Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764.

08-08764

The unit patch of B Company - "Sugar Bears", 1st General support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 52nd Aviation Regiment unit patch circa May 2012. Click-N-Go Here to view more unit patches.

Property of

B Company - "Sugar Bears"

1st General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB)

52nd Aviation Regiment

Fort Wainwright, Alaska

2012

27 May 2011: Brand new CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 rests on the Boeing Ramp at Millville Municipal Airport (KMIV), Millville, New Jersey. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

   08-08764, Boeing Vertol Tab Number M8764, was a CH-47F helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date 20 May 2011. As of 10 May 2012, 08-08764 accumulated 97.6 aircraft hours.

   08-08764 was a new build airframe with all new components installed.

   At some point in 2011 after modifications (M4 Gun Mount, IRSS, ARC-231, Fifth Sensor, Left/Right Cabin Door Gunner's Seat) were completed at Millville Airport, New Jersey, 08-08764 was flown to Hunter Army Airfield (AAF), near Savannah, Georgia.

   At Hunter AAF, 08-08764 was utilized extensively for the training of multiple flight crews undergoing CH-47F Aircraft Qualification conducted by members of S3 Incorporated New Equipment Training Team (NETT). The NET Team was under contract from the Project Managers Office - Cargo Helcopters, Aviation Missile Command (AMCOM), located at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, to conduct the worldwide fielding and training for the CH-47F Chinook helicopter.

   In April 2012, 08-08764 was transferred to Company B - "Sugar Bears", 1st General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 52nd Aviation Regiment, Ladd Field, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to support the NETT training of that unit. The aircraft arrived at Ladd Field at 94.8 aircraft hours, having accumulated 29.7 hours on the Georgia to Alaska Ferry Flight.

   Tasked by the Program Managers Office, the NET Team - led by Tim McCall (Director of Flight Operations for the CH-47F NET Team) - formulated a plan to ferry the aircraft from Hunter AAF via the Alaska Canada (ALCAN) Highway. 08-08764 was the lead aircraft (Chalk 1) in a flight of four, part of Sortie 1 of three sorties.

   The flight departed Hunter AAF on 10 April and arrived at Ladd Field on 18 April 2012. There were five flight days and three weather hold days.

   Enroute to Alaska, 08-08764 experienced an minor, but irritating issue. The Bus Controller that controls the Number 1 and 2 Control Display Units (CDU) fought continously with itself. This resulted in numerous CDU failures requiring the circuit breakers to be cycled to stabilize the bus.

   As of 22 April 2012, the last known location of 08-08764 was at Ladd Field.

   Aircraft status: Flyable.

29 March 2012: A slightly used CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 rests on the ramp at Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Georgia, awaiting its ferry flight departure to Alaska. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

9 April 2012: CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 rests on the ramp at Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Georgia, while undergoing final cargo loading for its ferry flight to Alaska. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

10 April 2012: Rich Davis III stands behind CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 on the ramp at Campbell Airfield, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during a full stop. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

10 April 2012: CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 sits on the ramp near Base Operations at Campbell Airfield, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during a full stop. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

10 April 2012: Tim McCall walks off the ramp of CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 while parked at Campbell Airfield, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, during a full stop. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

11 April 2012: Rob Simpson, Flight Engineer (foreground) and copilot CW4 Sean Barcoe arrive at sunrise at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport to prep 08-08764 for flight. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

11 April 2012: At the first stop of the day, CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 receives fuel at Sioux City, Iowa. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

11 April 2012: On the Army National Guard ramp at Rapid City, South Dakota, Tim McCall preflights CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 for the next day's flight as LTC Brad Killen discusses the events of the day. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

15 April 2012: NET Team Flight Engineer Rob Simpson preps 08-08764 for flight. Poor flight conditions with snow and rain moved into the area overnight so it was unlikely Sortie 1 would depart Helena on this day - but we made the attempt anyway. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

16 April 2012: NET Team Director of Flight Operations (left) and Flight Engineer Rob Simpson conduct post-flight checks on 08-08764 after arriving at Edmonton City Center Airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The aircraft heater (located right side and just aft of the cockpit) spit unburnt fuel down the side of the fuselage all the way to the ramp during the flight and left a nasty mess. JP-8 fuel simply does not perform as well as JP-4 does. It stinks, is oily, causes fowling of the heater spark plug (which will shut the heater down mid-flight and it cannot be restarted) and, more often than not, causes a plume of white smoke (mostly unburnt fuel) to be vented from the exhaust stack. Occassionally, the smoke will ignite and a fireball will be ejected out the exhaust vent. Never had any of these issues with JP-4. Unfortunately, JP-8 is widely used in the U.S. Military and universally hated by Chinook flight crews. JP-4 is a rare, but welcomed find for Hookers. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

17 April 2012: CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764, lead ship of Sortie 1 on the ferry flight to Alaska, flies along the Alaska Canada Highway (ALCAN) north of Fort St. John. In the background is the northern end of the Rocky Mountains. The lead aircraft in the flight of four helicopters was piloted by Tim McCall (PC), CW4 Sean Barcoe (PI), and proudly crewed by Robert Simpson (SI). You can see Rob in the bubble window looking back at the camera. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

17 April 2012: CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 gets bedded down for the night at Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

18 April 2012: CH-47F Chinook helicopter ferry flight Sortie 1 parked on the ramp at Whitehorse International Airport, Yukon, Canada. Lined up in Chalk order, 08-08764 is in the foreground in this photograph. The stop was a quick turn for refuel before we blasted off to our final destination - Ladd Field. Everywhere we stopped along the way we met people who were fascinated with the new F model Chinook. We must have given a hundred tours of the birds. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

18 April 2012: CH-47F Chinook helicopter 08-08764 and flight arrives at Ladd Field, Fort Wainwright at approximately 3:30 PM. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

The following CH-47F Chinook helicopters were fielded to B Company - "Sugar Bears", 1st General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 52nd Aviation Regiment, located on Ladd Field, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, beginning in April 2012 and used to support the unit train-up. Airframes are routinely reassigned as necessary so there is no telling where there are now.