The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Aviation & Missile Center (CCDC AvMC), Boeing, and GE Aviation expanded the flight envelope in their demonstration of a Chinook helicopter with GE Aviation's T408 engine at Ft. Eustis, Va. The cooperative test team achieved first flight in September 2020, and continues to show how integration of more powerful engines on the CH-47 Chinook can support future aircraft capability and Army Aviation modernization efforts.

The final training step is the Composite Maintenance Trainer (CMT), a full-scale mock-up of the CH-53K aircraft, including replicas of its three T408 engines. Training will begin at Marine Air Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina. David Karcher, a Lockheed Martin senior specialist mechanic explained, “The benefit to a trainer like this is to create an environment that is somewhat realistic to a real aircraft but has safety in mind.”

The addition makes a total of 24 CH-53K production aircraft now under contract. GE Aviation’s Lynn plant continues to deliver T408 production engines to the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

The U.S. Army continues every day to rely on its rotorcraft fleet which includes main staples like the Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook.

This first flight is the culmination of a five-year effort under between the Army, Boeing and GE Aviation to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of higher-power engines.

GE delivers first production T408 for heavy-lift CH-53K

GE Aviation’s capability to execute and deliver the most advanced turboshaft engines for the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) modernization is accelerating. By the end of 2020, GE Aviation will complete the transition of nearly 1,000 engineers from its commercial programs to its military programs.

This September marks the 80^th anniversary of the world’s first practical helicopter. On Sept.