From The Archives: V-22 - The Prospects Now

Aviation Week & Space Technology’s May 7, 1990, issue featured an extensive feature package on the U.S. Marine Corps’ troubled V-22 tiltrotor. 

The cover depicted the fourth V-22 prototype being flown by Boeing Helicopters test pilots Dick Balzer and Jim Lindsey during a test flight conducted over the company's southern New Jersey test range. 

The dedicated avionics development/demonstration aircraft was shown in U. S. Marine camouflage colors, while the aircraft was marked with high-visibility orange stripes for test purposes. (Boeing Helicopters photo by Jimmie T. Langdon.) 

Planned as the replacement for the the Boeing CH-46 for Marine Corps amphibious assault missions, the Bell-Boeing aircraft teetered on the brink of cancellation, with then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney in 1989 recommending the program be terminated because of its high cost and the limited mission for the aircraft.

Read the full article on page 44 'Slower Production New Studies Are Key To Survival Of V-22'.

See the cover image on the May 7, 1990 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology.

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