Erickson Air Crane Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane

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The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter that is the civilian version of the US Army’s CH-54 Tarhe. The helicopter is currently being produced as the S-64 Aircrane by Erickson Inc. The S-64E is an upgraded version of the CH-54A helicopter and a total of 17 aircraft were eventually built.

Erickson Incorporated is an American aerospace manufacturing and aviation service provider based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1971, Erickson is known for currently producing and operating the S-64 Aircrane helicopter, used for aerial firefighting and for other heavy-lift operations. Erickson Incorporated operates globally and has a fleet of 69 rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft of which 20 are S-64s. The company, known as Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated until 2014, is located in the Southern Oregon community of Central Point.
In the Southwest, a coal-fired power plant was being built northwest of Lubbock, Texas near Plainview. The transmission line constructed to tie the plant into the Western electrical grid was built using Skycranes. The new power line went from Plainview to the New Mexico towns of Clovis, Ft. Sumner, Santa Rosa, and Stanley and then terminated at the power grid at Algondones. The S-64 Skycrane, N164AC, was operated by Erickson Air Crane on May 20, 1983.

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