For those who heard and/or saw the trio of planes that flew low over Bradford Wednesday, Harold Whitney of Bradford called to let us know the planes were Boeing V-22 Ospreys. The planes have a unique look, with an engine on each wing and two propellers, similar to those on a helicopter.
Steve Appleby, curator of the Eldred World War II Museum, said he was sorry to have missed the sight, as the Osprey is the latest Marine Corps asset, a plane capable of taking off vertically like a helicopter and flying like a plane.
According to official information on the Boeing website, each Osprey operates on two Rolls-Royce AE1107C, with a fuselage length of 57.3 feet and a width of 84.6 feet for the rotors while turning and 18.4 feet for the rotors when stowed. The height of the Nacelles vertical is 22.1 feet, the weight is 52,600 lbs and the max cruise speed is 270 kts, or 500 km/h.
The cockpit seats two and there is room for three crew members on board as well.
It was hard to pin down where the planes were traveling to, or from. A phone message left for officials at the Army Readiness Center at Bradford Airport was not returned, and an email to the 914th Air Refueling Wing Office of Public Affairs, located at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y., went unanswered.
