0
micro

CH-47 Chinooks as jumpships

Recommended Posts

I have never seen a privately owned Chinook. Talk to diverdriver about how to look them up in the FAA registry.

I have a lot of MFF jumps out of them, and one or two military static line jumps.

Overall they were excellent jump platforms. Plenty of room for jumpers inside - even with aux tanks installed we put 15 jumpers inside. It has a ramp, is fast to altitude, and can fly at a decent airspeed so you don't get the chimney effect. Also, when someone landed out, it was a quick ride back to the DZ! B| On the flip side, they are LOUD (wear double ear pro), and some models had an exterior hydraulic fluid vent just forward of the ramp, so it was common to get a face full of hydro fluid when spotting.

I haven't jumped one since about 1997 or 1998.
Arrive Safely

John

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I forgot to add - we used to get them at the Green Beret club now and again, back in the day. I have a picture of my wife and I, along with the current Golden Knight SGM and another friend who is a Major now, dragging a 4-way out of the back sometime in 1991. Quite a few of my wife's 54 jumps are out of a Chinook.
Arrive Safely

John

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

No thanks, they crash too often



I jump out of them pretty much all the time when jumpng at work.They are quite fun to jump out of. I have had them haul my ass off of many a mountain top and out of many a hairy situation. I rode on one almost every day for 8 months straight and even after being shot up it still landed. They are the workhorses over in Afghanistan and elsewhere. I beg to differ that they crash too often.
"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

No thanks, they crash too often



I jump out of them pretty much all the time when jumpng at work.They are quite fun to jump out of. I have had them haul my ass off of many a mountain top and out of many a hairy situation. I rode on one almost every day for 8 months straight and even after being shot up it still landed. They are the workhorses over in Afghanistan and elsewhere. I beg to differ that they crash too often.



not only that, but they are kick-ass to see at an airshow doing a demo... my god are they maneuverable!

btw, thanks for serving our country, man.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

they are kick-ass to see at an airshow doing a demo



We did that once when I was a GK - the C-31 had a maintenance gig that grounded it. We "recruited" the Chinook crew to fly the show for us.



thanks to you too for serving, didn't mean to leave you out a minute ago... :)

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sorry, it seems like there were a lot of crashes not related to enemy fire, and I also remember the serious issues the transmissions had with metal particle contamination, I think, a long time ago.

My perception being wrong on their reliability is obviously a good thing.

Wasn't Geraldo Rivera in one that had to make a hard landing? I think that was after some damage from enemy fire.
People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
We have a local company down in Oregon by the name of Columbia Helicopters. They specialize in logging areas that are sensative and remote by heavy lift choppers. Never jumped out of one of theirs but I did manage to get a couple out of ChitHooks when I was in the military.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Back in the dark ages when I was jumping...

Oh, wait... I mean, yeah, I jumped one in about 1980 or so; I'd have to dig our my old logbook for the exact dates. There was a dz in Issaquah, WA, outside Seattle. The dzo, Jamie, arranged for some kind of 'training' and got the miltary to provide a Chinook. We jumped it for two days. I recall it hauling ass to altitude and having a really big tail door to run out of, and the down wash from the rotors made you tumble if you didn't pay attention.

I shot some 16mm with a gun camera I had mounted to my helmet. There was a United 737 that took off out of SeaTac and turned in underneath us about 1500' below. Very impressive.

It was a fun bunch of jumps. Our tax dollars at work.

Vint
. . . . .
"Make it hard again." Doc Ed

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I think there is one in private ownership somewhere in these parts. Or, at least it flies through Harvey Field (S43) a couple times a year. I believe it wears the old-style Coast Guard paint, white with some red. I swear, the next time I see that thing go itinerant I'm getting my gear together and talking to the pilots. (The "talking" may be followed shortly by begging, groveling, and all sorts of disgusting offers like using some hot soapy water, a sponge, and a very tall ladder.)

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I have got a lot of time in Chinooks, used to crew them in Vietnam. Have made a lot of jumps from Chinooks, all in Germany when on the 7th Army Parachute Team. I remember us doing a demo one time and popping smoke on the ramp, the smoke came inside the aircraft terrifying the pilots and putting them in a kind of pink IFR condition. They could never understand us skydivers!
Circa 1975 a German Chinook went in in Germany with a load of skydivers aboard, killing all.
I don't care how many skydives you've got,
until you stepped into complete darkness at
800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs
of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Does anyone know if there are any Chinooks in private ownership?



Punching "CH-47" into the 'model' box at http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/acftref_inquiry.asp
gives 4 that are registered to Boeing with a Pennsylvania address.

Looking up the one that Amazon posted (N245CH) at
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_inquiry.asp
shows it as a "Boeing-Vertol" model 234. Going back into the make/
model with "Boeing" and "234" comes up with 5 registered to Columbia
in Oregon, and 2 with an address in DC.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/h-47.htm gives the
Boeing model numbers for the first ones as 114 and 414; neither of
those find anything at the FAA.

http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/ (caution: much Java and
music) has a pretty extensive list of military tail numbers, and some
info on the Columbia ones at
http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/history/aircraft/Columbia/Columbia.html
. This also gives a Boeing model number 107; all of those at the FAA
come back to Columbia.

Columbia is at http://www.colheli.com/colheli.html but they
don't say how much a lift ticket is.

Eule
PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Being in the field of ARMY Aviation, I get to work with them quite often. They are an awesome aircraft, and in my book, the hardest working of all the rotary wing aircraft we have out here [Afghanistan and Iraq]. They are very reliable and have been known to take quite a few rounds of enemy fire and still make it back to base. With the dual rotors, they pack more power than any other rotary wing aircraft in the Army's arsenal. Getting to altitude is very easy for them. I have never jumped out of one, but I have a feeling they would be awesome to do so out of. If you ever get the chance to just take a ride in one, I highly recommend it. It is a ride you wont soon forget!

A man will do anything for the right woman,
and when that woman destroys him,
that man will become a hunk of meat with the common sense of a rodeo clown! ~ Christopher Titus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I happen to work with a (now former) "shit hook" pilot. I tried to convince him to bring in to the DZ. Unfortunately they require a whole crew and uhhh, they value their careers. When I asked for a ride, he said "trust me, you don't want a ride in one of these!" Course I don't agree... I'd ride in anything that flies. :)
Dave

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The concept of the "Jesus nut" is pretty scary, but if you can get your head past that, the Chinook seems like a great aircraft.

On a related note, does anybody know if there are any Sikorsky Skycranes that might still be able to drop jumpers? I remember some older Army aviators mentioning dropping jumpers from a box that kinda worked as an add-on fuselage for those birds.

Lance

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0