The latest and most advanced Special Operations Chinook completed its first flight Friday in Philadelphia. After a series of system checks, the aircraft, an MH-47G, performed basic aerial maneuvers for more than an hour. The aircraft is one of three reconstituted Chinooks being upgraded from the U.S. Army CH-47D configuration to meet immediate customer needs. Currently, the U.S. Army's Special Operations Chinook inventory consists of 34 MH-47Ds and MH-47Es, but is expected to double in size over the next decade due to growing operational requirements. Boeing will deliver its first G-model Chinook in May and 36 more by 2007.
That's official blurb on the first flight of the G-Mod. It really doesn't look much different than the the D-mod shown at the beginning of this thread, except it's still in primer and the refueling boom. Even though it's the same size and just a little heavier, the carrying capcity is now 54,000 lbs which is almost twice the weight of the empty ship. Of course that hurts the fuel mileage which is about 3 gallons per mile. Yes, gallons per mile.
