How does the Chinook helicopter keep flying after all these years?

Innovation in the world of aviation tends to be fast-paced. So the manufacturing lifespan of even the most successful flying machines can be relatively short, with some only in production for a few years before a better model makes them obsolete.

Few aircraft envisaged in the 1950s are still flying today. Aeronautics as a science has developed enormously and aircraft ranging from grand, trans-Atlantic passenger airliners to super-fast fighter jets have been updated many times in the decades since.

And yet one name with its origins dating as far back as 1956 remains in high demand: the CH-47 Chinook, Boeing’s enduring multi-role helicopter. But what makes the CH-47 so appealing after all these years?

Global workhorse

In the late 1950s, the US army commissioned aviation company Vertol to produce a new medium-to-heavy-lift helicopter, and after Boeing acquired the company in 1960 it continued to develop what became known as the Chinook, supplying the first helicopters to the American military in 1962.

Today the tandem rotorcraft is still the go-to transport solution in a range of combat and non-combat scenarios. It is used by the armed forces of 20 countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Italy.

The Chinook is equally comfortable on the battlefield and in humanitarian aid missions as it is transporting civilians. It had a prominent role in the Vietnam War, the Falklands campaign and missions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

While it is manufactured in the US, the UK’s fleet is maintained by Boeing and other local partners in Gosport, Hampshire, with technical support from the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Odiham base, as well as other locations around the country.

“The Chinook is often the right vehicle for military, logistical and small airfield operations,” says David Barnes, chief executive of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium and a former Royal Air Force group captain.  

“It is especially useful in vertical operations where space is tight and its heavy lift capacity, roomy interior and comparatively fast speed mean it is still in demand around the world. It has endured for as long as it has because of good aerodynamics, capacity and manoeuvrability.”

Essentially, the Chinook remains in active use because it is seen as the workhorse of the sky. It is fast, durable and capable of lifting heavy loads greater than those of many of its rivals. Its innovative design and capacity to complete tasks defy its age.

Deceptively modern

It is also constantly upgrading. The latest model features a maximum speed of more than 300km/h (186mph), a mission radius of 200 nautical miles (370km) and a maximum useful load of nearly 11 tonnes.

The RAF received delivery in December of the last of 14 new helicopters. These were the latest Mk6 model packed with 21st-century tech, including aircraft defensive systems and interoperable communication and navigation equipment. It proved once again the truism that the replacement for a Chinook is another Chinook.

“You get in it and it feels like a proper battlefield helicopter,” said Sqd Ldr Hannah Brown, 27 Squadron second-in-command and one of three women RAF Chinook pilots, quoted in the Boeing Frontiers magazine in September. “You feel safe inside it. You feel like it’s going to get you home.”

The UK now has 60 of the rotorcraft, a figure only surpassed by the US army and the Japanese military. In July the Australian army received three new CH-47F Chinooks, taking the country’s total to 10.

At the time, Col Jeremy King of the Australian Defence Force said the extra numbers would significantly increase its capability with an aircraft “which we already know is both highly dependable and reliable”.

A century in service?

One secret to the helicopter’s success is its ability to take on multiple upgrades that, as the years pass, keep it relevant. In the US, the newest model introduced in 2007 is expected to fully replace the previous iteration by 2020.

Going on normal procurement timescales, the earliest likely date that a replacement would be commissioned is 2030, but possibly much later, meaning the helicopter could easily celebrate its centenary of service in one of the most advanced armed forces in the world.

To put that in context, it would be like a modern military using a vehicle in active roles that was first devised during the First World War.

RAF Flt Lt Dave Grindal, a 27 Squadron member who has 4,000 hours as a pilot on the aircraft, is another fan. He says two of these helicopters are capable of completing most normal missions, whether transporting troops, delivering cargo or evacuating wounded troops from the battlefield.

“As we like to say, the answer is two Chinooks; now what’s the question?” he told Boeing Frontiers.

The Chinook remains in demand for the simple reason that it has never been outclassed by a newer rival. Its multitude of uses means few would bet against it serving its owners for another 50 years to come.

• Find out more at Boeing and the UK