Air & Space Smithsonian – September 2019

“We haul it all”

could be a Chinook

unit’s motto. This

159th Aviation

Regiment helicopter

transports a

rigid-hull infl atable

full of U.S. Naval

Special Warfare

crew. To extract

SEALs in a hurry, the

C-47 can land on

water (rotors

turning) and lower

the ramp for the

infl atable to motor

aboard.

PACKING, UNPACKING, REPACKING

Jordan Hill, Flight Engineer, CH-47F

My most recent deployment, in 2015, was to Iraq,

but we also spent time in Kuwait. We were flying

the new F model, and we dealt mostly with internal

loads. For me, we can talk all day long about fast

roping or sling loading underneath the helicopter,

but I was always most amazed by how much stuff

wecouldfitinsidethehelicopter.TheF model

makesit incrediblyeasytohandleinternalloads.

Justflipthefloorpanelsoverandtherearerollers,

torollcargoonandoff.PriortotheF,youhad

to use separate roller panels for cargo handling.

We did a lot of what was called “ring routes”

during the deployment, where we flew pretty

much a regular route from one base to another,

delivering anything and everything. We not only

stacked cargo floor to ceiling, we had it perfectly

distributed so each destination’s load was ready for

quick offload. As a flight engineer in a Chinook

doing ring routes, you have to be a master Tetris

[video game] player. I’ll never forget one day we

did a VIP flight for Vice President Joe Biden, then

once back we loaded up for a ring flight, and our

gross takeoff weight was 49,999 pounds, which is

onepoundunderthemaxwe’reallowedtofly.We

playedTetriswiththecargoalongtheentireroute.

TEAMWORK

JeremyMaddox,FlightEngineer,CH-47F

InJuly[2018],wegotthealertthata soloclimber

neededtoberescuednearthesummitofMount

Hood.He’dmadea cellphonecall,andwhensix

groundrescuersgottohim,theydeterminedthat

thewarmingconditions—withrockandice-fall—

madeit toodangeroustogethimoffthemountain

onfoot;heneededtobeliftedoffbyhelicopter.

AfterpickingupfourPJs[U.S.AirForce

pararescuemen]ata soccerfieldfroma small

townabout 10 milesfromMountHood,wesped

towardthescene.Theplanwastodoa four-

wheelpinnaclelanding[allfourwheelstouchthe

surface,butthepilotsholdpowersoit’sa “hover

AS EACH PERSON CLIMBED ABOARD,

THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF THE

HELICOPTER CHANGED, BUT DON FORD

KEPTTHEAIRCRAFTSTEADY.FORD’S

MUSCLESWERECOMPLETELYFATIGUED

FROMHOLDINGTHECHINOOKSO

STEADYATTHATALTITUDEWITHALL

THECHANGEOFCENTEROFGRAVITY

ASEVERYONELOADEDON.

September 2019 AIR&SPACE 47

US NAVY/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS ROBYN GERSTENSLAGER