For the USAF or the USMC? If the later, I might have to disagree. The -46 is long in the tooth.
For both.
It's not a helicopter. Period. End of discussion.
People want to put things in nice neat boxes. Well, there's a new box to put stuff in - tiltrotor.
Yes, the USMC wants to replace the CH-46 because they're old. They bought the Osprey. It will do the -46 mission, but that doesn't mean it's a -46 replacement.
Too much semantics? Perhaps.
Same with AFSOC.
If someone wants heavy rotary lift, buy Chinook.
let's say you're at 1,500 feet and 100 kts with nacelles up in helicopter mode and at that moment both engines decide to quit. What happens next?
First, I doubt you'd be in those conditions. You would be in transition mode with nacelles at some intermediate angle. In which case you'd continue your forward speed to the crash site...errr...landing site.
Most of the approaches occur low & fast with a near immediate stop. There is no long straight down hover. It will terrain-follow in at 100' & 220+ kts, enter approach mode & take a 4* glidepath down to 50'/0kts. If it all goes pearshaped at 50', well, that's how far you fall. A lot of pure helos will hurt themselves from 50' w/no forward velocity as well - simply not a lot of energy stored in the rotors.
Once again, I'm not an Osprey pilot. But we do have a program here where I can fly it - I'm trying to get my stuff in one sock so I can do so.
