The CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor, heavy-lift military transport helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and produced by aerospace manufacturer Boeing, also of the United States. The Chinook, which was named for the Chinook people of the northwestern United States, took its maiden flight on September 21, 1961 and was introduced into service in 1962. A number of iterations and specialized versions have been manufactured over the decades, including gunship variants and special operations versions. The Chinook has proven itself in a number of conflicts throughout the world to be one of the most reliable, best performing helicopters in the history of aviation.
The Chinook traces its lineage to the mid-1950s with a U.S. Army request for a turbine-powered, heavy-lift helicopter. The rotorcraft they ultimately chose was a twin-engine, tandem-rotor design that would become designated the CH-47. Over the subsequent decades, it would earn its reputation in history as a legend for its performance in places like Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
The Chinook’s design gives it a unique combination of characteristics, including high speed, precision control, spaciousness, high altitude performance, and lifting ability. Due to its counter-rotating tandem rotors, all available shaft horsepower is delivered as thrust, unlike tail rotor helicopters, in which upwards of 15 percent of power is required for the tail rotor. This rotor arrangement, combined with its powerful engines, give it speed, the ability to carry heavy loads (both internally and externally slung beneath it), and exceptional high density altitude performance. Its rotor systems and flight controls provide pilots with precision handling during hover and at speed, and its capacious fuselage design accommodates large numbers of troops and large volumes of cargo. The Chinook’s high density altitude performance is unmatched, as proven by its use in the American war in Afghanistan and as a rescue vehicle high above the slopes of Denali, North America’s tallest peak at 20,310 feet above sea level.
The CH-47 Chinook has served the militaries of over two dozen nations in addition to that of the United States. It is piloted by two and can carry up to 55 troops (although it has carried many more during emergency situations). It can lift upwards of 24,000 pounds of payload.
The helicopter has an overall length of 98 feet, a fuselage length of 52 feet, a fuselage width of 12 feet, 5 inches, and it stands 18 feet, 11 inches tall. Each of its 3-blade rotor systems has a diameter of 60 feet, with system blade chord of 32 inches.
The Chinook is powered by two Lycoming T55 turboshaft engines that deliver up to 4,733 shaft horsepower each. The power is transferred to the rotor systems via a combiner box and an intricate transmissions system. It has a range of 460 miles, a cruise speed of 184 miles per hour, a maximum speed of 196 miles per hour, and a service ceiling of 20,000 feet above sea level.
