wm06ODHM_0HC2In 2005 the Checksix team voted the RAF Chinook Display of 18 Squadron the best helicopter display in the world against fierce competition from among others the very well received Boeing AH-64D of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the RAF’s new Merlin display team and the Agusta A129 International Mangusta. Against such competition the Chinook display must be outstanding. Checksix visited RAF Odiham on the station’s “families’ day” to meet the display crew and the team manager Squadron Leader Dave Morgan to see if the high standards set in 2005 were being maintained. RAF Odiham has a long and distinguished history. The airfield that became RAF Odiham opened in 1925 with a grass strip and was used by the Army Cooperation aircraft from April to September. The rest of the time the field was grazing for livestock. With the British Government’s Air Expansion Scheme in the 1930’s Odiham was earmarked for development and became a permanent station in 1937 opened by General Erhard Milch the Luftwaffe Chief of Staff. The story goes that he was so impressed he told Hitler "When we conquer England, Odiham will be my Air Headquarters". It’s said that he ordered no bombing of Odiham and whether this is true or not the station was not bombed during WWII.

wm06ODHM_041PumaHC1During the war years the base hosted many types of aircraft and nationalities, French, Belgian, and Canadian. The types stationed there ranged from the Lysander to the Typhoon. In 1945 the station was taken over by the Canadian Transport Wing until 1946. After the war the station was placed in the care of Fighter Command and became home to the RAF’s leading fighters including Spitfires, Hunters, Javelins and Vampires. The first jets to cross the Atlantic were Vampires of 54 Squadron in 1948 flying via Iceland, Greenland and Labrador. One of the Stations best days was in July 1953 when the Queen and Prince Philip reviewed the RAF at Odiham, 318 aircraft were in the static display and 641 flew past in salute. In 1959 the station was put into “care and maintenance” reopening in 1960 under Transport Command, operating helicopters. The Westland Sycamore was followed by the Whirlwind and Belvedere (a Chinook forerunner). The Westland Wessex was the main operational helicopter at Odiham until the arrival of the Puma in 1971. In 1981 the Wessex was moved to RAF Benson making way for the Boeing Chinooks’ that arrived in 1982. The RAF are in the process of reorganising their squadrons and stations and the future for Odiham is unclear as Joint Helicopter Command considers a relocation and amalgamation of its units to RAF Lyneham.

RK05DLWM0659_H21The station is now occupied by the Chinooks of No 7 Sqn, No 18(B) Sqn, No 27 Squadron, the Lynx of No 657 Sqn Army Air Corps and 618 Sqn Volunteer Gliding School. The Chinook’s development can be traced back to the Platt-LePage Aircraft Company in Eddystone, Philadelphia/USA. The Platt-LePage company developed the PL-3 after failing to secure the rights to produce the Focke FW-61 in 1938. The development of the PL-3 led to the XR-1 A twin rotor helicopter very similar to the Focke FW-61. The design was not a success and the company closed down in 1946. Most of the company’s patents became the property of McDonnell Aircraft Company. The personnel moved on with one of them, Robert Lichen an engineer, moving to Bell Helicopters and developed the tilt rotor concept into the XV-3. One young engineer who left the company some years before was Frank Piasecki. He founded his own company called the P-V Engineering Forum. His PV-2 was the second helicopter to fly in the US making its maiden flight in 1943. His next model the PV-3 “dogship” was a twin rotor in the same configuration as the Chinook and started a family PV format that evolved into the Chinook. These included the PV-18 / HUP-1 Retriever, PD-22 / H-21 Shawnee, or "Flying Banana" and the PV-15 / H-16 Transporter. In 1955 Piasecki left the P-V Engineering Forum and started a new company, the Piasecki Aircraft Corporation at the Philadelphia International Airport. P-V Engineering Forum changed its name the year after to the Vertol Aircraft Company. In 1960 Boeing acquired the Vertol Company and it became Boeing Vertol. The Chinook, Sea Knight and 107-11 commercial version of the military Sea Knight were under development production when Boeing took over the company.

wm06ODHM_003HC2The first aircraft that is quite clearly identifiable as the Chinook was the YHC -1B that rolled out in 1961. As the Sea Knight it too had a contra rotating tandem rotor configuration with turboshaft engines on each side of the rear rotor pedestal. The two rotors are connected by a drive shaft running along the top of the fuselage. Although it was designed as a medium lift helicopter it soon developed into different versions. Initial delivery to the US military of the CH-47A Chinook started in August 1963. The original engines, Lycoming T55-L-5 turboshafts, were changed during production to the T55-L-7 turboshafts, giving the aircraft a 450 horsepower increase. The Chinook went to war in 1965 in Vietnam and proved its worth in combat. The type flew 161,000 hours during the conflict. It’s reported that one Chinook lifted 147 refugees in a single load! The RAF took its first (new) Chinook HC-1’S from 18 Squadron to war in the Falklands campaign in 1982 (the same year it received them). Four Chinooks along with six Westland Wessex, eight Sea Harriers of the Royal Navel Air Squadrons, and six Harrier GR-3 of the RAF were being transported by the Cunard merchant vessel, the Atlantic Conveyor, to the war zone.

wm06ODHM_012HC2The ship was attacked shortly after the Harriers of both the Navy and RAF had deployed. The Argentine Navy assault Dassault Super Étendard struck the ship with Exocet missiles to devastating effect. Only one Chinook “Bravo November” (ZA718/BN) and one Wessex that were airborne at the time of the attack survived. This was a terrible blow to the land forces and put the helicopters and crews under enormous pressure. The detachment commander, Squadron Leader Dick Langworthy, was left to operate without spares, tools or manuals as these were all on board the stricken ship. Early on during the deployment Bravo November and crew had an escape that says much about the rugged durability of the Chinook. On a night operation transporting troops during a heavy snow fall Sqn Ldr Langworthy could not see and during a descent he hit the sea at 100 knots (175km/h), the engine intakes were flooded and the crew expected major damage. Sqn Ldr Langworthy and Co Pilot Flt Lt Andy Lawless (now Wing Commander Lawless) succeeded in getting airborne again and returned to the point of departure without radio or the Co Pilot’s emergency escape door which was lost during the impact. On the return to Port San Carlos an inspection found little damage other than some dents to the fuselage and the damage to the radio system plus one less door. Wing Commander Lawless assured me that it was very cold indeed. The loss of the door and lack of parts did not stop the Chinook operations.

wm06ODHM_062HC2Bravo November was the only large helicopter in use until reinforcements arrived on the 10th June in the shape of four more Chinooks. From the 26th May to the 10th June Bravo November lifted 1,530 troops 600 tons of equipment and 650 POW’s and much of this was done with one escape door missing so the cockpit was open to the weather! Squadron Leader Langworthy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his roll in the conflict. Twenty one years later now upgraded to HC MkII, Bravo November was operating in the Gulf War in very different conditions. In an assault on the Al Faw peninsula Squadron Leader Steve Carr flew Bravo November into action in terrible conditions and enemy fire. He too was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in the same aircraft. Two RAF Chinooks with 78 Squadron are still stationed in the Falkland Islands. The Chinooks have also proved themselves in humanitarian operations around the world and played a leading part in the aid operation after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the earthquakes that hit India, Pakistan and Middle East areas. At the British Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) 2006 the RAF display Chinook was recalled to RAF Odiham to prepare for a possible deployment to the Lebanon to airlift out British nationals and as it transpired to airlift in UN negotiators. Although the RAF had a replacement back at RIAT before the Saturday display due to some confusion the display team were not allocated a display slot so had to sit out the first day of the biggest military air show in the world.

wm06ODHM_056HC2&crewThe first RAF Chinook display was flown not by a British pilot but an Australian exchange pilot Flt Lt Daryl Willocks, who was an instructor with 240 Operational Conversion Unit. He had flown the Chinook with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The RAF displayed the Chinook until the mid life upgrade when the aircraft returned to Boeing’s Philadelphia plant in 1993. During the display season of 1989/90 the display was flown by the current team manager Squadron Leader Dave Morgan. For the 2006 season Sqd Ldr Morgan has pulled together two crews to man the display, this is due to the high demand for the team on the air show circuit and allows one team to have alternate weekends off. During our visit to Odiham we met one of the two crews, Captain Flt Lt Richard Batey, Co-pilot Flt Lt Chris Middleton, Crewman FS Jamie Dunkerley, all from 18 Squadron. Captain Flt Lt Batey joined the RAF in 1990 and has experience as Co Pilot on Hercules Transports. He retrained on rotary wing aircraft at RAF Shawbury in 1997 and was posted to Chinooks at Odiham. He has served on both 18 and 27 Squadrons in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Falklands and Iraq. In 2002 he completed the Qualified Helicopter Tactics Instructors course. In 2006 he completed the Qualified Helicopter Instructors course. He has over 3500 flying hours with more than 1500 of them on Chinooks. This is his first year as the Captain of the display team. His Co Pilot Flt Lt Middleton joined the RAF in 1995 and commenced navigator training in 1996. He entered the Chinook Operational Conversion Unit in 1999. He has served in Iraq, Bosnia and been on operations in Turkey and Northern Ireland. He recently returned from duty in Afghanistan. The final flight crew member is FS Dunkerley who joined the RAF in 1987. After completing his air crew training at RAF Finningley and Shawbury he joined the RAF Odiham team. He has served in both Gulf wars and completed his instructor training; he has over 4500 hours on Chinooks.

wm06ODHM_045HC2The Chinook display re-started in 2004 and has been causing a stir ever since and is now in its 3rd season. The second display crew is Captain Flt Lt Ollie Wyatt, Co-pilot Flt Lt Simon Cooney , Co-pilot Flt Lt Adam Watts, Crewman FS Sam Norris and Crewman Sgt Stuart Logan. The actual Chinook display routine is as below but this list just does not do justice to one of the best aviation displays in the world. One would not expect manoeuvres from this 51ft (15.54m) 15 ton machine called “Rollercoaster” and certainly not a “wingover” but this is what Richard and his crew deliver over and over again to thrilled audiences. The two Avco Lycoming Turboshafts and the 60ft (18.29m) rotors make the Chinook dance. The key is “the power to weight ratio” says Richard. The actual manoeuvres to be displayed are based on the 1990 routine of Sqn Ldr Dave Morgan (now the team Manager). He works with each crew to agree the routine before going onto the practice flights, “and there is only so much you can do with a 15 ton helicopter” said Sqn Ldr Morgan, so they play to the machine’s strengths. They take full advantage of the fact that they can get closer to the crowd line than the fixed wing displays, the blade noise is also considered to add to the drama. The nose over and rearward takeoff are signature manoeuvres for the Chinook and are used as the highlights of the display. Final approval for the routine comes from the Commander Joint Helicopter Command.

The 2006 Display Routine

1. Run in downwind 140 kts/100' to before crowd centre.
2. 90 deg break away from crowd into pitch up for pedal turn into wind.
3. Return to crowd centre for 90 deg break downwind.
4. 30 deg offset wingover into 270 deg quick stop at crowd centre.
5. Bow to crowd.
6. 360 deg spiral climb.
7. 450 deg spiral down.
8. Fly upwind into pedal turn.
9. 270 deg quickstop into sideways flight down crowdline at 45 kts /100'
10. 30 deg offset wingover into running landing at crowd centre.
11. Rearwards takeoff into 90 deg turn away from crowd to 300'.
12. Nose over towards crowd.
13. Break into wind into low level 360 deg oval.
14. Rollercoaster (2 successive 45 deg pull-up to nose over).
15. Offset wing over into 45 deg run into crowd centre and 90 deg break away.

wm06ODHM_063HC2One of the surprises of the day was to discover that that the display does not have an allocated aircraft, they use any of the Chinooks that are available. So the display is flown in a standard HC-2 with no special configuration as the service simply cannot afford to have an aircraft stood aside for displays. This was highlighted later in the day when the display crew were discussing the fuel requirements for the day, after the Chinook display the Army Parachute Team “The Red Devils” were to jump from the Chinook at 10,000ft. During the discussion the Co Pilot Co-pilot Flt Lt Chris Middleton suggested that they “might as well fill her up, as it makes no difference to the display” so no light loading for displays as we see on fast jets. Another surprise is that the cockpit and controls are analogue with clocks and dials and not a modern digital cockpit, making the flight display even more impressive. The Chinook now has several variants working with many nations and the latest model the CH-47F was recently rolled out in the US, with improvements as listed below on the Boeing website.

wm06ODHM_071CrewCarWith over a thousand Chinooks produced already the type looks set for a long future and with the ability to upgrade and refit existing airframes basically re setting the aircraft to zero hours, the existing aircraft could last for quite some time. The airframe does not have a fatigue index so is usable over and over again although with new production techniques and systems it’s cheaper for Boeing to build new machines than refit existing. The standard RAF HC-2 can be armed with two M-134 six-barrelled Miniguns and an M-60 machine gun. The Special Forces Chinook CH-47E/G operated by the US has been heavily adapted for the Special Forces role with fully integrated digital cockpits; forward-looking infrared, terrain-following and terrain-avoidance radar; long-range fuel tanks; and aerial refuelling capability. This year is the RAF’s 25th Anniversary of Chinook operations and to mark this event Boeing attended the Odiham families’ day and supported the Chinook display team by producing literature and supplying the display stand artwork. In return the team are a great advertisement for Boeing and the Chinook. Landrover cars also support the team by supplying a Range Rover Sport for the team to use as a crew bus during display deployments, and yes it fits into the Chinook and they carry it around with them.

wm06ODHM_034TornadoGR4The ability of the Chinook was further shown after the display flight when the crew returned to the crowd line to pick up the 15 paratroopers of “The Red Devils” display team. As well as the Red Devils from the Army the day was also supported by Squadrons from other Stations. Two Tornado GR4’S from 9 Squadron at RAF Marham led by Sqn Ldr Brian James and Flt Lt Lee Hurn. And a BAE Systems Hawk T1a weapons trainer from RAF Valley flown by Phil Bayman a weapons evaluation instructor. The plane he brought to Odiham had a gun mounted under the fuselage, a 30mm Aden cannon and dummy bombs on the wing hard points, he also had a student with him. Seeing the Hawk “tooled up” made an interesting change as they usually appear in the clean configuration at civilian shows but this was working machine. Also on the static line was a Puma HC-1 from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland. They were in attendance because the Puma’s from RAF Benson although much closer were all on task that day. This was a return to an old haunt for the Puma’s who were stationed at Odiham until 1998. Another rotary wing visitor was the Griffin HT1 (Bell 412 EP Huey) from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury crewed by Glyn Morgan from 60 Squadron. All of the Chinook pilots learn multiengine helicopters from this type at Shawbury so Glyn was looking forward to meeting some of his old students.

wm06ODHM_066LoadingFlying in support of the day was the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight displaying the Flight’s Douglas C-47 Dakota ZA947 and the Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IXe MK356. The Central Flying School at Linton on Ouse was represented by the Tucano Display. A Tornado GR4 from RAF Marham and the C-130J from RAF Lyneham both pulled out due to technical problems. 618 Squadron Volunteer Gliding School displayed the Vigilant T Mk 1 and a surprisingly good display it was too. Also in attendance from Joint Helicopter Command was the Merlin Helicopter display, another impressive display from a big helicopter. The highlight of the day was of course the superb Chinook display with its unfeasibly steep climbs, dives, rapid decelerations, ground taxiing on the rear undercarriage only and mid air pirouettes all from an aircraft the same size weight and probably less aerodynamic than the average coach {52 seated single deck bus}. Fantastic, and all due to “the power to weight ratio”. As mentioned previously the Chinook returned to the flight line to pick up the Red Devils, the British Army Parachute Regiment Freefall Team who commenced their display by jumping out of the Chinook at 10,000ft and gave a spectacular end to the RAF Odiham Families Day 2006. And in answer to our initial question of “are the standards of the Chinook display still being maintained” well the answer is a clear yes!

Shortly after the visit to Odiham Checksix again caught up with the display team on rout to RAF Leuchars in Scotland when they made a training landing on farm land in Northamptonshire. The farmers Mr & Mrs Haycock had given permission for the landings to assist with training. The aim of these landings is to practice pinpoint navigation and landing in non airfield conditions that reflect operational requirements’ more closely than the regular well known official training ranges. Checksix would like to thank Sqd Ld Dave Morgan and the Chinook Display Team for hosting us for the day and taking time out to talk to us. We look forward to many more chances to see this stunning display from the RAF Joint Helicopter Command.

Will Moore Checksix / UK 

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