After the disastrous 1980 hostage crisis in Iran, the United States recognized the need for an aircraft capable of taking off and landing like a helicopter, but flying as fast as an airplane. The result was the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, the first tiltrotor aircraft to enter production and one of the most innovative yet controversial machines of the modern era of aviation.Even after a long and troubled development process that took over two decades and several accidents, the Osprey persevered and recently achieved 600,000 flight hours.But the Osprey’s story is just beginning.