Episode Details

A financial gamble that nearly cost a company its independence ended up producing one of the most enduring aircraft in aviation history. On September 21, 1961, the helicopter that became the CH-47 Chinook took its first flight, the product of Vertol Aircraft Corporation's high-risk bet on two simultaneous, self-funded helicopter programs, a decision that led directly to Boeing acquiring the company just a year earlier. Two decades later, a single Royal Air Force Chinook nicknamed Bravo November became Britain's only heavy-lift helicopter during the Falklands War after the rest of the fleet was lost when the ship carrying it was sunk, and the aircraft went on to move over two thousand troops and 550 tons of cargo in eighteen days. The same design is still doing the job today, pulling stranded hikers off Mount Whitney in 2021 and reaching climbers on Longs Peak in February 2026 when other helicopters couldn't fly. This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.

Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.

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