The Cockpit

 

 

         
7 February 2014: The cockpit of CH-47D Chinook helicopter 89-00089 as that aircraft underwent a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Republic of Korea.

             7 February 2014: The cockpit of CH-47D Chinook helicopter 89-00089 as that aircraft underwent a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Republic of Korea. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger version.

 

 

         
Boeing CH-47D Chinook Cockpit, circa 2000.

 

         

 

         
Boeing CH-47D Cockpit, Left Seat Dashboard.

 

         
Boeing CH-47D Cockpit, Center Dashboard.

 

         
The Canted Console in the Boeing CH-47D helicopter.

 

         
Pilots Thrust Lever in a Boeing CH-47D helicopter.

 

         
Pilots Cyclic in a Boeing CH-47D helicopter.

 

         
Boeing CH-47D Cockpit, circa 1990.

 

             The item in the center, near the top of the photograph above, is the standby magnetic compass. It is used when the the primary electronic compass fails. For several reasons, the course information it provides can be difficult to interpret.

 

         
Magnetic North Pole - 1999.
   A compass points not to the geographic but to the magnetic North Pole. Due to fluxes in Earth's magnetic field, the moving spot skips around each day and travels on average more than 6 miles each year.

             Identified in 1999 near Ellef Ringnes Island in Northern Canada, the magnetic pole is roughly 600 miles from the geographic one. Scientists think it could migrate northward into Russia within 50 years.

 

 

         
Typical 714 equipped Master Caution Panel.

          Typical 714 equipped Master Caution Panel, circa 2004.

 

 

 

          The VNE Computer

 

 

         
The front side of the VNE computer once installed in the CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

          VNE Computer (front side set at 235-250 RRPM)

 

 

         
The front side of the VNE computer once installed in the CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

          VNE Computer (front side set at 245 RRPM)

 

             For those still young and flexible enough to remember: Above and below are images of the VNE (Velocity Never Exceed) Computer that was mounted in the cockpit of the CH-47C Chinook helicopter.

   VNE is the maximum airspeed that may be flown without causing structural damage to the flying machine. A significant side effect of exceeding VNE in a rotary wing aircraft is that the blade tips enter the trans-sonic range of flight and may blow off, causing the helicopter to become uncontrollable - or at the very least, the occupants may experience a rather rough ride.

   The pilot would set the current Outside Air Temperature (OAT) on the sliding scale (top), along with the Pressure Altimeter (PA) (bottom) and the barometric altimeter setting (small silver colored knob in the lower right corner). Then, under the line indicated on the sliding clear plastic triangular plate, the VNE for the current conditions would be read.

   The plate indicating the Rotor RPM (RRPM - or revolutions per minute) could be flipped over depending on what the pilot set for the mission profile.

   It was a rather handy little device, simple in design and construction, that operated basically like a slide rule.

   When the D model was fielded, the VNE computer was removed and the pilot then obtained the information from the operator's manual.

 

         
The back side of the VNE computer once installed in the CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

          VNE Computer (back side)

 

 

          GA-714A Equipped CH-47D Cockpit Layout Chart

 

 

         
GA-714A equipped CH-47D cockpit layout chart, circa 2007.

             Above, a chart showing the cockpit layout of a GA-714A equipped CH-47D Chinook helicopter. Click-N-Go Here for a larger and printable version of the chart.

 

 

          Related Sites

          Behind the Dashboard.

          Check out an A model cockpit.

          Another point of view.

 

 

          The CH-47 - 40 years old and still circling the world.

         

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