I do agree with V22 in IN.
But my doubt is about IAF's requirement. It certainly provide advantages over existing helis. v22 is hybrid of heli & plane. It do vertical take-off & landing and achieve speed upto 400-500km/h easily.
But V22 rotor less than half of Chinooks rotors, means area of wings is less than 4th time of any conventional heli of its weight. So have doubt real doubt over its hovering capability at higher altitude especially when it comes to Himalayan area where air is too rare. However it can fly higher and par-drop(parachute) soldiers but than what is its real benifit over C130 which we recently buy or over An32. Its payload is also less than any heli/aircraft, demand huge money and fuel for operations.
As vortex ring state problem is too dangerous in V22. I have real doubt over IAF's version ( I also insist for future Helicopter development around world especially Mil X1), which also reduce V22 advantage by huge leap.
The vortex ring state problem is neither unique to the Osprey nor is it new.
For those who do not know what is VRS...
Vortex ring state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In forward flight, there is no upward flow (upflow) of air in the hub area. As forward airspeed decreases and vertical descent rates increase, an upflow begins because there are no airfoil surfaces in the mast and blade grip area. As volume of upflow increases, the induced flow (air pulled or "induced" down through the rotor system) of the inner blade sections is overcome and the blades begin to stall near the hub. As the inner blade sections stall, a second set of vortices, similar to the rotor tip vortices, form in the center of the rotor system. The inner set of vortices decreases the amount of lift being produced and causes an increase in sink rate. In an accelerated condition, the inner and outer vortices begin to feed each other to the point where any increase in rotor blade pitch angle increases the interaction between the vortices and increases the rate of descent. In this state, the helicopter is operating in its own downwash, descending through descending air. The failure of a helicopter pilot to recognize and react to the condition can lead to high descent rates and impact with terrain.
Helo pilots are trained to recognize VRS, how to avoid getting into, and how to get out of. Basically, even single digit km/h forward speed will prevent VRS from forming.
The Osprey's critics are over the top. The Osprey is essentially a fixed wings aircraft with some rotary wings capabilities. A major cause of developmental accidents came from the fact that they had fixed- and rotary- pilots demanding cockpit configurations that are well known to each, even when there were test pilots who can fly both, each type of pilot do have a favorite aircraft and accustomed to specific controls configuration.
Difference between fixed-wing aircraft and a rotary wing aircraft. | Aerolink - Pilot school in Barcelona
These are two completely different aircrafts, and it is important to know and understand the difference so that you can decide what kind of piloting job you would like you have.
For a helo, forward momentum is achieved by tilting the entire rotor blade assembly while it is already spinning to provide direct lift. In other words, for forward flight, the helo is the most inefficient aircraft type in the world. Even the blimp is more efficient. The bulk of thrust is directed downward to keep the aircraft in the air while a minor of that bulk is pointing to the rear, via that tilt, to provide some rearward thrust.
This is called the cyclic control...
Helicopter flight controls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cyclic control is usually located between the pilot's legs and is commonly called the cyclic stick or just cyclic. On most helicopters, the cyclic is similar in appearance to a joystick in a conventional aircraft. The control is called the cyclic because it changes the pitch angle of the rotor blades cyclically. That is, the pitch or feathering angle of the rotor blades changes depending upon their position as they rotate around the hub so that all blades will change their angle the same amount at the same point in the cycle. The change in cyclic pitch has the effect of changing the angle of attack and thus the lift generated by a single blade as it moves around the rotor disk. This in turn causes the blades to fly up or down in sequence, depending on the changes in lift affecting each individual blade.
The result is to tilt the rotor disk in a particular direction, resulting in the helicopter moving in that direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic forward, the rotor disk tilts forward, and the rotor produces a thrust vector in the forward direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic to the right, the rotor disk tilts to the right and produces thrust in that direction, causing the helicopter to move sideways in a hover or to roll into a right turn during forward flight, much as in a conventional aircraft.
This is completely different for a fixed wings pilot. When he push the stick forward, he does not go forward but go into a dive. He is already in forward motion. When he pull on the stick, he climbs or gains altitude, not lose forward speed and momentum but keep the same altitude.
This and many other differences in controls are incorporated into the Osprey and control engineers must accommodate them all. Pilots who are rated for both fixed- and rotary- wings do not have both types of controls
AT THE SAME TIME. But now with the Osprey, how do you design a control that can switch between tilting the rotors and elevators at the appropriate time? Do you have two sticks and demand the pilot changes them in flight, especially when he is under combat stress? Do you have the left pilot's control the aircraft in fixed-wing mode and the right pilot's control the aircraft in rotary-wing mode?
Autoration?
The Osprey is not supposed to autorotate
AS WELL AS the helo because its rotors are well off centerline. So if autoration have a differential between rotor speed, autorotate and its landing will not be as effective. But even helo pilots do not want to autorotate if they can help it. Since there is an F-35 version that can take-off vertically -- like a helicopter -- may be we should impose the autoration criticism on the F-35.
When you examine the Osprey from a purely engineering challenge, it is not that difficult to suspect its critics have something other than engineering in mind.