Corpus Christi Army Depot artisans are pumping life back into a damaged MH-47G.
The second Special Ops bird to come through the depot is seeing success, as depot artisans turn a structurally unsound 47 into a brand new advanced heavy lifting machine.
This particular aircraft had an in-flight incident where the rotor blades physically contacted the refueling hose, shaking the aircraft violently and causing severe damage to the roof section. At one point, the bird was forced to make an emergency landing, damaging the landing gear.
The roof section and landing gear were damaged during the shutdown sequence after the "hard landing," initiating an emergency landing and grounding.
The 47 teetered on being completely scrapped but was instead sent to CCAD where artisans hope to have the bird in like-new condition by the end of the summer.
One of the biggest challenges yet has been installing a roof-kit, a first at the depot.
An entire cabin crown kit, being housed at Tinker Air Force Base, was procured from AMCOM for the helicopter.
Artisans cut the roof off the damaged 47 and prepared the kit.
"Anytime you take a new part and put it on an old bird they're not going to match up," said Greg Lincoln, Chinook field service representative for the Boeing Company.
The original manufacturer, Boeing, no longer makes components for this aircraft, creating a unique need for parts. Lincoln compared it to fixing a car.
"It's like buying a car from the 80's. They don't make a lot of parts for the 80's anymore. They make it for the current generation."
The new roof had to be modified to specifically fit this G model. It was then physically installed on the aircraft.
"It's got a lot of blood line to it. It's built from several different models of aircraft. It's all 'Frankensteined' together to make a G model."
This particular aircraft was initially a C model in the 1960's but has since then been converted into a G model to serve on Special Ops missions.
Since the bird is an older model a lot of references aren't available or are very limited. This is where Boeing; the Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) and CCAD personnel work together to make it happen.
"It keeps you on your toes because not all aircraft are the same. This aircraft, even though it's a G model, is not made from the same year group. It's a completely different design and has a different background," said Lincoln.
"Working as a team, it took us about an hour to actually put the kit on the aircraft," said Sheet Metal Mechanic Ovidio Trejo.
The bird is part of the elite TF 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and with a small fleet to support the regiment, this aircraft is significant to the Special Ops community.
"We really have accomplished something," said Trejo.
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