An urgent 10pm telegram arrived at the Chengdu office of Leader Mutual Freight (LMF) on May 4, 2018 – China's national day for disaster prevention and relief was but a week away, but the Chinese National Committee for Disaster Reduction required the transportation of two helicopters from a military base in Qingbaijiang, Chengdu City to Yingxiu, Wenchuan County. The mission was to deliver them within two days, before emergency drills involving aerial rescue and aid drop by helicopters on May 6. LMF went all out for this assignment.

A dedicated transportation unit was established, emergency meetings were summoned, and late-night discussions became the norm. The LMF team’s winning strategy was formulated this way: to minimize dismantling and re-assembly time, the helicopters had their rotors removed, and the main aircraft body transported by using 16-meter low cab forward (LCF) trucks outfitted with a top-of-the-line air suspension system.

The decision to only remove the rotors from the rotary-wing aircrafts was a crucial one. It enabled the body to be transported military freight style, bookended by vehicles escorting the copters to the temporary base established for the 2018 National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day, which was chosen to be on May 12 after the date of the deadly 8.0-magnitude Sichuan Earthquake of 2008.

The convoy departed 7pm on May 5, following the completion of technical checks, flight tests, rotor dismantlement, and other preliminary prep work. The escort started with a standard-size vehicle clearing the road and sweeping for danger, two LCF trucks hauling side by side, and another vehicle guarding the rear from civilian cars. The 130-kilometer mountainous journey required three stops along the way for cargo security checks. Arriving by 2am on May 6, security stood guard all night until the drill organizers arrived at the scheduled hand-over time. They were most pleased.

The LMF Sichuan office had helped transport emergency aid in the wake of the 6.6-magn