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The CH-47 Chinook is a descendent of the banana-shaped Piasecki helicopter designs of the 1940s and 1950s, such as the H-21. Frank Piasecki’s company was renamed Vertol in 1956 and acquired by The Boeing Company in 1960. The first CH-47A Chinook for the U.S. Army entered service in 1962, and the type was widely used in Vietnam. The Chinooks were vital to many aspects of that war, including troop transport, placing artillery batteries in mountain positions inaccessible by other means, and recovering downed aircraft. Chinooks retrieved 11,500 disabled aircraft, worth over 3 billion U.S. dollars, throughout the conflict.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, a major upgrade program was initiated, converting over 500 “A” models to more powerful and modernized CH-47Ds. Three hundred of these airframes were further modernized in the early 2000s as the CH-47F, with digital flight decks and numerous improvements. Further enhancements are planned, which should keep CH-47s flying into the mid-21st Century.
The Museum’s Chinook, named My Old Lady, was built in 1962, and on January 9, 1963 it became the fifth Chinook accepted by the U.S. Army. The twin-engined helo accommodates a crew of two or three and up to 50 troops. It has served with the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, based at Camp Murray near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, since 2009. The aircraft flew combat missions in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan during 2009-2011. Locally, it was flown in support of domestic emergencies, most recently the Okanogan Complex Wildfire in 2015. It is the only authorized U.S. Army aircraft with nose art. My Old Lady was the oldest flyable Chinook in the world-wide Army inventory when it was taken off of flight status in 2017 after 54 years of service.
Matterport 3D Tour
The CH-47 Chinook is a descendent of the banana-shaped Piasecki helicopter designs of the 1940s and 1950s, such as the H-21. Frank Piasecki’s company was renamed Vertol in 1956 and acquired by The Boeing Company in 1960. The first CH-47A Chinook for the U.S. Army entered service in 1962, and the type was widely used in Vietnam. The Chinooks were vital to many aspects of that war, including troop transport, placing artillery batteries in mountain positions inaccessible by other means, and recovering downed aircraft. Chinooks retrieved 11,500 disabled aircraft, worth over 3 billion U.S. dollars, throughout the conflict.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, a major upgrade program was initiated, converting over 500 “A” models to more powerful and modernized CH-47Ds. Three hundred of these airframes were further modernized in the early 2000s as the CH-47F, with digital flight decks and numerous improvements. Further enhancements are planned, which should keep CH-47s flying into the mid-21st Century.
The Museum’s Chinook, named My Old Lady, was built in 1962, and on January 9, 1963 it became the fifth Chinook accepted by the U.S. Army. The twin-engined helo accommodates a crew of two or three and up to 50 troops. It has served with the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, based at Camp Murray near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, since 2009. The aircraft flew combat missions in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan during 2009-2011. Locally, it was flown in support of domestic emergencies, most recently the Okanogan Complex Wildfire in 2015. It is the only authorized U.S. Army aircraft with nose art. My Old Lady was the oldest flyable Chinook in the world-wide Army inventory when it was taken off of flight status in 2017 after 54 years of service.
Aviation Pavilion
