Chinook helicopter flies a thousand miles non-stop

A Chinook helicopter from the 5th Transport Helicopter Battalion flew 1,000 miles (around 1,800 km) without a stopover for refueling on 8 September. It is the longest non-stop flight by a Spanish helicopter ever – a remarkable feat for Spanish aviation and for the Army Helicopter Forces.

The crew was made up of six members, four pilots and two mechanics, so they could take turns – the minimum crew for a Chinook is two pilots and a mechanic. In order to be prepared for such a long flight (9 hours 30 minutes), three auxiliary fuel tanks were fitted inside the aircraft connected to the main fuel tanks. The fact that the fuel load was that much greater rendered the mission more difficult and dangerous, because the helicopter was loaded to its maximum allowable weight limit.

The Chinook took off from the “Coronel Maté” base, located in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid), and began an instrument flight – i.e. without visual contact with the ground – in a westbound direction, all the way to Portugal. Once there is continued southwards over Portuguese territory until the crew spotted the southern coast of the country. At that point the helicopter turned east toward the city of Málaga, where a new turn to the north took it back to its starting point.

Mission commander Captain Miguel Carpintero explains that the operation had a double objective: serving as training to the crew and verifying the strategic projection capability of the aircraft. “It is very satisfying that the unit has been able to execute such a flight because it has shown the real range of the Chinook for a hypothetical strategic deployment,” he asserted.

The aircraft’s crew after the mission (Photo: FAMET)