Philadelphia, Aug. 01, 1995 -- The first production-representative V-22 Osprey fuselage was joined today at the Boeing Defense & Space Group, Helicopters Division facility in suburban Philadelphia.
The aircraft, Osprey number 7, is the first of four flying aircraft and one static test article being built under the V- 22 Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) program. The V-22 is being developed by the team of Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing Defense & Space Group, Helicopters Division. EMD aircraft will be used for developmental operational testing by the services.
"The completion of this aircraft's basic airframe structure signals the validation of the Osprey's design and manufacturing concepts and tooling," said Stuart Dodge, Bell Boeing program director.
"This fuselage incorporates the lessons we learned in the Osprey's full-scale-development (FSD) phase, as well as some truly significant advances in manufacturing technology. As a result it is 1,541 pounds lighter and $2.07 million (29 percent) less expensive than the earlier FSD design.
"The extensive use of automation, Integrated Product Teams and Advanced Technology Assembly system have produced a high-quality, high-precision product and we are seeing outstanding first-time fit and finish to extremely close tolerances."
An example of the precision fit of the Osprey's parts is the final alignment of the fuselage sections. V-22 engineers have determined the sections will fit together to a tolerance of .010-inch -- equivalent to the thickness of a matchbook cover.
The fuselage was first assembled in three major pieces: the forward section, including the cockpit and avionics/electronics racks; the center section, consisting of the main cabin, landing gear and wing attachment points; and the aft fuselage that holds the rear ramp and empennage or tail attachment points.
Although some major systems were installed prior to this milestone, final installation of wiring and hydraulic lines will be accomplished before fuselage final checkout in early October. The completed fuselage will be shipped to Bell Helicopters in Fort Worth, Texas, by early December for the wing-to-fuselage mate. First flight of Osprey number 7 will occur in December 1996 in Fort Worth.
Advanced procurement for low-rate initial production, approved by the Defense Department in December 1994, will begin in 1996 with deliveries scheduled to begin in 1999. The Bell Boeing team is continuing to apply cost-and weight-saving processes to the development and manufacture of the V-22 and is approaching its average unit flyaway design-to-cost target of $29.4 million based on a production baseline of 523 aircraft over a 25-year period (1.7 per month).
The Bell Boeing Tiltrotor Team comprises Bell Helicopter Textron of Fort Worth, Texas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron, Inc. of Providence, R.I., and the Philadelphia- based Boeing Defense & Space Group, Helicopters Division, a unit of The Boeing Company of Seattle.