By ALLISON WOOD

Staff Writer

WESTFIELD CENTER — Students at Westfield Upper Elementary School watched and cheered as a black Chinook, which saw action in Iraq and Afghanistan, landed by the playground Wednesday afternoon.

At almost 100 feet long, the Ohio Army National Guard helicopter could be seen and heard from several miles away. While descending, the force of its twin rotors sent leaves flying into the air and landing on the students sitting on a hill adjacent to Greenwich Road.

After walking over to the helicopter, the students got the opportunity to tour the inside after a short presentation by pilot and Chief Warrant Officer Bryant Orr.

The Chinook is used to transport supplies to troops and can take up to 50,000 pounds of vehicles, troops or other cargo, Orr said. It is operated by a three-person crew, which includes a pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer who remains in the cargo area.

Fifth-grader Eric VanMeter, 10, of Seville, looks around the inside of the Chinook helicopter that landed Wednesday on the grounds of Westfield Upper Elementary School in Westfield Center. The pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer gave tours to students. (Shirley Ware | Photo Editor)

After walking up the back ramp, each class got to tour inside the cargo area and cockpit, while Orr answered their questions.

“We can’t go upside down,” he said in response to a student’s question. “If we did, we’d probably crash.”

The Chinook can seat 33 passengers and up to 60 if the seats are pushed back into the wall, he said. It also can transport two Humvees in the cargo area or convey cargo outside using one of the three hooks underneath the helicopter.

While waiting to glance into the cockpit, students wondered what it would be like to fly in a helicopter.

“I’ve never been in one,” said fifth-grader Cheyenne Rose, 10. “It would probably be really noisy and shaky.”

Fifth-grader Anna Kaczmarek, 10, said she was in a small helicopter once, but nothing as large as a Chinook.

“It doesn’t look much different, but a lot bigger,” she said.

While the pilot and co-pilot remain in the cockpit, flight engineer Sgt. Josh Mohler told waiting students his job is to monitor all the flight systems and help give the pilot directions since he is able to see from the back.

“When we were landing, I was sitting with my feet dangling out,” he said, adding he only does that when the weather is warm enough.

The Chinook’s visit was part of the school’s weeklong Veterans Day commemoration that also includes a penny war between the fifth and sixth grades, Principal Bart Randolph said. The money raised from the drive will be used to purchase Christmas wreaths for the graves at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman.

Randolph said he first learned Orr, a Wadsworth resident and his son’s baseball coach, flew Chinooks after talking about seeing them fly over his house.

Orr said in order for Westfield to get a Chinook visit, the school had to fill out paperwork with the Ohio National Guard, which tries to accommodate requests made around Veterans Day.

After about two hours on the playground, Orr and the other crew members lifted off and went back to their base at Akron-Canton Airport.

Wood may be reached at 330-721-4050 or allisonwood@ohio.net.