European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday september 11.1983 the stars and stripes Page 9 Sis a of. Ghostly shapes in it curly morning the Chinook he Lac opt is arc prepared by Mcm tors of cob 70th trans in Colt Man Barracks for loading Nln a Rhine River Barge. Army chinooks shrink wrapped for . Shipment byc rvs Tai Laureano staff writer Mannheim West Germany the Chinook Helko piers hound for the stall arrived at Roll Man army Airfield looking file Normal but. After two Days in the hands of co b. 70lh trans Lin an aviation maintenance unit the Cti-47s emerged from. Just the beginning of challenges facing co it. Col. Stein hangars hardly recognizable As aircraft. Wils Rotor Blades removed and air frames covered in tight fitting Shine while plastic wrap the helicopters looked like alien spacecraft. Throughout Ilie Jear 60 outgoing c Model clw7s and 4s incoming d mod Els have pasted through the hangars of cob the last shipment of a Model chinooks a refitted upgraded c Model arrived in Germany last week bringing the yearlong Mission to an end. Learning How to drape wide strips of plastic Over the army s largest helicopter and shrink the plastic to a form ill with a propane Torch was just the beginning of challenges facing cob said it. Col. Kenneth r. Stem project manager for the ch-47 Fielding team. Ahead by the ask of towing five chinooks Al a time Down local roads to a Rhine River Dock. Once there each air Craft had to be steered onto a Barge ramp with Only inches to spare. One broken Lens on 3 Small Side lamp was the Only loading casualty Stein . Then a Soldier from co b accompanied the chinooks on the two Day Barge trip to Rotterdam Netherlands where he was joined by a unit assistance team to oversee the Transfer of the aircraft to merchant Marine vessels heading for Bayonne , the shrink wrapped d Model chinooks models upgraded at the Boeing helicopter Plant to Phila Delphia were on their Way to Rotter aircraft also passed through co b hangars where the earlier transformation was reversed off Wilh the shrink wrap on Wilh the Rotor Blades out for a test night then off to new three Chino olt companies in Europe 20sln aviation co 8lh aviation tin. Al Mainz Finhen co a 5th Len i59lh aviation regl Al Schwabish Hall and cob 6th in Isth avid lion kept at Coleman Barracks exchanged i hair inventories of 20 a Mojsl chinooks for 16 d models. The d is Able to carry More farther and faster so it can do More in one trip than the i could swin said in addition to the three companies in Germany a fourth Chinook unit the 394th aviation co will be activated somewhere in Europe during the coming year he said a rebuilt Model d costs $5 million. Stein said compared Liju million fora new helicopter. " 55 l pm own Lett or. Soldiers and 4 German contractor carefully Inch Chinook Loward the ramp
