Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe (N163AC)

I got to talk to a flight crew for one of these. They were placing A/C units on top of a massive warehouse complex. The winds hadn't been very cooperative for them on a couple of days they were there. They all had thick southern drawls, and said they got paid whether they flew or not, which made sense. They also did water drops for wildfires. They had a lot of stories to tell. One of them worked for a tower erector company prior to this job, and was talking about the amazing heights the erectors climbed to in order to meet the equipment being raised by the helicopters.

Funny, one guy said he thought the climbers were crazy, and felt totally safe in the helicopter, even with all that weight swinging/dangling below. Yeah, no kidding. It takes some tower climbers 45 minutes to clinb to the top I've read. Yikes.

Great job though. They are usually all GPS equipped, and hold their position well.

Great picture! Brings back memories...

And how many thousands can be grateful for Erickson developing the fire bombing conversion?

N159AC just got torched in Chile.