The Skycrane helicopter was initially conceived by Igor Sikorsky as a specialized aircraft designed for external heavy-lift, leading to the development of the S-64.
After its initial deployment by the U.S. Army in Vietnam, the S-64 struggled to find a civilian market until logging contractor Jack Erickson recognized its potential.
Erickson extensively modified the S-64 for civilian heavy-lift work, eventually purchasing its type certificate and forming Erickson Air-Crane.
Erickson Air-Crane has since modernized and specialized the S-64 Aircrane, making it a globally deployed, highly versatile machine renowned for its innovative firefighting capabilities and diverse heavy-lift applications.
The phone rang — it was my dad, and it was bad news.
“I’m standing on the sand,” he said, using a phone borrowed from the resident of a Malibu beach house. “I’m looking up the hill and the fire’s heading right for our house. The guys fighting it on the ground can’t get in there. The only hope we’ve got is those big helicopters. One of them’s filling up right behind me.”
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