Reflections on the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter

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I became more familiar with the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter about 10 years ago thanks to a good friend of mine who worked with the CH-47 while he was in the military. He was either a flight engineer or a mechanic, I am not sure which. Needless to say, he loved the CH-47 and suggested I learn more about the CH-47 as he knew that they were used for aerial firefighting while he was in the military. He told me to check out Columbia Helicopters and learn more about the CH-47 and the civilian version. I learned a short time later that Columbia holds the type certificate for the civilian version of the CH-47 known as the Columbia 234 Chinook, go here for more information.

I admit that I don't know as much about the CH-47 and her civilian cousin, however, because of my friend I have deep affinity for the CH-47. So when I am perusing videos of aerial wildfire operations, especially wildfires where military reserves have been called into service, I do look out for the CH-47 Chinooks or Columbia's 234 Chinook.  In addition, there are two other helicopter operators that I know of that have CH-47's used for civilian heavy lift operations as well as wildland firefighting operations, Billings and Coulson. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation has written several articles on the CH-47 used in firefighting operations that you may find tagged on his site. Bill wrote about Coulson's CH-47 on March 1, March 8, and September 5, 2019. He wrote an article on Billings in January 2019 . There may be other heavy helicopter operators that I do not know about.

In closing, I would be remiss if I did not mention another incident involving the CH-47 that further ignited my affinity for the CH-47. That is, about five years ago, a pilot friend was taking me on a scenic flight, I believe that we were somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania. He was getting flight following so he was getting advisories of aircraft near are flight path. The controller came over the radio telling him to look out for CH-47 flying north, I believe. I do not recall how far away the CH-47 was, at least five miles? Anyway, it took both of us a several seconds before it registered that what we were looking for, the CH-47 helicopter. So, we both looked and spotted her. She seemed small as aircraft are from that distance, but she was easy to spot. I was thrilled beyond words. I still remember that with a smile on my face. I took out my camera and tried to get a picture, a very bad picture. But I tried. But the better image is what I remember. It is the first, last, and only time I have seen a CH-47 in person, so to speak, with my own eyes.