The Skycrane, a heavy-lift helicopter conceived by Igor Sikorsky to carry all loads externally, was developed as the S-64 and saw significant military service as the CH-54 Tarhe in Vietnam for various demanding tasks.
Despite initial struggles to find a civilian market, logging contractor Jack Erickson recognized its potential, making innovations to adapt it for heavy logging and pioneering its highly effective use as a firefighting aircraft worldwide.
Erickson eventually acquired the S-64's type certificate and manufacturing rights from Sikorsky, establishing Erickson Air-Crane, which now remanufactures, maintains, and operates a global fleet of these versatile "Aircranes" for diverse heavy-lift operations and emergency services.
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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