13 September 2024
Packing for a flight can be a headache at the best of times, but when your carry-on weighs nearly 12,000kg and measures 30 metres across, it adds a whole new dimension of stress.
But it’s a feat of logistics that the technical support troop of C Squadron, 5th Aviation Regiment, has to undertake periodically to ensure one of the Army’s most valuable and versatile transport platforms can get where it needs to go.
The first phase of this years’ Exercise Brahman Rebuild 24 involved the tear-down of a CH-47F Chinook, to the point where it could be loaded into a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III for transport, known as a strategic air (STRATAIR) deployment.
The second part of the mechanical jigsaw puzzle focused on rebuilding the helicopter, testing its operational preparedness with ground runs and maintenance check flights, then putting it back to work ferrying soldiers, equipment and supplies.
The intense training activity was carried out by two forward repair troops comprising 16 maintainers and their supervisors from August 12 - 25 at RAAF Base Townsville.
'It’s a complex task; the main rotor blades and forward transmission have to come off and be loaded into the Chinook, as well as the aft pylon.'
Aircraft Maintainer Specialist Stephen Zanetti said it was an arduous job but the practice was vital to ensure future deployments, particularly operations overseas, were a success.
“It’s important to do this every once in a while so we can train on it, do it in slow time, very deliberately, ironing out the kinks as we go,” he said.
While Specialist Zanetti is a seasoned aircraft maintainer, he said at least 90 per cent of the team that worked on the four-day disassembly/rebuild were doing it for the first time.
“It’s a complex task; the main rotor blades and forward transmission have to come off and be loaded into the Chinook, as well as the aft pylon,” he said.
“Restraining devices also have to be attached so the C-17 loadmasters can properly secure the Chinook inside the aircraft. It’s a pretty tight fit.”
Adding an extra degree of difficulty to what is already a highly technical drill, the work was done using a mobile crane to better replicate conditions in the field.
The successful completion of the exercise means the Townsville-based medium-lift helicopters can travel anywhere a C-17 can land, providing crucial aviation support for Australian and allied troops.
