Chapman Freeborn has transported six helicopters on a single Boeing 747-800 freighter.

Chapman Freeborn — the global air charter company and part of Avia Solutions Group — has assisted with the transportation of six Bell helicopters on a singular charter from Greece to Australia.

Operated by McDermott Aviation, the Bell214ST and Bell214B helicopters arrived back in Australia on the morning of October 18, 2023, landing at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport (WTB).

The Silkway West Airlines B747-800F was greeted with a ceremonial water salute performed by two fire engines on the runway — marking a milestone or notable flight, such as the inauguration of a new aircraft, a pilot’s retirement or, in this case, an exceptional charter flight.

"Chapman Freeborn has been involved with the mobilisation and demobilisation of charters for McDermott Aviation for over three years, and during this time, we have seen new records broken and benchmarks set," said Michael Amson, VP - Australia at Chapman Freeborn.

"If you said to a regular commercial airline that you need to load even just one unit, 8 meters in length, onto a PMC pallet with overhang on all sides, the answer would be a straight 'no'. Yet, here we are showing that it can be done by having six helicopter fuselages loaded consecutively onto the world’s longest widebody freighter aircraft," he added.

The charter was executed in collaboration with ground handling agent Menzies Aviation and freight forwarder Cargo Connect Global Logistics.