Hooker Aircraft Maintenance

The Circle Red X Ranch

The Best Aviation Maintenance Team in the World

Many of our maintenance team began their careers when the Chinook was first fielded. Their level of experience and expertise on the CH-47 was unequaled. This resulted in our aircraft being maintained in excellent condition. In fact, upon turn-in of our A, B and C models, Boeing referred to our maintenance as "Boeing West." Our Chinooks arrived in Philadelphia in the best shape of any in the fleet.

ASF 25 was responsible for day to day aviation maintenance with most of the members also serving in the Reserve unit.

At one point we had 30 CH-47As at Paine Field at the same time. Our maintenance crew not only kept them flying, they pulled us through the 1982 fleet-wide grounding of all Army Chinooks after the deadly crash of a Chinook in Germany. The cause was determined to be a depot-level OHSA change to rebuild procedures of Chinook transmissions. We had to inspect all 30 aircraft, pull the rotor blades and in some cases, pull engines and transmissions to be sent to active-duty units.

Our aircraft didn't just sit on the ramp, we flew them more and worked them harder than most active duty Chinook outfits in the Army. In all the years we had our A, B C and D models not a single aircraft was lost to maintenance errors. Engine failures were unheard of. Hooker maintenance was that good.

The Hookers received their first A model Chinook while we were located at Sand Point Naval Air Station, Seattle in 1972. Noise complaints from wealthy and influential residents above the base forced us to relocate to Paine Field near Everett WA. With the new facility, we also gained more ramp and parking space, as well as a large hangar with shop space for aircraft maintenance. Paine Field also gave us access to a fully functional airport, complete with instrument landing capability and airport firefighting and crash rescue. We operated at Paine field from 1973 to 1996.

Aircraft Maintenance provided the same expert service no matter were we flew. Summer Camps took us to Yakima Firing Center, Boise Idaho, Fort Lewis, Fort Irwin, CA, Hunter Daggett, CA and many small detachment ops as far away as Yellowstone National Park, Honduras and British Columbia. 1n 1978 we participated in REFORGER moving the entire unit to Germany for two weeks.

The Hookers performed 3 deploymets, with aircraft to Iraq.

By 1996 cost considerations and noise complaints again forced the Hookers to relocate to Gray Army Airfield, Fort Lewis where they operate to this day. All the D model Chinooks are gone, replaced by new F model aircraft.

Only a handful of the "Old Guard" remain as most of us have retired or moved on, not wishing to relocate to the Fort Lewis area.

Those years at Paine Field were 'Camelot Years' and nothing remotely like what we did will ever happen again. To Aviation Maintenance- Well Done!