiflyer 1 Quote
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