As I was getting the mail and talking to our postal person today, a CH-47 Chinook flew overhead, quite loudly. I could ID the type instantly, but the color scheme threw me. It was painted white in the front, black in the rear, with a broad red stripe running bend dexter separating the two. All the paint was bright enamel, not muted at all. Sucker looked showroom. Definitely not a usual paint job. Any ideas? Marine Corps Recruiting? Coast Guard? WCTU? This was SoCal, so the flight path was generally westwards through the San Jacinto Pass.
Nothing clicks so far. The helicopter was low enough that I am sure of the paint scheme. Front half - white. Back half - black. Big ass diagonal red stripe separating the two. The scheme was front/back, not top/bottom. That’s what threw me. I’d never seen anything like that on a chopper before.
It could also have been a Chinook with a temp or unfinished paint scheme. The Helimax chinooks looked like thiswhen they first got them.
One other possibility closer to that colour scheme (white front, red diagonal, black back) is PJ Helicopters, but they don’t list a Chinook (or any other tandem that could be mistaken for one) in their fleet.
Heligroup Fire, LLC operates Chinook for firefighting operations in Cali. They run a Red/White/Black color scheme. Might be theirs. Google tail number N947CH to see an example (same color, different pattern, but maybe they switch it up or repainted?).
Not the correct order, but the LA Fire Department uses white/black/red in what sounds like the style you’re talking about. I didn’t find a picture of an actual CH-47; maybe they switched the colors for the new aircraft?