Coulson Unical CU-47 N42CU • Upper Oso Reservoir

[@adeptpeasant6161]

You can see the rotors flex half way through the procedure as it's filling up. What a beast 💪

[@danmcbride6258]

The acquisition of Chinook 47’s by Coulson/Unical was genius . Further the adaptation and use of RADS XL Tank systems has made this a fire fighting weapon.

[@airboyd]

A day at the lake!

[@bendeleted9155]

They don't waste any time getting down to the surface. Sheer badassery right there. Thanks for moving the lake to the fire, btw.

[@Adam-xd4sb]

God, such a beautiful bird!!

[@viperq]

I saw these bad boys at the SCU fire back in August.

[@aileron48]

Man, there's nothing automatic about driving that puppy! Cudos the flight crew!

[@Manny7RM]

The AFCS computer make some pilots look good.

[@RupertAH]

The guy was struggling to keep it in a level and stationary hover.

[@daviddevillers6790]

the weight going up while refilling - gotta be on your game. beautiful.

[@AlexvanNoije]

I have heard the stories here in the Netherlands that this company bought also 4 ex Dutch AF CH-47D Chinooks for this role. These helicopters are being phased out in the Netherlands in the upcoming months as they are going to be replaced by brand new CH-47F helicopters. Nice video by the way!

[@DarqeDestroyer]

While it's filling up you can hear the engine note rise higher in pitch as it takes on water and gets heavier, and needs more power to compensate.

[@sirbader1]

I see this guy in Sacramento all the time.

[@kiid_chuki6390]

It's 2am and just heard it fly over my house

[@claudiocarbone2225]

Amazing beast!

[@sixblade6098]

Thanks for posting, Shaggy.

[@451degreesF]

What a beatiful bird. The color scheme really does it justice. How many tons can it carry in this configuration?

[@cliffhigson7581]

3000 us gallons (11,300 litres) go to coulsonunical.com & click on the link for either ch47 or uh60 for full details.

[@Manny7RM]

That combining transmission starts screaming when is full 👍

[@superskullmaster]

You noticed that too huh?

[@LA-ep2nr]

I noticed it as well. Also, you can see the “coning” in the blades as the weight increases. Great badass helicopter.

[@paultrappiel9943]

Wow I wish we have these in Australia. It's not too bad now but mid January to March is nasty.

[@noah.jenner1]

we have them now!

[@ginacalabrese3869]

I feel that using its lifting power to sling a big ass Bambi Bucket would take less time.

[@johnosbourn4312]

Interesting video, but, still enjoyable.

[@marcmarcantonio3066]

When coupled with the Heli-Hydrant (www.whalingfire.com/heli-hydrant.html) you have the ultimate wildland fire fighting tool, as proven in the Blue Ridge Fire in Yorba Linda, CA last October! If Heli-Hydrants were installed in every water system that borders wildlands these fires can be extinguished quickly before they spread out of control.

[@marcmarcantonio3066]

And they refill with water faster than the chopper can withdraw the water, so they are ready for the next helicopter before the last one clears the airspace. Every public water system should install these if they border a potential wildland fire area.

[@donkoh5738]

...apparently they are designated CU-47 by the Coulson company, with a total of 12 being delivered? Anyhow, US Forest Service should imo buy at least 20-25 new block 2 CH-47F units (via targeted stimulus funds) to sub-Lease out to private firefighting companies ? Quick Reaction aviation

[@airboyd]

3000 gallons vs 1000 gallons in the smaller birds. They were able to return about every 6 minutes for water at this fire.

[@donkoh5738]

indeed, seems pretty cost-effective when broken down to gallon dumped per minute, per dollar. Why the US Forest Service doesn't have a fleet of these perhaps to Lease out prepositioned for quick reaction, given all the insanely destructive, disruptive and harmful wildfires nearly every year, is bewildering imo. ... a few could further be modified with the glass cockpits, terrain following radar and FLIR to enable night time firefighting ops ! that would be badass

[@ballesvalencia]

nice!!!!

[@randallparker8477]

Bummer... no drops.

[@airboyd]

Can't get close to it today.

[@мухтарбек.дуйшенкулов]

🦅👍