By Ward Carroll, NAVAIR (V-22) Public Affairs Officer

The V-22 Integrated Test Team conducted Shipboard Suitability Phase IVc for ten days beginning on November 12. This was the fourth and final underway period for the ITT since the program’s return to flight in May of 2002. Phase IVc’s successful completion was an important step on the path toward the Osprey’s operational evaluation early next year.

The primary objective of this phase was to complete interaction testing between a V-22 parked on the flight deck and another V-22 hovering in front of it. Additional test objectives included flight envelope expansion for all port side landing spots aboard the LHD, developing a night short takeoff envelope, and evaluating the latest flight control software version.

“The team was able to get a lot done during our time underway,” said Bill Geyer, the ITT’s lead shipboard suitability engineer. “The data we gathered will help us close the book on MV-22 shipboard developmental test. We’ve given the operational testers and, in turn, the fleet the tools for success at sea.”

While the ITT was busy working on the Wasp’s flight deck, a group of maintainers from VMX-22, the V-22 operational test and evaluation squadron based at MCAS New River, were in the hangar bay conducting maintenance demonstration testing. Tests included removing both engines, jacking the aircraft and cycling the landing gear, and removing prop-rotor hubs and blade assemblies. The VMX-22 team’s findings will serve them well during the squadron’s upcoming operational evaluation.

Geyer was quick to attribute the ITT’s success to their hosts. “The Wasp was excellent,” he said. “The bridge team went out of its way to get us the winds we needed, and the Air Department was always willing to go the extra mile to get the job done for us. Overall, it was the best experience I’ve ever had at sea while conducting tests.”

Caption for photo: V-22s conduct the final series of developmental tests aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1) steaming off the Maryland coast. (Photo by PH1 Theresa Ellison)