A few days ago, while wandering around a temple in downtown Kyoto, I suddenly heard the sound of unfamiliar aircraft engines. Looking up, I saw the famous V-22 Osprey directly overhead! By eye, the altitude was under 20,000 feet. I immediately grabbed my camera and snapped a quick shot; I didn’t even have time to switch to a telephoto lens. While the photo quality isn’t great, it’s still very easy to distinguish its unique configuration—the large, vectorable rotary propulsion systems on both wingtips.

I had known about the V-22 since the 1980s, but seeing the real thing was a first. The aircraft features an advanced concept, yet its development process was plagued by disasters and constant accidents. Recently, having entered mass service, it has finally proven its worth. However, I never expected this aircraft to already be flying all over Japan. TV and newspapers constantly criticize its safety, and public opinion opposes the U.S. military’s plan to deploy V-22s within Japan. It seems that “the arm cannot twist the thigh” (the weak cannot defy the strong), and reality is always this cruel.

For information regarding the V-22, please refer to Wikipedia: V-22鱼鹰式倾转旋翼机

"CV-22 Osprey in flight", by U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Markus Maier - http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070809-f-0001m-901.jpg http://www.af.mil/photos/. Licensed under Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

"V-22 takeoff alliance airport", by Greg Heartsfield - I took this photograph, Canon 20D, 70-200mm f2.8 w/ 1.4x extender.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

"MV-22 Osprey on USS Nimitz (CVN-68) (121006-N-LP801-082)", by United States Navy - http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=135411. Licensed under Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.