Article Posted on : - Sep 01, 2011

Boeing's V-22

PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND (BNS): The Bell Boeing V-22 Program has received a $34 million order from the US Air Force for three new CV-22 training devices and an upgrade to an existing device.

The new contract will upgrade a CV-22 Cabin Part Task Trainer (CPTT) and two fuselage aircrew/maintenance trainers at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM, to create a full-fuselage Cabin Operational Flight Trainer (COFT).

The Bell Boeing V-22 Program, a strategic alliance between The Boeing Company and Bell Helicopter – Textron, will also deliver a new Wing Part Task Trainer to Kirtland.

The CPTT currently is the only device that provides V-22 emergency egress training.

“The new COFTs will be made from the first CV-22 test flight vehicles,” said Mark McGraw, Boeing vice president for Training Systems & Services. “They and the upgraded CPTT include enhancements to provide high-fidelity training in nearly two dozen tasks.”

These improvements will increase the realism of mission rehearsals and allow the COFTs and CV-22 aircrew trainers located at the same bases to be networked together for more robust training capabilities.

The wing trainer is a new maintenance trainer capability for the Air Force. The US Marine Corps already trains on one for the MV-22, Boeing said in a statement.