Final Ride

“A15-202 was the first helicopter I flew in Afghanistan,” said MAJ McDougall. “All of the aircraft have their perks and quirks. If something out of the ordinary happened the crew would say ‘yep, that happens on 201 or 151’, but for some reason 202 was just the one that worked. All the time. She would just get the job done. ” 202’s final mission saw it depart C Squadron’s Townsville flightline on April 16, in company with one of its replacements in Army Aviation service, Foxtrot model Chinook A15-303.

The four-day journey south saw the pair of Chinooks make stops at Rockhampton, RAAF Base Amberley, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga.

“Rockhampton, Amberley and Tamworth were very much fuel and administration stops,” said MAJ McDougall. “Wagga Wagga was specifically chosen partly because it was a RAAF base where we could get the support that we needed, but mostly it was west of Canberra. Knowing Canberra in April the weather was going to be a factor and landing here gave us the best opportunity to make sure we got in and delivered on the day. ”

Final ride

As it happened a clear morning greeted the two Chooks’ arrival at Fairbairn Defence Establishment, Canberra Airport on April 19. A small party of Defence and AWM VIPs then boarded the CH-47F before a ceremonial final flight to Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC) in Canberra’s north.

That flight included air-to-air photography over some Canberra landmarks including the Royal Military College Duntroon, Defence Headquarters at Russell and Parliament House.

A15-202, callsign ‘Brahman’, then made its final landing at EPIC shortly after 1030 local time in front of the Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Rick Burr, Head Helicopter Systems Division, Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group Major General Andrew Mathewson and the Director of the AWM Dr Brendan Nelson.

“Parking A15-202 for the very final time was quite special,” said MAJ McDougall. “The knowledge that this Chinook is going to the Australian War Memorial and the 20 years of service that C Squadron has given thus far is going on to be remembered certainly touches the heart a bit. ” Named Centaur, after the mythological creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse, A15-202 was one of two additional CH-47Ds acquired under Project AIR 130 in 2001 and was one of a total of eight CH-47Ds to be operated by C Squadron.

A15-202 was one of Army’s first CH-47Ds to be deployed to Afghanistan in March 2006, and would make four rotations there to support International Security Assistance Force operations, serving in-theatre for a total of 513 days.

For a 2009 incident where it was hit by enemy fire during a troop insertion in Afghanistan in 2009, Centaur’s pilot, Captain Michael Whitney, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership and composure during the incident.

Towed into history

Once the dust from its final landing had settled, literally, Army engineers harvested all re-usable spares from A15-202 to go back into the supply chain for the CH-47F fleet. This included rotor blades, one of its engines and its forward transmission, which were all replaced with unserviceable items.

“There is a lot of parts commonality between the D and the F,” said MAJ McDougall. “The blades, the engines and most of the drive chain are 100 per cent common across the Foxtrot fleet. The parts we took off 202 we brought home in A15-303 or were shipped home via the logistics chain to get them back into the parts supply. ” Then on the evening of April 21, A15-202 was towed the short 2. 2km journey from EPIC to its new home at the AWM’s Treloar Technology Centre. With its six giant blades removed, and local intersections blocked off, a tug gracefully pulled A15-202 backwards up Flemington Road into the night during the half‑hour operation.

Supervision and support for the disposal mission for A15-202 was provided by Army’s Cargo Helicopter Management Unit, part of the Cargo Helicopter and Unmanned Aerial Systems – Systems Project Office. “They organised the entire thing,” said a complimentary MAJ McDougall. “The swinging of the spanners to remove the salvageable components at EPIC was done by the guys of C Squadron. Our Chinooks don’t fly without their support. They are in there every single day working to keep our technical chain up and running. ”

Two to go

Just two CH-47Ds remained in service with C Squadron, A15-201 and A15- 151, but both are being retired over coming weeks.

“It’s just phasing out now where most of the guys have qualifications on both models of the type at the same time,” said MAJ McDougall. “It’s been an almost seamless transition for us going from the D through to the F. The Chinook legacy will certainly carry on with CH-47F. ” A15-201 was due to relocate to the Army Aviation Training Centre, Oakey in late May to become a mechanical training aid for the Rotary Wing Aircraft Maintenance School (RAMS) after limited spares are salvaged. It will be stored initially until renovations for a new CH-47F training facility at the school are completed.

“In the past, the guys that come to RAMS would do their Chinook training overseas,” said MAJ McDougall. “We are bringing this back into Australia now and A15‑201 will be the trainer for those becoming airframe and engine technicians. ” A15-151 will also become a training aid. At the conclusion of main cabin upgrade trials in mid to late June, A15-151 will relocate to Darwin’s 1 Aviation Regiment (1 Avn Regt) while the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment (1CER) completes the final location for the aircraft. During this time, A15- 151 will be selectively harvested for spares.

Home to roost

“It feels very special to have part of what you have done remembered and on display for visitors to have some sense of what the aircraft and the people that made the aircraft work have done,” said MAJ McDougall. “It will always be a special feeling to remember that I was part of the crew that brought it in.

Behind the scenes, the thousands upon thousands of people who have all come together and made that particular thing work over the years are just as much part of it as the guys and myself who flew it into EPIC on the final day. ”

202 was just the one that worked. All the time. MAJ CHRIS MCDOUGALL Centaur