Firefighting Helicopters

The most efficient way to fight fire from the air is without any doubt the helicopter. Fitted with a water bucket or external tanks it can target a fire very precise, with limited turnaround times as no runway is needed to refill. Helicopters are also used to drop fireman close to the action, so called helitack.

In this special we will look into helicopter firefighting operations. Also an in-depth look into the S-64 Skycrane, a military heavy lifting helicopter now specialized in aerial firefighting.

Skycrane

In 1971 Jack Erickson was looking for a helicopter able to assist in the logging business. The most suitable helicopter with enough lifting power (20,000 lb or 9072 kg) was the CH-54, so one (S-64 civil designation) was leased to evaluate. From that point the business took off and more Skycranes were acquired.

In 1992 Erickson purchased the S-64 type certificates from Sikorsky. With this and the availability of a large surplus of Army CH-54, the company was able to become a major overhaul, repair and modification center for the type.

Erickson now operates and builds two versions of the Erickson Air Crane, the S-64E and S-64F. main difference is the Pratt & Whitney JFTD12-5A power plant and dual landing gear wheels on the F model.

Fire fighting

Since early 2000 the Air Crane got a lot of media attention with its role in fighting wild fires on the West Coast of the US and Australia. From 1993 onward the Air Crane was modified for the firefighting role by carrying a large 2,650 gal (10030 litres) tank. The tank can be fitted with two kinds of snorkels, the pond snorkel is a hose hanging from the tank to suck in water from a lake or pond. A special Sea Snorkel is also available and can be used to scoop up water from open sea. This hydrofoil ram is able to take in water with the helicopter flying at 65-84 km/h. Refilling takes 45 second or as little as 29 seconds when using the Sea Snorkel. With this, the Air Crane is able to deliver up to 30,000 gal (113652 litres) an hour. This can be water, a foam mix or retardant.

Besides the tank, Erickson also developed a spray nozzle which can be attacked to the cockpit area. This “Water cannon” can direct 300 gal (1136 litres) of water or foam directly at a fire, ranging up to 200ft (61 m).

For the firefighting season the Air Cranes are stationed on the West coast of the US and in Europe (mainly France, Greece and Italy). After the season some will be based in Australia for their “Summer season”, mainly in New South Wales and Victoria.

19 S-64s remain in service today with Erickson Air Crane. 5 were sold to European Air Cranes, Italy. 7 to the Forrest Service Korea. See the end of this article for a full production list of Erickson S-64E/F.

Erickson Air Crane production list

This list offers an overview of all former Tarhe’s converted to the S-64E/F standard. (noted June 2020)

Serials noted in bold are still active.