Impressive piloting skills. What does this guy make an hour?
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Amazing, it's not just hitting one spot, the tower needs to be aligned properly for all four legs.
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Posts: 5267 | Location: USA | Registered: December 05, 2004
I used to sling load howitzers under those in past days. What a blow job!
_________________________________________________________________________ “A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.” -- Mark Twain, 1902
Posts: 9038 | Location: Northern Virginia | Registered: November 04, 2005
Originally posted by Sigmund: The CO ArNG had those at Buckley Field back in 1988 when I was in the ANG with A-7s.
Does anyone know why the Army got rid of them? Could the Chinook do the heavy lift mission almost as well?
The Chinook is arguably better. The modern Chinook has a 24,000lbs payload, where the CH-54 was 20,000lbs, and the dual rotor setup has advantages in stability. While the Skycrane is purpose built for heavy lift, the Chinook could manage the role while being a more useful all-around helicopter. With budget cuts the way they were, the Chinook was the clear winner.
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Posts: 3352 | Location: Southern Maine | Registered: February 10, 2008
One time while living a block and a half off of Michigan Ave in Chicago we were awoken by some loud noises. Look out and a helo is going down between all the skyscrapers. At the same time, Michigan Ave was completely blocked and semis with huge AC units pulled up. Helo locks on, pulls these half-a-trailer sized units off and takes them and drops them on the roof top. Was a pretty insane sight to see. It all happened at like 7-8am on Sunday and as fast as they arrived they were done. Was quite impressive.
"Unique among helicopters, the Erickson Air-Crane has a third pilot’s seat, facing aft toward the tail rotor. An enclosure similar to a glassed-in phone booth contains flight controls that operate the helicopter’s trim systems, making small adjustments possible. Perched on the tiny cushion, the rear pilot has a perfect view of the area beneath the machine.
A National Geographic crew filmed Max Evans in Olga as he assembled a 1,400-foot-tall TV tower using the Erickson Air-Crane. It’s a carefully choreographed job, including a crew in the helicopter and another on the tower. Watching Max fly tons of roaring machine and dangling steel is like watching Rembrandt paint. … Small, almost imperceptible movements put each tower section exactly on the pins of the tower section below. An error of just a couple of feet could kill one of the tower crew, so the operation is an exercise in communication, skill and trust.
When the tower section slides over the pins, Max lowers the aircraft slightly to put slack in the cables, triggers the release clamps and then lifts up and away as the guys on the tower start ratcheting down nuts. He’ll get a minute or two to relax as the front-seat crew flies back to the staging site, and then he’ll do it all again."
Posts: 2771 | Location: Northern California | Registered: December 01, 2006
On another note, I'm surprised Sikorsky or Boeing hasn't put a helicopter like that back in production. Those are old birds, and VERY useful. Something like a Chinook beefed up and up engined, without a cargo cabin, but with a rear facing flight station in the cockpit, would do the job. I think that both militaries (not just the US) and civilian operators would buy them.
