[fix]

In fact in the 4 years there, and his stationings at other places, nearly every chopper that went down where we were was a Chinook.

I find that hard to believe considering the fact that the Marine Corps has never had Chinooks in it's inventory. Sounds like my earlier posts went in one ear and out the other. I'm certain you are referring to the CH46 Sea Knight. At MCAS New River the CH46E outnumbers the other aircraft on station roughly 2/1. It's understandable that there would be more incidents involving the busiest aircraft.

No helicopter can survive surface to air and not go down

I know a few Vietnam Veterans that would be interested in this fact...considering that their own experience disproves it. Your dad was a Corpsman, great. That does not make you an expert. My son's father (ME) was a CH46E crewman, and my son knows little to nothing about the airplanes other than "Hey look daddy, there's a Phrog." At least he identifies them correctly.

Oh indeed, but that dual rotor design, while having some very real advantages does have the one big disadvantage.

The syncronization shafts on a tandem rotor plane are no more vulnerable than the tail rotor drive shaft on other helicopters. What's your point?

[HamiltonJay]

I find that hard to believe considering the fact that the Marine Corps has never had Chinooks in it's inventory. Sounds like my earlier posts went in one ear and out the other. I'm certain you are referring to the CH46 Sea Knight. At MCAS New River the CH46E outnumbers the other aircraft on station roughly 2/1. It's understandable that there would be more incidents involving the busiest aircraft.

I have never claimed to be an expert, All I have said is the propensity of the dual rotor helicopter to crash was higher in my personal experience. Yes, it was the most prolific vehicle at the airstation. And maybe my stepfather and I both witnessed nothing more than a bubble, and perhaps the marines and navy personel's mythos regarding the helicopter is incorrect.

I find the odds of any helicopter surviving Sam/Sidewinder or other other missle strike without going down dubious at best. I am sure it has happened, but I would bet you statistically you are in better shape of winning the lottery. I have seen photos from every scene my stepfather had to visit, many in NC, some in Cali and some in Va... with 1 exception, which involved an collision, they were all dual rotor.

I don't claim to know why, or how... I am just saying that was my personal experience, nothing more. I firmly believe they were shot down in Afghanistan and so really don't know why all this hubub is going on anyway.