Nice Jolly..

[Kevin Wood]

Just been for a ride in this: 

[Raeturbo]

Hope you kept your chin up

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Took me a second but I got it 

10/10 

[dave the builder]

Cool
dropping napalm as part of TB's cull 
or a more selective tidy up with the 50 cal 

[Doctor Gollum]

Right time, right place

Haven't been in one of those since I was about 7

[Raeturbo]

My son was jumping off the back of one of them with full marine kit at about 12.000 ft Afghanistan 

[Andy B]

My son was jumping off the back of one of them with full marine kit at about 12.000 ft Afghanistan 

[Andy B]

I've stood next to one in the Falklands .... they're HUGE 

[Raeturbo]

Yes indeed and powerful

[ronnyd]

At least you got back down ok. They used to have a nasty habit of falling out of the sky. Must have been a great buzz.

[Kevin Wood]

Cool
dropping napalm as part of TB's cull 
or a more selective tidy up with the 50 cal 

Maybe next time they'll let me loose on the weapons systems.

They could have chucked it around a bit more, TBH, but with 20 civvies in the back I'm guessing they didn't fancy a clean-up job.

Still, it was very cool and quite serene inside considering all the whining and throbbing going on from the outside.

Very little vibration or sensation of engine load at any point. Just seemed effortless.

[aaronjb]

Very little vibration or sensation of engine load at any point. Just seemed effortless.

Assuming it's an F then it has what, 9000hp? It'd have to be 20 really, really fat civvies to give it any kind of trouble! (If it's a RAF C or D then it "only" has ~7500hp, but even so..)

What's their lifting capacity, something like 10t?

[Sir Tigger KC]

Wow! Lucky bugger! 

[Doctor Gollum]

If the ones that buzz past here are any measure, they sound like at least half of that power is purely to make noise

[Lizzie Zoom]

What a great trip!

I would love to fly in one of those, and have done since seeing them on the TV in news reports on the Vietnam War.  The other Nam helicopter that I wanted to fly in was of course the Bell UH-1 Iroquois or Huey.  I once knew a retired USAF pilot that flew them in that war, but regretfully for me he would never want to talk about it as he was disgusted and ashamed by what he saw in the name of his country.

I wonder what the oldest flying Chinook is, and indeed the Huey?

What stories they could tell!