PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., March 17, 1997 -- The first Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft built to production standards was delivered Saturday, March 15, to the V-22 Integrated Test Team at the Patuxent River Naval Air Warfare Test Center in Maryland, following a flight from the Bell Helicopter Textron plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 4-hour, 15-minute ferry flight covered 1,075 nautical miles and included a stop in West Memphis, Ark., and another in East London, Ky. Marine Corps test pilot Maj. Bill Wainwright and Bell Boeing V-22 chief test pilot Tom MacDonald left Bell at 08:05 a.m. CST and arrived at Patuxent River at 4:10 p.m. EST.
The V-22 is being developed for U.S. Marine Corps combat assault, Special Operations Command long-range exfiltration and U.S. Navy combat search and rescue missions.
The Bell Boeing Tiltrotor Team comprises Bell Helicopter Textron of Fort Worth, Texas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron, Inc., and Boeing Defense & Space Group, Helicopters Division of Philadelphia, a unit of The Boeing Company.