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Friday, April 22, 2016

The Problem With Flying a V-22 In The Service of Our Country...



I was contacted by a V-22 pilot who is interested in flying civilian HEMS/HAA. He wanted help getting a job, and I feel obligated to help other pilots when I can, as others helped me.

As I am learning about this powered-lift "catch-22," it becomes apparent that this problem needs attention from the Federal Aviation Administration. A V-22 pilot can fly a machine that can behave like a helicopter - or - an airplane! But their skills and experience are not recognized as such.

catch-22 (a phrase from a 60's era film)
noun
  1. a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

So here's the thing. A pilot who demonstrates exceptional skill during military training - and is able fly both as an airplane pilot AND a helicopter pilot - gets credit for neither skill upon separating from military service. This will tend to discourage the best pilots from entering the powered-lift arena, and will hurt the United States' military. If V-22 time is worthless to a pilot who might want to fly for either Delta OR Air Methods, no pilot will want to do it. There aren't many, if any, powered-lift jobs in the civilian sector. 

Clearly, the FAA needs to remedy this situation. Helicopter flight requires a skill-set distinct from airplane flight. The first thing that comes to mind is dealing with the torque reaction from applying power to a rotor system. And then there is hovering... I was a Chinook pilot for 13 years. Chinooks don't react to torque, as the counter-rotating rotor systems cancel torque effects. In fact, a Chinook is so different from single rotor helicopters as to perhaps be considered a different category of aircraft... But it's not. It's a helicopter. A Chinook pilot's flight experience, gained in the military, is a marketable commodity upon separation. We may be a little slow in the toes at first but we figure out which pedal to push. A V-22 pilot is, at present, denied the ability to market her skills as either a helicopter pilot or an airplane pilot. And she has been both!

When a V-22 is hovering, it's a helicopter too. It resembles a Chinook, with a lateral rotor arrangement versus a tandem one. V-22 pilots have to learn all about the pitfalls of rotorcraft flying, like vortex-ring-state/settling with power, and retreating blade stall, and then they have to learn all about the peculiarities of fixed wing flight, like stalls and spins and minimum controllable airspeeds. 

Clearly, a V-22 pilot gets taught and tested on two separate categories of flying machine, and they get credit for neither. And this is going to mean that the only career-pilots who fly them will be the pilots who can't make the cut for a more marketable flying experience. 

I believe this is a problem that social-media can fix. Here's what to write in your emails and facebook posts to the FAA administrator...

Dear Mister Huerta, 

Please help. V-22 pilot time should count for both helicopter pilot time AND airplane pilot time, because these pilots have demonstrated that they can be both. Denying them credit for the skill-sets they have worked so hard to acquire isn't just unfair to them, it will adversely affect our military.

Respectfully...

14 comments:

  1. A V22 pilot is not qualified to fly a helicopter without training. However, a V22 pilot can easily fly an airplane without additional training. This is a simple function of the flight controls that resembles an airplane.

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    1. Hi, thanks for commenting. We think a pilot should be able to count some or all hours in powered lift as helicopter flight time. And we think that same time should be loggable as airplane time. The problem isn't the ticket it's the experience requirement. Most HEMS companies require 1500 to 2500 hours of "helicopter" flight experience. V-22 flight hours should satisfy that requirement. Differences training? Some flight checks? Sure. At present, powered lift time is not airplane or hrlicopter time. Our thinking and rules haven't kept up with what this aircraft represents - two categories of aircraft in one!

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    2. I agree with your first two statements. However, the only two differences would be pedal input with power like the author said above, and that power is applied through the collective vs a TCL. What's to say they couldn't go through a differences training course to get qualified?

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    3. They had to learn how to fly a and fix wing and then a helicopter before they ever step foot in a V22.

      How is that not helicopter training they know what a collective is.

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  2. That's not true at all. The first day you ever sit in a v22 as a student you will literally have a commercial single engine, multi engine, and helicopter airman certificate(unless you are a transition pilot, most of whom are helo pilots )

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    1. Thanks for responding. The point is that you can't log helicopter time for the hours spent flying a powered lift aircraft. Nor can you log airplane time. It's not only a rating you need, you need hours...

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    2. Thanks for responding. The point is that you can't log helicopter time for the hours spent flying a powered lift aircraft. Nor can you log airplane time. It's not only a rating you need, you need hours...

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    3. You may have your commercial tickets for SEL/MEL/RW, but as Daniel said above none of your hours will count as either category. So, none of the hours you log in a V-22 will help satisfy the 250 hour pic requirement for an ATP, even though more and more major airlines are counting V-22 time as they should. If you can't get past the FAA, you're not going anywhere. Been there, tried that. I believe the FAA is selling short the incredible skill set acquired by V-22 pilots due to outdated policies and miles of red tape.

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    4. Not entirely true. AF pilots straight from the pipeline have zero RW experience unlike their Marine counterparts

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  3. I'm the Prototype Technical Manager for the AW609. It will be certified FAA soon and will revolutionize the the civil vertical lift market.

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    1. Last I heard, there were only 80 orders. I see the practicality for offshore work, but do you think the 609 would revolutionize the EMS world as well?

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  4. I believe they are qualified to fly rotary as they train on the TH-57 to begin with, all my V-22 "sticks" were Phrog pilots initially but it is a shame that Powered-Lift guys are in this situation. Since an F-35 is Powered-Lift, where do they stand?

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    1. Air Force V-22 pilots do not go through the TH-57 program. As far as the F-35 goes, they do not deal with rotor aerodynamics like V-22 pilots do so I do not see them as being qualified for rotary ratings.

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  5. Another issue isn't just tge breakdown between rotary and fixed-wing time.They also need more hours to make the Total Time requirement. Most of the V-22 guys I know getting out have anywhere from 850-1400 hours total.

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