https://theaviationist.com/2022/03/07/raf-chinook-load-lift/?fbclid=IwAR00aHkeUoboZzLHKRRo5bW-7tfYRM0QH1cTszG7BEKvLkprq8YKhNcDOOcfound this very interesting, quick read, pictures are very cool as well.
Enjoy,
JW
On Mar. 2, 2022, a RAF Chinook helicopter carried out a pretty peculiar mission when it delivered a new radar to the top of the Gibraltar rock. The ATC radar of RAF Gibraltar airfield, that serves also as the commercial airport of the British Overseas Territory, is located at the top of the iconic rock. The radar needed to be replaced, a task that could not be completed by road, as the roads to the top of the rock are too narrow for ground transportation.
For this reason, a RAF Chinook helicopter (ZA680) was flown from the UK via Portugal and undertook the lift of the massive radar, a 11.8 meter structure weighting over 8,000 kg, to the summit, site of the former Rock Gun Battery. According to Aquila Air Traffic Management Services that delivered the new radar to serve RAF Gibraltar, the new radar was transported as an underslung load by the Chinook in four parts. The radar’s rotational turning gear, two large antennae and the “horn” – the transmit and receive section of the antenna – were each lifted in four separate journeys. Also flown to the top of the Rock was a new navigational beacon. The upgrade to RAF Gibraltar’s Air Traffic Management system is part of an MOD wide 1.5 billion GBP investment in to air traffic management systems, known as Programme Marshall. The programme includes a 400 million GBP investment in advanced surveillance radars and a wide range of sophisticated equipment such as tower systems, new surveillance and navigation aids and radios, with the purpose to ensure increased reliability for air traffic management, improved safety and estimated savings of 317 million GBP for the MOD over the course of the 22-year partnership with Aquila to support the new equipment.
