REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — U.S. Army Chinook helicopters toting orange, water-spraying booms will be back in the skies over Huntsville soon as part of regular training for a winter mission.
Crews based at Redstone will be taking part in that training before heading to Marquette, Mich., this winter.
The activity in North Alabama helps prepare those crew members on use of the Helicopter Icing Spray System -- or "HISS." That's a water-spraying orange boom that hangs below the CH-47 aircraft, releasing large amounts of water into the sky.
They system creates artificial icing conditions and is used as part of icing certification for military and civilian aircraft.
Crews that train at Redstone conduct actual testing at K.I. Sawyer International Airport in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Test pilots, flight test engineers and flight engineers within RTC’s Aviation Flight Test Directorate are involved in the testing process.
The icing program dates to the 1970s and has taken place at various northern locations. It has been based out of Michigan since 2015.
