I've carried lots of engines to the boat in a COD (as a crewman). They have a specific engine stand they must go on; they cannot go in the shipping container. I recall carrying an F-14 engine to the boat on a stand back in '92. CODs could not carry assembled T-56 engines due to height.
My take is that it's a CNAF vs CNSF problem. CNAF takes really good care of the carriers and seems to have very strict schedules that allow enough in port time for needed between cruise work to be done. They even recently brought a CVN(Ike?) home early and surged another so that the non-skid work could be done in the States. The contractors are higher quality and a set timeline allows them to do the work, and clean up, properly.
Your experiences are VERY different from mine. But here's the deal, if a -60 breaks while turning up in the crotch (forgot what "spot" that is), it can easily be moved aside. That can not happen with a V-22.
Have you ever seen a V-22 on the flight deck of a carrier with the airing embarked?
I wouldn't, and I'm not necessarily defending it. My first cruise had 2x Tomcat sqds, 2x Charlie sods, 1x Hoover sqd, 1x Prowler and Hawkeye, and 1x HS sqd. The flight deck was MUCH more crowded then than today's flight deck it. Handlers have more room today, but still often behave as if they're being overloaded with aircraft. I was onboard GHWB when he, Barbara, and his entourage flew aboard in a -53. The precautions taken and subsequent teeth sucking involved with letting a -53 land onboard the boat was eye opening. They made the ship's namesake and former POTUS get out while the shitter was still turning. They felt that strongly about not letting it shut down and jam the deck. That's admittedly only one example, but I think it's a fairly illustrative example.
You CAN take them (assume we're talking about a two, maybe three, aircraft detachment) for extended periods of time, BUT it impacts the number of aircraft that can be moved around the deck - i.e., flown. Even just one broken COD on the flight deck is a mess. Watch the Boss's head explode when the "early go" COD suspends before a 20 jet cyclic transition. Without having a model in front of me I can't be certain, but I would bet that the flight deck footprint of a V-22 is larger than folded C-2.
I think a lot of this is just familiarity with helos and their tilt rotor cousins. We had four 53s that flew at least one line a day. We would routinely land 53s and 22s right next to the harriers that were parked in the aft slash with no ill effects. I guess this exposure to RW ops makes me look at the risks a bit differently than a FW Airboss would.
On a CVN it's usually a an AB LDO/CWO. On an LHD it's a 1310 job.
Last deployment, we sent a section of 22's to HST on a few occasions - it was no big deal. I have seen 22's go down on a spot and be folded and stuffed within about 30 min. Granted, the yellow gear requirement might be a hurdle on the carrier, but an Osprey going down is not the end of the world. On TR we had 53's come out to us routinely in 5th fleet - we secured maintenance and canopies, but it wasn't that big a deal. I think Handlers on CVN's can get a bit dramatic over these things. V-22's are going to be more common on the carrier - and yes, they may even go down once in awhile.
Oh, that is new to me. Used to be the handler on a CV was a 13XX LT. It was also a good career move. Worked great for the handler on my first ship. He became an A-7 skipper, F-18 rag CO and Reserve Airwing Cag.
A decent deck crew can fold and stuff a V-22 into the bone in less than 30min.
My opinion/observations are obviously not shared by some of the other folks here - that's fine. I will offer that LHD's to CVN's is apples to oranges.
Had CVW-3 integrated its second helo squadron at that point?
