The Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe is a twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter designed by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. The civil version is the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane. The Army purchased 105 CH-54s before its discontinuation. The S-64 Aircrane is still in production. There are currently numerous complete and partial airframes in existence for this aircraft. Some CH-54's and some S-64's (both E and F models) are owned, and have been remanufactured, by Erickson Air-Crane Inc.
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In July 2022, five CH-54s were assigned to fighting the Washburn Fire, based at the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport.
Later in July 2022, two more CH-54s were assigned to work on the Oak Fire. and were based at the Mariposa-Yosemite Airport.
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of Oregon and Washington state.
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by the Russian aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923, and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. It also produced seaplanes for passenger transport and surface vehicles such as trains and boats.
The Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave is an American large heavy-lift military helicopter of the 1950s. It entered service as the HR2S-1 Deuce with USMC in 1956, and as the H-37A Mojave with the U.S. Army that same year. In the early 1960s, the designation was standardized to CH-37 for both services, with the HR2S-1 redesignated as CH-37C specifically.
The Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter designed by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. It is named after Tarhe, an 18th-century chief of the Wyandot Indian tribe whose nickname was "The Crane". The civilian version is the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane.
The Sikorsky H-34 is an American piston-engined military utility helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. A development of the smaller Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (S-55), the H-34 was originally powered by a radial engine, but was later adapted to turbine power by the British licensee as the Westland Wessex and by Sikorsky as the S-58T. The H-34 was also produced under license in France by Sud Aviation.
The Hughes XH-17 "Flying Crane" was the first helicopter project for the helicopter division of Hughes Aircraft Company. The XH-17, which had a two-bladed main rotor system with a diameter of 134 feet, still holds the world record for flying with the largest rotor system. It was capable of flying at a gross weight of more than 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg), but proved too inefficient and cumbersome to be mass-produced beyond the prototype unit.
The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter. It is the civilian version of the United States Army's CH-54 Tarhe. It is currently produced as the S-64 Aircrane by Erickson Inc.
Mariposa-Yosemite Airport is a public airport located four miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Mariposa, in Mariposa County, California, United States. It is owned by the County of Mariposa.
An aerial crane or flying crane is a helicopter used to lift heavy or awkward loads. As aerial cranes, helicopters carry loads connected to long cables or slings in order to place heavy equipment when other methods are not available or economically feasible, or when the job must be accomplished in remote or inaccessible areas, such as the tops of tall buildings or the top of a hill or mountain, far from the nearest road. Helicopters were first used as aerial cranes in the 1950s, but it was not until the 1960s that their popularity in construction and other industries began to catch on. The most consistent use of helicopters as aerial cranes is in the logging industry to lift large trees out of rugged terrain where vehicles are not able to reach, or where environmental concerns prohibit roadbuilding. These operations are referred to as longline because of the long, single sling line used to carry the load.
Erickson Incorporated is an American aerospace manufacturing and aviation service provider based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1971, it is known for producing and operating the S-64 Aircrane helicopter, which is used in aerial firefighting and other heavy-lift operations. Erickson Incorporated operates globally and has a fleet of 69 rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft including 20 S-64s. The company was known as Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated until 2014. Erickson's main facility is located in the Southern Oregon community of Central Point.
The Sikorsky S-60 helicopter, a prototype "flying crane", was derived from the S-56 in 1958. Proving to be underpowered, the development of the S-60 led to the larger, turbine-engined Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe military transport helicopter, and its civil S-64 Skycrane variant, which were already on the drawing board by the time the sole example of the S-60 crashed on 3 April 1961.
The Pratt & Whitney T73 is a turboshaft engine. Based on the JT12A, the T73 powered the Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe and its civil counterpart Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane flying crane heavy-lift helicopters. Turboshaft versions for naval use are known as the FT12.
Columbia Helicopters, Incorporated (CHI) is an aircraft manufacturing and operator company based in Aurora, Oregon, United States. It is known for operating tandem rotor helicopters; in present times, exclusively the Boeing Vertol 107 and Boeing Vertol 234. These helicopters are used in stream restoration and forestry, including heli-logging, aerial firefighting, oil exploration, construction, government support, film production, disaster response, and many other activities. In addition, the company operates a large FAA repair station supporting customers worldwide.
The United States Army Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located on Fort Novosel near Daleville, Alabama. It has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world. The museum features some 50 aircraft on public display with aviation artifacts ranging from a replica of the Wright brothers' Model B military biplane to an RAH-66 Comanche. The museum has over 160 aircraft in its collection and holds 3,000 historical items.
The Combat Air Museum is a non-profit aviation museum at Topeka Regional Airport in Shawnee County, near Topeka, Kansas. The museum is dedicated to the creation of facilities and resources for the education of the local and regional communities through the collection, preservation, conservation and exhibition of aircraft, information, artifacts, technology and art associated with the military aviation history of the United States.
Classic Rotors is a flying aviation museum specializing in helicopters and other rotorcraft, located at Ramona Airport in Ramona, California, United States.
The Solar T62 Titan is an American gas turbine engine used mainly as a aircraft auxiliary power unit (APU), conventional power generator, turboprop engine for fixed-wing aircraft or turboshaft engine for helicopters. A new turbine version was developed as the Solar T66.
A modular aircraft or pod plane is a design principle for an aircraft where the payload carrying section can be routinely detached from, and reattached to, the rest of the aircraft. It can be compared to the function of intermodal shipping containers.
The Sikorsky S-73 was a proposed aircraft design to meet the United States Army requirement in 1970 for a Heavy Lift Helicopter (HLH) capable of carrying 45,000 lb, a lifting capacity more than twice that of Sikorsky's most powerful helicopter at that time.