Canada’s new CH-147F Chinook is the result of Boeing teamwork across the continental divide By Adam Tischler and Tom Marinucci As the familiar sound of the Chinook helicopter’s twin rotors fills the air above the Arizona desert, the aircraft’s performance catches the casual observer off guard. Jeff Bender, chief rotorcraft pilot with Boeing Test & Evaluation, is maneuvering the CH-147F, destined for the Canadian military, through a slalom course. Just a few dozen feet over a marked runway, the aircraft is putting on a dazzling performance, nimbly weaving through the narrow course like a skier feeling the face of a slope. “This aircraft was born to fly,” Bender said. But why is a Chinook undergoing flight testing at Boeing’s site in Mesa, Ariz.? This is Apache country, where Boeing Military Aircraft builds and tests its AH-64 Apache helicopter. The Chinook is built some 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) away, at the Boeing site in Ridley Township, Pa. In fact, this marks the first time a Chinook has ever been tested at the Mesa site. The test pilots taking the Chinook through its paces are beneficiaries of a BOEING FRONTIERS / JULY 2013 33
Frontiers July 2013 Issue
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