Alpha and Omega – New Names for Two Mighty Chinooks
Two of Coulson Aviation’s powerful Chinook CH47D waterbombers have new names while they’re firefighting in Chile for the plantation company CMPC.
Thanks to a community member in Chile who suggested the names as part of a competition run by CMPC, the Chinooks will be called Alpha and Omega, strong names that suit the mega-helicopters.
Coulson Aviation has 4 Chinook helitankers and a UH60 Blackhawk working in major fire operations in Chile.
CMPC has contracted two of the Chinooks as part of their fire operations planning.
Chinook N49, based at Trilahue will be called Alpha, and N47, based at Angol will be Omega.
The names align to the CMPC response code where Alpha means “fire start” and
Omega means “fire end”.
Coulson Group Co-President Foster Coulson said the new names of the two Chinook helicopters perfectly described their power and the job they were doing in Chile.
“These Chinook’s have caught the imagination of the Chilean communities in which they are operating,” he said.
“They’re big and impressive in the sky, and the names Alpha and Omega are a great fit for the firefighting capability the community sees when the helicopters are deployed – fast flying and fast filling to better protect communities from fire.”
With a maximum capacity of 10,000 litres and the ability to fill in around two minutes from open water sources, the Coulson Chinook's have a specially designed tank and delivery system able to direct the water to get the maximum impact on the fire.
While they are big, the Chinooks are fast in the sky and are agile enough to fill from open water sources. A retractable snorkel allows maximum air speed to be achieved when travelling to the fire and around the fire ground.
An integrated multi-national team is operating in country with more than 80 Coulson team members including pilots, flight engineers, maintenance and management staff.
The Chinooks and Coulson team members have been kept busy with the Chilean fire season.