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I'll fess up to about 11 months flying Hooks, with an 8 month 2nd tour in 'Nam. I was Flipper 45 with the 196th Assault Support Helicopter Company at An Son, Lane AHP in '69

I flew mostly the A Model - 2750 shaft horse power on each engine.

Since the rotors intermesh, they counter-act and cancel torque.

Controls remain the same, cyclic, collective and pedals. In this case right pedal would affect the forward and aft rotor heads differently causing the hook to rotate around a spot to the right. No tail rotor action, just forward rotor head to the right, aft rotor head to the left.

The model I flew maxed out at 33,000 lbs. We started a 2 hour duration of flight with 8,000 lbs. of JP4. Yep, that is 2 ton of fuel consumed each hour. After about 90 minutes into that fuel load, is when we could tackle the heavier sling loads.

The hook was really loud. They told us 120 decibels in the cockpit. The army fesses up to 112 decibels today. 85 decibels or more for 30 minutes or more equals permanent hearing loss. For me, as I go up the keys on a piano, eventually, I reach the point where I only hear the keys go clunk.

I really got off on how they used the '47 in some of those earlier missions in Afganistan. As I understand it, the BlackHawk did not have the capability to perform as well at the high altitudes.

The new rebuilt MH-47s are nearly a brand-new aircraft. They can strip down the airframe at the depot level, and do so much more these days to add avionic ability, extended fuel tanks, beefed-up drive-train components, etc.

For the rotor-heads that are here and have brought a single-rotor up to a hover, the hook is different.

1st step, a couple of inches of aft cyclic, add power and bring the nose and forward gear off the ground.

2nd, steady on the horizon, pedals and cyclic and add power to bring the rear gear up. Add collective to start the vertical speed, then just nose it over into transitional lift. Like most helicopters, the 47 takes more power to hover than to fly.

With an engine out at a forward location, we occasionally would roll forward and lift off with one engine, flying at best climb speed back to the unit for repair.

Maintenance sure did appreciate it when we saved them a trip to the boondocks.

I have flown TH-55s, (Hughes 269) H-13s, (Bell 47) UH-1H (Bell Iroquis), OH-6a (LOH Cayuse) and been in Bell Rangers. Nothing compares to the Hook, although I drool when the Marines go overhead near where I live south of Quantico with the Echo and later models of the CH-53

Very cool. I did Helicopter Support Team stuff (slingloads) with CH-53s in the Corps for a while- I remember loping away from the load on take off and being blown about three extra feet with every step. The racket was impressive.

Thanks for the twin-rotor lowdown- that answers pretty much what I was wondering.

Very interesting. Okay, I only understood a fraaction of what you wrote, but it's still interesting! And thanks for your serivce.

I write maintenance training programs for a contractor for the US military. I wrote programs for 4 systems in the CH-47F, which only produced 3 birds, as they were intended for the USA regular forces. All the rest were converted to this 'G' model and it's everything the Special Ops aviators have dreamed of.

We have a retired Army SOF Chinook pilot in our group, his stories don't reveal a lot in terms of details, but they make your hair stand on end.