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Photo Info
Boeing Model 234 Chinook helicopter rests on the bed of a truck.

H.W. Farren receives award for Chinook transports

By Ben Forrest | October 20, 2016

Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 31 seconds.

 

In the space of about two years, New Jersey-based transport company H.W. Farren moved 21 Boeing rotorcraft and airframes over land to Columbia Helicopters’ facility in Aurora, Oregon.

The helicopters moved as oversized loads on flatbed trucks, starting from as far away as Delaware and making the cross-country trek in the dead of winter.

Boeing Model 234 Chinook helicopter rests on the bed of a truck.
Columbia Helicopters hired H.W. Farren to transport more than 20 Chinook helicopters and airframes, including the Taiwanese Model 234 pictured here. Columbia Helicopters Photo

“They hit every schedule, every budget, no surprises,” said Paul Leach, Columbia’s director of military maintenance.

“What’s impressive is, you can’t get the post office to deliver your mail on time that time of year.

“The fact they’re moving oversized loads in adverse conditions — it’s quite impressive, what they did. And that’s the reason we kept going back to them.”

Columbia initially hired H.W. Farren to move 10 complete CH-47D-model Chinook helicopters and two spare CH-47D airframes that served in the United States Army, through a government services auction.

The company later acquired three Boeing Model 234 Chinooks from the Taiwan government, with all of the aircraft slated for use in firefighting, the oil-and-gas sector, and government services.

It also acquired three Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight airframes and three additional Chinooks — two CH-47Ds moved within Oregon and a 234 model moved from Houston.

Columbia was reluctant to move the aircraft over land, in part because of the risk of damaging them. But Leach said the company also didn’t feel the bulk of the CH-47s were airworthy to its standards.

Glenn Wargo, left, of H.W. Farren, receives an award from Paul Leach of Columbia Helicopters
Glenn Wargo, left, of H.W. Farren, receives an award from Paul Leach of Columbia Helicopters. Glenn Wargo Photo

He began having serious discussions with H.W. Farren’s Glenn Wargo about moving the first few aircraft by road transport at HAI Heli-Expo in 2013 and they announced an agreement a year later.

Columbia was so pleased with the work that it presented Wargo and H.W. Farren with an award at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

The award recognizes exceptional professionalism and dedication to Columbia Helicopters’ mission.

“It means a lot,” said Wargo, director of Farren’s aircraft transport division and a member of the AUSA. “The confidence placed in us to transport their assets is absolutely outstanding. I can’t say anything more than that. I was just totally honored when I was advised that [we would] be receiving the award.”

Transporting Chinook helicopters was nothing new for H.W. Farren. Wargo cited past work for the U.S. Department of Defense and said the company has designed special cradles specifically to move Chinooks.

“It makes it extremely safe,” he said. “In other words, if something were to bump into it, crash into it, it would probably bounce off the cradles that we’ve designed, protecting the asset.”

Despite that experience, the Columbia job provided lessons that will help guide H.W. Farren as it moves forward.

“[The] most important thing — and it’s our company philosophy — is teamwork,” he said. “It’s also the philosophy at Columbia.”

Between the two companies, anywhere from 10 to 12 people were involved on each move, he said. Wargo noted these kinds of projects take an entire team of people working together cohesively.

A CH-47D-model Chinook is secured for land transport.
A CH-47D-model Chinook helicopter is secured for land transport. Glenn Wargo Photo

He also attributed special significance to receiving the award from Columbia Helicopters.

“A lot of the things that we do for the Department of Defense, there’s an appreciation there, but there cannot be any kind of acknowledgement,” he said.

“So getting something — in my work with the Department of Defense, the satisfaction of doing what you’re doing well is one thing.

“I’ve received several commendations for what they believe was above and beyond the call of duty. But with the people that I work for, what they do every day is above and beyond the call of duty.”

As for Leach, he said Columbia Helicopters is always looking to acquire more Chinook helicopters, though a decision to so has yet to be made. If it happens, he already has a partner in mind.

“As long as we’re moving aircraft via the road, H.W. Farren will be the choice,” he said.

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