Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Heavy-lift helicopter

Power Plant:

(CH-54)

Two 3,357 kw (4,500 shp) Pratt & Whitney T73-P-1 turboshafts

Specifications:

History:

Although only 97 examples of the Sikorsky YCH-54A, CH-54A and CH-54B Tarhe series of heavy lift sky crane helicopters was delivered to the US Army between 1964 and 1972, they have had a long and productive life and, 26 years after entering service, they were equipping units of the US Army National Guard.  Since their retirement they have been converted in some numbers as fire-bombers and it is in this role that a number have been seen in Australia, especially during the November to February fire seasons in and around the eastern states of New South Wales and Victoria, and also in South Australia.

Development of the type began in January 1946 when the Rotary Wing Branch of the US Material Command sought the development of a helicopter capable of carrying external loads of up to 4,536 kg (10,000 lb).  Kellett Aircraft Corp was chosen the winner but was unable to complete the contract and Sikorsky initiated design work in 1961 on a turbine-powered aircraft known as the S-64.  The prototype (N325Y) first flew on 9 May 1962 at Stratford, Connecticut and, after successful military trials, the type was deployed to South Vietnam as the CH-54 with the 478th Aviation Company to provide heavy lift for the First Cavalry Division.

The type was withdrawn in 1973 but during service it proved invaluable for transporting under-slung loads, such as combat vehicles and damaged aircraft, and transporting personnel, including a record 87 soldiers and three crewmen.  It was also used to drop 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) bombs with extended fuses to blast helicopter landing pads in the jungle.

After their retirement a number were obtained by Erickson Air Crane based in Portland, Oregon and these were converted to S-64E and S-64F configuration as fire bombers, able to lift 9,000 litres (1,980 Imp gals) of water from lakes, streams, dams etc in 38 seconds and, with retardant added, dump it on fires in two seconds.  Erickson is believed to have obtained some 28 examples of the type, converting at least 15 for fire bombing. The company obtained and owns the Type Certificate for the S-64 series.  Beginning in 1997 the Victorian Department of Natural Resources & Environment leased one aircraft (N223AC – Millie) for the bushfire season, this being the downtime in the United States and Canada when it is winter. This machine was delivered to Fremantle, WA by ship and then flown to Melbourne, VIC it having up to that time been working on a logging contract in Malaysia.

The usual contract for the stay in Australia was ten weeks and up to four examples of the type served in Australia each summer. Other machines which visited Australia included N178AC; and in 2001/2002 another (N179AC – Elvis) was also operated. During the catastrophic fires on the New South Wales east coast in January 2002 the New South Wales Government leased the machine based in Victoria, and had a further two aircraft Georgia Peach and Incredible Hulk (S-64E – N154AC/733 and S-64F – N178AC/734) flown to Australia on board an Antonov AN-124 transport for fire fighting work, these joining Elvis (S-64F -N179AC/743).  Two others worked in Australia during that period, Gipsy Lady (S-64E N189AC) and Isabelle (N178AC/742).  During this period the S-64s dropped 17 million litres (3,739,551 Imp gals) of retardant whilst 30 other helicopters dropped 25 million litres (5,499,340 Imp gals).

The AirCrane is equipped with a hover pump snorkel or a ram hydrofoil sea snorkel, both of which allow for shallow water intake in either fresh or salt water in 30 to 45 seconds.  Pilots can choose eight different computerised coverage drop levels to maximise the suppression effect for each individual fire condition.  The aircraft can be reconfigured for other missions within a few hours after the tank is removed.

In 2001 three comprising ”Millie‘, ‘Isabelle‘ and ‘Elvis‘ were operating west of Sydney on firefighting operations when ‘Elvis‘ became famous with the Australian media when it rescued 14 trapped firefighters in the Burragorang valley, south-west of Sydney.

In January 2002 the Australian and NSW Governments announced they were considering purchasing or leasing three or four examples for use by Australian fire authorities to combat fires but as yet, 18 years later, none has been purchased and all have operated on lease. For the 2005/2006 fire season S-64s were again imported, Erickson Air Crane importing S-64F N179AC Elvis for operations by Helicorp in Victoria; and Helicopter Transport Services of Baltimore, Maryland imported S-64F N722HT ‘722’ for operations by Sydney Helicopters from a heliport at Rosehill, NSW.

For the 2006/2007 fire season examples of the series were imported, these comprising S-64E Skycranes N194AC Delilah and N217AC Malcolm; S-64F N179AC Elvis and CH-54B Skycrane N720HT Shania, all arriving and departing on board Ukrainian-built Antonov An-124 transports.  Each year a number of S-64 Skycranes arrive in Australia late in the year for fire-fighting operations, the aircraft in 2014/2015 including N194AC Delilah, N217AC Malcolm and N164AC Georgia, the latter commencing operations in Perth, WA.

Visits of S-64s to Australia for fire seasons has continued and in mid-2016 Erickson and Kestrel Aviation Ltd were awarded a multi-year extension for six S-64E AirCrane helicopters to be used throughout Australia to provide aerial suppression during Australia’s bushfire seasons, being a continuation of the 20 year history of providing this type of service to Australia for bushfire protection.

Six examples arrived for the 2018/2019 fire season. On 28 January 2019 N173AC [Helitak 341] Christina crashed into a dam near Jericho in the Gippsland during fire bombing operations in Victoria, necessitating the type being grounded for a short period in Australia.  The aircraft was recovered in mid-2019 by Australian Aviation Salvage & Recovery and it was shipped to the United States for a rebuild. The other aircraft operating in Australia during that fire season were: N247AC Jenny, N189AC Gipsy Lady, N194AC Delilah, N243AC Marty, N218AC Elsie, and N154AC Georgia Peach. 

in late 2019 Erickson Air Crane announced it was launching an improved model of the S-64, the new model to be known as the S-64F+ AirCrane.  The aircraft would have a new zero-hour airframe, night terrain and obstacle awareness systems, a new flight control system, FADEC equipped engines and composite rotor blades.  Piasecki Aircraft was employed as a consultant in the development of the upgrade.