U.S. Army’s CH-47 Chinook Helicopters to Have Spare Engines Until 2024 11 Mar 2021, 16:55 UTC · by In 1962, Boeing introduced the CH-47 Chinook, that funky-looking, tandem-rotor heavy lift machine we are so used to see flying over the battlefields of America’s wars. It’s quite an old breed of helicopters, but one the American military is not planning of retiring anytime soon. 10 photos Throughout its life, the Chinook suffered many changes, but it pretty much stayed true to the engine family that powered it ever since conception. T55 is how the family is called; it was made first by Lycoming and presently by Honeywell Aerospace.