CH 46 Sea Knight VS CH 47 Chinook (A Comparison)

Humans have come quite far, inventing things that seemed impossible at the time. The world has become advanced, anything is possible now, the things that were invented in the simplest form, humans keep developing them and coming up with new ways to better the invention. A helicopter is one of those inventions, it has evolved enormously since it was invented.

The first practical helicopter that was invented was in 1932, to be more specific, it was on September 14, 1932. It was just a simple machine, but now, a helicopter can do much more than just take flight. The helicopter was invented to be a way of transportation, but now it is used for many other purposes, for instance, military uses, news and media, tourism, and many more.

There are many types of helicopters, some are only used by the military and some are only used for tourism and other things. The helicopters that are used in the military are completely different ones, they are solely made for the military; therefore it has different aspects that can only be used by military.

CH 46 Sea Knight and CH 47 Chinook are two of the helicopter that is used by military. These two helicopters have many differences but also have similarities. They both were invented for transportation. The CH 46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift transporter, and CH 47 Chinook is heavy-lift transporter, it is also considered to be among the heaviest-lifting western helicopters.

Keep reading to know more.

Page Contents

What is the difference between a CH-46 and CH-47?

CH-46 and CH-47 are completely different helicopter, they are bulit differently; therefore the capabilites are different too. Although, there are a few similarites, here is a table of all the differences as well as the similarities.

CH-47 Chinook	CH-46 Sea Knight
Origin: United States	Origin: United States
Year: 1962	Year: 1964
Production: 1,200 units	Production: 524 units
Height: 18.9 ft	Height: 16.7 ft
Range: 378 miles	Range: 264 miles
Speed: 180 mph	Speed: 166 mph
EMPTY WT: 23,402 lbs	EMPTY WT: 11,585 lbs
M.T.O.W: 50,001 lbs	M.T.O.W: 24,299 lbs
Climb Rate: 1,522 ft/min	Climb Rate: 1,715 ft/min

Another difference between CH-47 and CH-46 is that CH-47 has a 2 × 7.62mm General Purpose Machine gun which is in other words is called Miniguns on side pintle mounts. It also contains 1 × 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Guns which is also known as Minigun on the rear cargo ramp.

The power which was installed in CH-47 and CH-46 are also different, CH-47 Chinook was installed with 2 × Lycoming T55-L712 turboshaft engines developing about 3,750 horsepower each during driving 2 × three-bladed main rotors. The power installed in CH-46 Sea Knight was 2 × General Electric T58-GE-16 turboshaft engines developing 1,870 horsepower and driving tandem three-bladed rotor system.

Is the Sea Knight a Chinook?

Sea Knight and Chinook are completely different machines, they are both used for liftings, but are built differently. One them is much more advanced and can lift heavy weights. Both were manufactured in United States, but two years apart. Sea Knight was invented to replace the Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse in 1964 and Chinook had already been invented in 1962.

Chinook and Sea Knight are both exquiste machines, but Chinook is bigger than Sea Knight and faster. Although, the climb rate of Chinook is 1,522 ft/min and Sea Knight’s climb rate is 1,715 ft/min which means Chinook is faster but it cannot climb as much as Sea Knight.

Is the Super Stallion bigger than a Chinook?

First, have a look at the video, it explains how a helicopter is bigger than the other.

Sikorsky CH 53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter manufactured by the US for the US military in 1981. It is also a heavy-lift helicopter, it is supposed to lift heavier and greater amounts than Chinook. The range of Super Stallion is much higher than Chinook, it is about 621 miles.

Super Stallion is much bigger than Chinook, even the wingspan has a huge difference, Super Stallion wingspan is 24 m and Chinook’s wingspan is about 18.28 m, which, evidently makes Super Stallion bigger. If we talk about engines, they are made for the same purpose, but as I said, they are built differently. The engine that is used in Chinook is Honeywell T55 and Super Stallion was built with General Electric T64 engine.

What weight can a Chinook carry?

Chinook is one of the heaviest-lifting helicopters, it is faster than most helicopters, but the climb rate is lower if compared to other helicopters. Chinook was invented for the heavy-lift; therefore it can carry about 55 troops and around 22,046 lbs of load.

As Chinook was invented on September 21, 1961, and in 2021, Boeing and Chinook operators celebrated their 60th anniversary. Chinook is praised by many as it always did the unthinkable, it flew in the harshest combat conditions, transporting troops and as well as heavy loads. Team Chinook has been doing its uttermost with the aircraft; therefore CH-47 Chinook is known now for its durability and strength and the Team Chinook says that CH-47 Chinook will be performing for the US military well beyond 2060.

Here are some aspects of Chinook that make it so good.

It has triple-hook external load system.
It contains internal cargo winch.
Chinook can lift upto 22,046 lbs of freight.
It can reserve large amount of power.

What is the most advanced helicopter?

There have been innumerable helicopters invented and they have been performing outstandingly, but as time passes the inventors are manufacturing helicopters that are much suited for the battlefield. One of the helicopters which was made for the US army is Apache AH-64E. It is considered the world’s most advanced helicopter, it is an attack helicopter, it is described as faster and deadlier which makes it perfect for the battlefield.

Apache AH-64E is an American helicopter with a twin turboshaft. It is made for many purposes, one of them is, precision strikes for the relocating target. The engine type is Turboshaft and has a speed of 227m/h with a range of 296 miles. It was made to be the best; therefore proved itself to be one of the advanced helicopters.

To Conclude

The first helicopter invented was in 1932, it was just an ordinary machine that didn’t contain many things, ever since the first helicopter, there have been manufactured myriad of helicopters that are much more advanced and can do much more than just fly. The first helicopter was invented to make another way of transportation, but now helicopters are used in many ways, for example, tourism and military use.

Sea Knight and Chinook are both outstanding helicopters and built for the same thing which is lifting. The Sea Knight is a medium-lifting helicopter and Chinook is one of the heaviest lifting helicopters. Chinook is faster than Sea Knight but it has a lower rate of climb than Sea Knight.

In 2021, team Chinook celebrated its 60th anniversary, they said it has done the unthinkable and will be serving for the US army beyond 2060. Chinook can carry up to 55 troops and 22,046 lbs of load, but it is not the biggest helicopter. Super Stallion is much bigger than Chinook, it is also a heavy-lift helicopter. It is built for the same purpose but has completely different aspects.

The most advanced helicopter is called Apache AH-64E, it is an attack helicopter which is owned by the US army, it has been described as faster and deadlier. It is a twin-turboshaft helicopter and has a top speed of 227m/h and the range is about 296 miles.