Crash-Prone Hybrid Copter’s New Mission: Hauling the President??? [View All]

[n2doc]

By David Axe August 31, 2011 |



It crashed four times in development, killing 30 crew and passengers. An unexplained crash during a combat mission in Afghanistan last year claimed four more lives. Despite its lethal reputation, in April the controversial V-22 Osprey tiltrotor got a high-profile new assignment: hauling cargo for the president’s entourage, starting in 2013.

Now that mission has expanded, and the Osprey will haul the entourage itself. A July solicitation by the Marine Corps asks for a company to supply VIP kits for four Ospreys. The kits include a liner to disguise the cabin’s pipes and wires, softer seats and a carpet bearing the squadron logo for the aircraft’s ramp.

Some observers see the VIP mods as a baby step towards putting the president himself in the $100-million dollar aircraft, dubbed the “Dream Machine” by one fawning writer. After an expensive false start, the Pentagon wants to buy a new fleet of presidential transports starting in 2017. The V-22 is officially a candidate.

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Or, the move could be a sign of desperation by a Pentagon quickly running out of reliable large helicopters. In other words, lacking a viable alternative, the military believes it has little choice but to assign crash-prone Ospreys to presidential-support duty, because only the 100-strong Marine Osprey force has time and airframes to spare.

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http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/08/osprey-president-entourage/