Boeing CH-47 Chinook the CH-47 have been developed since the helicopter entered service. The U.S. Army's first major design leap was the now-common CH-47D, which entered service in 1982. Improvements from the CH-47C included upgraded engines, composite rotor blades, a redesigned cockpit to reduce pilot workload, improved and redundant electrical systems, an advanced flight control system, and improved avionics. The latest mainstream generation is the CH-47F, which features several major upgrades to reduce maintenance, digitized flight controls, and is powered by two 4,733-horsepower Honeywell engines. A commercial model of the Chinook, the Boeing-Vertol Model 234, is used worldwide for logging, construction, fighting forest
Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant Series production facilities for Mil-designed helicopters include Rostvertol in Rostov-na-Donu, the Kazan Helicopter Production Association, and the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant. Mil participates in the Euromil joint venture with Eurocopter. Mil was established in 1947 under the guidance of Mikhail Mil as the helicopter laboratory of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast. The Mil Mi-1 became the first mass-produced Soviet helicopter. The Mi-8 helicopter, designed in the early 1960s, was a successful design in both military and civil applications, with over 12,000 units being produced. Mil merged with Kamov and Rostvertol to form Russian Helicopters in 2006. The Mil