Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Boeing rolls out first Chinook Block II into final assembly
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » With one of the first of its type prominently display in the Chinook manufacturing facility on Boeing’s campus, the production of the next generation of one of the nation’s oldest military aircraft still in use was celebrated Wednesday.
Col. Scott Beall, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command project manager, spoke of the history of the aircraft that will see increased lift capability including advanced Chinook rotor blades, an upgraded fuselage, a new fuel system and new drivetrain in the Block II aircraft.
“Today marks an important milestone in the history of the venerable MH47,” Beall said.
The contract to build the CH-47F Block II for the U.S. Army and the MH47G Block II for the U.S. Army Special Operations was awarded to Boeing in July. Since then, employees have been working on the engineering/manufacturing/design phase to build three Block II aircraft that will be used for testing. Now, the program moves into full production.
Beall recalled the past of the Chinook made for the Special Operations when a modification was being made at Fort Campbell, Ky., in 1980.
“Fortunately, the 52 hostages being held in Iran for whom the task force was established to rescue were released in January 1981,” he said.
Since then, the aircraft was involved in many other missions from the invasion of Grenada in 1983 to liberating Kuwait in the 1990s to Somalia and Haiti to the insertion of the first Green Berets into Afghanistan in October 2001.
Making it clear his adoration for the New York Giants, Col. Greg Fortier, U.S. Army project manager for Cargo Helicopters, did have to admit some wisdom from the coach of this year’s Super Bowl champions.
Quoting Coach Doug Pederson, Fortier said, “Individuals can make a difference but teams can make a miracle.”
He added, “I love it because it applies so much of what we do in life and certainly at Team Chinook.”
Combined with appropriate behavior, Fortier said potential can be realized, such as when the prototype Block II was finished three days early.
“Common men do not win Super Bowls and common men and women do not build the Army’s heavy lift capability,” he said. “To do those two things, you must be uncommon and you must be extraordinary.”
About 1,000 employees of Boeing’s 4,500 Delaware County workforce are dedicated to the Chinook production.
Michael Tolassi, president of the United Aerospace Workers Union Local 1069, said his focus is to get as many of the 80 laid off UAW members back to work.
“We want them back in house,” he said. “I would like to see not only all these employees but in house but new hires.”
Tolassi is head of the 1,250-member union that saw 200 laid off about three years ago. Since then, he said the company has been hiring them back little by little and he’s hopeful the Block II program will be among the measures that help bring the rest back.
“It’s slow in inception,” Tolassi said of the Block II, “It’s going to be slow moving but ... it’s going to be sustained work for many years to come.”
The first Block II is expected to be finished next year, with final delivery after flight testing scheduled for 2023. The intent is for the Block II to upgrade more than 500 Chinooks to this new configuration.
“Block II upgrades will help keep Chinooks in operation for the U.S. Army into the 2060s,” Chuck Dabundo, vice president, Boeing Cargo Helicopters and H-47 program manager, said. “Today is all about celebrating the proverbial rubber hitting the road.”
The heavy lift aircraft, which can carry over 54,000 pounds, has been in continuous production since the early 1960s. It is used by U.S. soldiers and by 20 other countries for a wide range of military and humanitarian missions.
Employees at the plant spoke about what working on the Block II meant to them.
Andrew Gallo of Upper Chichester worked on the cockpit nose.
“I love it,” the 31-year Boeing employee said, adding that he liked seeing younger generations coming in to continue the work. “We’re doing something for the country, for the brothers and sisters who are out there fighting the war for us.”
Ryan Gamble of Ridley Park worked on the triple doors.
A seven-year Boeing employee, he said, “It’s the best job I’ve ever had – being able to support the men and women in the military, being able to build it and be a part of it to help whoever’s out there ... It’s just an amazing helicopter.”