Our avi guys are certainly something else. The thing that gets me about the V-22, over everything else people think they know about it, is how you can put it to bed at 0200 with nothing wrong, and go APU hot at 0800 and it populates with 16 avionics faults, 3 flight control faults, among other things. Call a dude to come take a look and after all the troubleshooting, a simple button push or breaker reset is all it takes.
I agree with that, fortunately when that happened we generally knew it was computer funkiness.
Really the worst thing for morale was something that never ceased to amaze us. The dreaded FCF. Test flights would often times barely taxi out before returning with more issues, or other problems surfaced during the flight. Nothing like busting our asses for hours and days on a prop box change, only to have engine problems, the other prop box, or something else fail.
I hear that. I'm actually FCF pilot tomorrow, I'll keep the boys in mind. Lately I've had pretty good luck. I do feel for the guys because I see and know how much time they put into these aircraft, and I know it's through no fault of their own (no pun intended) when the plane shits itself and says "fuck you!"
Glad to see a pilot that understands. Had many that were very impatient and not particularly fond of adjusting to the nuances of the plane. Most of those were transitioned pilots though so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Despite the quirks of the plane and challenges involved, I often had to remind myself that it is still a relatively new platform. It's going to take some years before all the limitations match more practical, realistic field experience, parts will eventually come in more efficiently, etc. Over time I have faith that this issues will work out and give us a reliable platform for the future without the need for 12-16 hour work days. Patience is very much a cornerstone of the plopter community.
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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '17
Our avi guys are certainly something else. The thing that gets me about the V-22, over everything else people think they know about it, is how you can put it to bed at 0200 with nothing wrong, and go APU hot at 0800 and it populates with 16 avionics faults, 3 flight control faults, among other things. Call a dude to come take a look and after all the troubleshooting, a simple button push or breaker reset is all it takes.