Categories: Aerospace

Overview of Tilt Rotor Aircraft

We had an aviation and computers club in high school. The student that led the club was very knowledgeable about all sorts of aircraft and their capabilities. I have recently been learning more about the V-22 Osprey and thought I might as well save links to the more informative videos I’ve watched. It is this exercise that reminded me of that high school club. There are many videos on the V-22 out there. The video below provides a good introduction to the V-22, perhaps the most recognizable tilt rotor aircraft out there.

The V-22 Osprey: US Most Advanced Hybrid Aircraft Ever Built

One of the things I particularly liked about the video below was that it showed engineers working on aircraft models (e.g. propellers) in SolidWorks. Here’s a screenshot of a SolidWorks model at about 14:42 into the video above.

Another interesting video on the V-22 is this one from Business Insider. I like that it presents a bit more about the operational aspects of how the marines use the V-22.

Unfortunately, there have been many fatal accidents involving the V-22 Osprey. Ward Carroll discusses this troubled history and how the program made it through to today, at which point the V-22s have been grounded.

The first video mentioned NASA designing a rotor aircraft and this is worth searching for: nasa rotor aircraft – Google Search. One result that stands out to me is NASA’s PDF on the History of the XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft from Concept to Flight. It would be interesting to read a more recent survey of the field. For example, Bell has also created the V-280 Valor, a clean sheet design based on lessons from the V-22. The US Military Defence YouTube channel has a good overview of this tilt rotor aircraft in the next video.

V-280 Is Coming: Get Ready for the Next-Generation Aircraft

The last tidbit on the V-22 is from this video, Why is the V-22 Osprey only sold to Japan – YouTube. It points out that the V-22 uses the AE 1107C engine.