PPG Aerospace donates coatings to
restore V- 22 Osprey aircraft for museum
One of six Bell Boeing V- 22 Osprey tiltrotor combat aircraft used
for full-scale development has been restored with coatings donated
by PPG Industries’ aerospace business for display at the American
Helicopter Museum and Education Center in West Chester.
PPG Aerospace donated Eco-Prime military primers and Des-othane HS military and defense topcoats to create the special
white, red and glossy black color scheme that met the original
Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
On loan to the American Helicopter Museum and Education
Center from the U.S. Marine Corps, the V- 22 Osprey is full-scale
development aircraft No. 3 and the only one on public display in
the world, according to Amy Krize, the museum’s marketing and
public relations manager. It had been displayed outside on the
museum grounds since the late 1990s and showed wear.
The museum often gets offers from the U.S. military for loans of
helicopters and other aircraft no longer in use, Krize said. “It’s our
job to take care of them,” she said. “We wanted the Osprey to be re-
stored and have it painted because of its historical significance.”
The museum took the request to Boeing Mobility in Philadel-
phia, where the fuselage, subassemblies, digital avionics and flight
control systems for the V- 22 are assembled. Boeing and partner Bell
Helicopter manufacture the tiltrotor aircraft. Boeing took it from
there, and that’s when PPG Aerospace’s Philadelphia-area applica-
tion support center learned of the restoration and offered to do-
nate coatings and painting supplies, according to Michael Ziem-
ski, PPG Aerospace Total Service Solutions chemical manager.
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