# Help with plane ID **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470 "2021-11-16T23:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/1 "2021-11-16T23:09:00Z")
I saw a plane today that I’m not sure I’ve seen the likes of before. It wasn’t too big. It had what appeared to be 2 oversized props, one on the outside of each wing. The fuselage was chubby. And I _think_ it had an upright rudder on each end of the aft horizontal tail wing. Does anyone know what kind of plane that might be? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/2 "2021-11-16T23:15:45Z")
[V-22 Osprey?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey) [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey#/media/File%3AMV-22_mcas_Miramar_2014.JPG) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey#/media/File%3AMV-22_mcas_Miramar_2014.JPG) Note that the “propellers on the outside of each wing” tilt up to function like helicopter rotors or horizontal to work as propellers. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/3 "2021-11-16T23:23:07Z")
Here’s what an Osprey looks like when the propellers are in horizontal mode: [![](https://assets.verticalmag.com/images/online_features/V22/1.jpg) ](https://assets.verticalmag.com/images/online_features/V22/1.jpg) [![](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/4465315-1549578970.jpg) ](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/4465315-1549578970.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/4 "2021-11-16T23:48:13Z")
That was it. It had the props in a forward facing configuration. Interesting, never seen one in flight before. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/5 "2021-11-16T23:49:42Z")
I’ve seen them in flight a handful of times, but always in the “helicopter” configuration. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/6 "2021-11-16T23:53:52Z")
Honestly, it looked a little comical with those oversized props. almost like an oversized toy. It must be dicey going from helicopter to plane mode! ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/7 "2021-11-17T17:59:19Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > … must be dicey going from helicopter to plane mode! Piece of cake compared to the “one prop feathered” procedures. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/8 "2021-11-18T16:15:37Z")
Weren’t several Marines killed when these were first used? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/9 "2021-11-18T16:36:07Z")
In the eastern Sierra there are Ospreys stationed at the Mountain Warfare Training Center on CA108. On a good day you can park up the road and watch the Ospreys fly a big circle route around the canyon as they approach and come in for landings. [![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qa2Xo9HrJ18/VAp4BM68TjI/AAAAAAAA23I/CTJkbkAmFzs/s1600/DSC_0165a.JPG) ](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qa2Xo9HrJ18/VAp4BM68TjI/AAAAAAAA23I/CTJkbkAmFzs/s1600/DSC_0165a.JPG) [![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzfChnWoK6k/VAp4CHiZpuI/AAAAAAAA23U/5W1REat_W_w/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG) ](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vzfChnWoK6k/VAp4CHiZpuI/AAAAAAAA23U/5W1REat_W_w/s1600/DSC_0173.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/10 "2021-11-18T19:01:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Weren’t several Marines killed when these were first used? Yes. > **[Accidents and incidents involving the V-22 Osprey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_V-22_Osprey)** > > The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American military tiltrotor aircraft whose history of accidents have provoked concerns about its safety. The aircraft was developed by Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters; the companies work together to manufacture and support the aircraft. > As of November 2023\[update\], 16 V-22 Ospreys have been damaged beyond repair in accidents that have killed a total of 62 people. Four crashes killed a total of 30 people during testing from 1991 to 2000. Since the V-22 ... But every form of military transport has accidents. > **[List of accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed C-130 Hercules](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_Lockheed_C-130_Hercules)** > > More than 15 percent of the approximately 2,350 Lockheed C-130 Hercules production hulls have been lost, including 70 by the US Air Force and the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Not all US C-130 losses have been crashes, 29 of those listed below were destroyed on the ground by enemy action or other non-flying accidents. > From 1967 to 2005, the Royal Air Force (RAF) recorded an accident rate of about one Hercules loss per 250,000 flying hours. United States Air Force Hercules... ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/11 "2021-11-18T20:43:05Z")
Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/12 "2021-11-18T21:04:37Z")
Yes, the Osprey definitely had some safety issues early on, but those seem to have been resolved (it was also 'way over-budget). I remember _Time_ magazine had a cover issue on the plane’s problems; at one point the Marine Corps commandant, with much hoopla, flew on one _with his wife_ to show just how safe they were. I remember feeling sorry for the poor woman. I had the chance to walk through an Osprey on the ground during Marine Week in my city a few years back, which was cool, and last year, I saw several Ospreys at a nearby airport in support of the President’s visit to town for a big fundraiser. For more on President-adjacent Ospreys, scroll down here: [New Marine One VH-92A Helicopters Could Be Joined By Fleet Of CH-92A Trainer-Transports](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34268/new-marine-one-vh-92a-helicopters-could-be-joined-by-fleet-of-ch-92a-trainer-transports) ---
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plane-id/954470/13 "2021-11-20T02:39:47Z")
The Navy version is replacing the C2 Greyhound with the Osprey for Carrier Onboard Delivery. Don’t know about interior or electronic differences, but on the exterior the Navy Osprey has two large “saddle” fuel tanks as long the left and right sides.