Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Flying the Boeing CH-47 Chinook Helicopter” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/boeing-ch-47-chinook-helicopter/.
Flying the Boeing CH-47 Chinook Helicopter
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Icepick Mike
Operator
Great bird and nice article. Rode and jumped from sh!thooks quite often in the Army. Did static and HALO out of them and it was always a 'blast'. The only down side on these birds for passengers is the noise level, it is incredibly loud and very high frequencies. If you didn't have hearing protection it was painful. Enjoyed this article much, brought back some great and some terrifying times.
Valkyrie14
Alpha
Nice article and learned a few things in the process. Onward to the next article!!
brokenolmarine
Alpha
Loved the article... Not bad for an Army Pilot... 
. As a Marine Aviation Staff NCO, my career was also in helos, mainly the CH46E, 53E, Huey, and the Cobras. My primary MOS was Avionics, and later in my career I taught Aviation Electronics at the Navy and Marine A Schools in Memphis. But, I was also a Door Gunner on 46s and 53s. I agree, most people would be shocked at what skilled pilots can do with rotary wing aircraft.
A tour in a SAR squadron exposed me to the 46s equipped with the Dopler system. This allowed the pilot to put the 46 in a hover over the victim, and release the stick, turning limited control of the aircraft over to the crewchief. Standing at the door in the cabin with a joystick maneuvering the aircraft to best assist the SAR Swimmer in the water, or on the ground. The pilot's hands always hovering over the flight controls to override the crewchief's limited control.
I loved the aircraft. Where else can you fly fast and low and get paid to shoot 50 caliber machine guns out the windows?
. As a Marine Aviation Staff NCO, my career was also in helos, mainly the CH46E, 53E, Huey, and the Cobras. My primary MOS was Avionics, and later in my career I taught Aviation Electronics at the Navy and Marine A Schools in Memphis. But, I was also a Door Gunner on 46s and 53s. I agree, most people would be shocked at what skilled pilots can do with rotary wing aircraft.A tour in a SAR squadron exposed me to the 46s equipped with the Dopler system. This allowed the pilot to put the 46 in a hover over the victim, and release the stick, turning limited control of the aircraft over to the crewchief. Standing at the door in the cabin with a joystick maneuvering the aircraft to best assist the SAR Swimmer in the water, or on the ground. The pilot's hands always hovering over the flight controls to override the crewchief's limited control.
I loved the aircraft. Where else can you fly fast and low and get paid to shoot 50 caliber machine guns out the windows?
Ike the tall.
Alpha
I was a Sky Crane driver, the 47 'A' model sucked, and we worked with them resupplying the troops. At the time, we could tell the weight on the hook and turned down the load if it was too heavy. A lot of the time, the '47' driver would hook up and take the load we had turned down. The pylons would go out of alignment as they flew off.
The latest '47' here at Rucker, now named after Mike, a true friend, and well-respected man, is a pure wonder! It is a workhorse, and the best heavy hauler in the fleet. This aircraft wasn't discarded for the latest theoretically wonderful boondoggle; it was made better with every new model.
The latest '47' here at Rucker, now named after Mike, a true friend, and well-respected man, is a pure wonder! It is a workhorse, and the best heavy hauler in the fleet. This aircraft wasn't discarded for the latest theoretically wonderful boondoggle; it was made better with every new model.
powerboatr
Professional
when i worked at redstone arsenal the NEW 47 program was to be the cats MEOW.
great bird
i got to fly in one in honduras, noise...omg but as a helicopter guy it was a bucket list coming from the navy
toddzilla-UH-60
Alpha
Pretty good article. However I don’t know a Pilot or Crewchief in Army Aviation that doesn’t show bias for their aircraft. As a 9 year veteran in the 80’s & 90’s on the UH-60, I could come up with many points that would show why the Blackhawk was not a “Lesser” aircraft. That being said, I understand the gravitas of the pilot who wrote the article. The CH-47 is a good aircraft, but couldn’t perform every mission the military requires by itself.
gordie
Operator
While working at the largest ammo depot in Vietnam I had the opportunity to see these machines pick up loads of slung artillery ammo from 105's to 175's with out a hitch. I'm glad the CH-47's were on our side as quite a few artillery units posted . I still enjoy seeing these birds flying over where I live in Nevada !
brokenolmarine
Alpha
As I said above, I was mainly a CH46 guy, but when we transitioned to the new CH53E Superstallions, the difference was amazing. Three engines vs. two, seven blades on the main rotor. 200+ mph and amazing lift capacity. I did fly some gun runs on the CH53E once the Squadron added them, and a full power vertical lift was an express elevator. One of my squadrons was the first Marine MEU to be SOC. I miss it, I miss it a lot. We trained with the military units from around the world. I still stay in touch with a Marine from the Royal Dutch Marines I met back in the early 80s....
SFC Coody USA (ret)
Alpha
Thank you so much for this article, especially for the memories it brought back. The Chinook is one fantastic aircraft in my opinion!
Early in my Army career (’73-’94) as a Nuclear Weapons Electronics Specialist in W. Germany, I flew on numerous missions (aka SAAM - “Special Ammunition Air Mission”) on Chinooks as a custodial agent (also flew in Hueys & Kiowas as escort). Rarely did I see company-grade officers piloting these aircraft; generally, it was Warrant Officers – WO-2 & -3 as PIC, occasionally a WO-4. A company-grade officer normally flew in the UH-1 escort as Mission Commander.
It was during this time as an E-5 I knew I wanted to fly Chinooks. What convinced me Chinooks was the way to go was this one particular SAAM after we’d offloaded our cargo and were returning to start point. Since we were empty and I was the senior fire team leader, I was invited and afforded the fantastic opportunity to ride in the “jump seat” located in the middle and just behind the pilots. What a view, not only out the front, but a great view of the cockpit! Watching these pilots operate that aircraft was awesome! As we were prepping to land and could see the airfield coming into view, the PIC turned to me and hollered, “Hold on, Sarge”! It was difficult hearing through both the earplugs & the muffs; the Chinook was that loud. Then from about 1200 feet AGL the pilot pushed the cyclic more forward, the collective downward, and made (to me) a hard 180° left bank turn & dive toward the airfield. The horizon disappeared, and I saw nothing but ground! It was one helluva thrill! That was the deciding factor: I wanted to fly Chinooks!
Long story short, I passed the written exams, but the medical got me. My little stomach problem – thanks to a nagging, unfaithful and now deceased ex-wife – I believe was the cause of my failure of the flight physical. After the divorce, I never had another stomach issue, so, there’s that….
tl;dr: For me, the Chinook is the GOAT helicopter, and it was a distinct privilege to fly in them. I salute the aviators who pilot these magnificent aircraft. Like the USAF B-52, long may the US Army CH-47(*) workhorse always fly high!
Early in my Army career (’73-’94) as a Nuclear Weapons Electronics Specialist in W. Germany, I flew on numerous missions (aka SAAM - “Special Ammunition Air Mission”) on Chinooks as a custodial agent (also flew in Hueys & Kiowas as escort). Rarely did I see company-grade officers piloting these aircraft; generally, it was Warrant Officers – WO-2 & -3 as PIC, occasionally a WO-4. A company-grade officer normally flew in the UH-1 escort as Mission Commander.
It was during this time as an E-5 I knew I wanted to fly Chinooks. What convinced me Chinooks was the way to go was this one particular SAAM after we’d offloaded our cargo and were returning to start point. Since we were empty and I was the senior fire team leader, I was invited and afforded the fantastic opportunity to ride in the “jump seat” located in the middle and just behind the pilots. What a view, not only out the front, but a great view of the cockpit! Watching these pilots operate that aircraft was awesome! As we were prepping to land and could see the airfield coming into view, the PIC turned to me and hollered, “Hold on, Sarge”! It was difficult hearing through both the earplugs & the muffs; the Chinook was that loud. Then from about 1200 feet AGL the pilot pushed the cyclic more forward, the collective downward, and made (to me) a hard 180° left bank turn & dive toward the airfield. The horizon disappeared, and I saw nothing but ground! It was one helluva thrill! That was the deciding factor: I wanted to fly Chinooks!
Long story short, I passed the written exams, but the medical got me. My little stomach problem – thanks to a nagging, unfaithful and now deceased ex-wife – I believe was the cause of my failure of the flight physical. After the divorce, I never had another stomach issue, so, there’s that….
tl;dr: For me, the Chinook is the GOAT helicopter, and it was a distinct privilege to fly in them. I salute the aviators who pilot these magnificent aircraft. Like the USAF B-52, long may the US Army CH-47(*) workhorse always fly high!
Great article. I had the chance to visit Boeing Philadelphia to work on the V-22. At the time they were refurbishing CH47's. They had two in house. Both were special ops birds with air-to-air refueling probes. It seems to me it would be a tremendous amount of torque to have those huge pipes sticking out the starboard side. The guys at Boeing told me that they found as much as 18" variance in length from one airframe to another. They built these before the days of SPC.
