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- We climbed into the cockpit of a V-22 Osprey - the US military tiltrotor aircraft that takes troops into combat
We climbed into the cockpit of a V-22 Osprey - the US military tiltrotor aircraft that takes troops into combat
Manufactured by Bell Boeing, the Osprey first flew in 1989 and has since been deployed by the Marines in 2007 and the Air Force in 2009 in both combat and rescue operations.
Source: Business Insider
It's about 63 feet long, about 84 feet wide when the rotors are turning, and about 22 feet tall when the engines are vertical.
Source: US Navy
It's powered by two pivoting Rolls-Royce/Allison AE1107C engines, giving the Osprey to a top speed of about 322 mph and a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet.
The rotors are also about 38 feet in diameter.
Source: US Navy
It also has a maximum range of about 990 miles and a maximum vertical takeoff weight of 52,600 pounds.
Source: US Navy
There are different variants of the Osprey, but the one we saw was an MV-22B in service with the Blue Knights squadron.
The aircraft drew quite the crowd, but the Marines let me jump the line since I only needed a minute or two inside.
Here's a shot of the cargo bay, which holds up to 24 troops or 20,000 pounds of cargo.
And here's a shot of the modern glass cockpit, with multiple display screens.
You can watch an Osprey takeoff from and land on the USS Abraham Lincoln below:
While the Osprey has faced challenges since it first flew, including several crashes (the most recent one killed three Marines), it's now generally considered one of the safest aircraft in the US fleet.
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