Boeing CH-47 Chinook

Video from the channel Mundo de Aviación about Boeing CH-47 Chinook, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:45. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

Informational piece on the CH-47 Chinook, a twin-engine heavy-lift transport helicopter with two tandem rotors, originally designed by Vertol for the United States Army and later developed by Boeing. It has been exported to more than 16 countries and remains in production.

The Army wanted to replace the piston-engined CH-37 Mojave with a turbine helicopter able to carry more than 15 soldiers or artillery pieces. Following a 1958 competition, Vertol was chosen. Its Model 107 (YHC-1A) was deemed unsuitable and evolved into the Marine Corps' CH-46 Sea Knight; the Army then ordered a larger model, the 114 (YHC-1B), which first flew on September 21, 1961 and in 1962 was renamed CH-47A. The name refers to the Chinook people of the northwestern United States.

Two Lycoming T55 engines next to the rear pylon drive both counter-rotating rotors, with no tail rotor; if one engine fails, the other drives both rotors. Maximum takeoff weight of 22,680 kg, range of 741 km and top speed of 315 km/h. The C, D (1982) and F versions increased power and modernized the blades, cockpit and controls. A civilian version, the Model 234, exists, and it was built under license in Italy and Japan. It saw combat in Vietnam from 1965 and in the Falklands on both sides; of the Argentine Chinooks, two remained in service until 2002.