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You are correct - I've ridden in many of them.
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Heavy Lift Helicopters
- Thread starter natem
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You are correct - I've ridden in many of them.
papabear
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I think the Chinook was the CH47...yes?? Been awhile
goodguyzy
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that is an Erickson aircrane. They are located a few miles from my house in central point. I see them fly all the time, they train pilots from all over the world (over my house!) Also have a few friends that work at the warehouse.
Pawnshop
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That looks like the one that was used to lift the replica statue onto the Capitol building back in 1993. I was working an E6 line at the time and processed a BUNCH of photos of it, and the Guppy it was transported in...
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natem
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Just a side note on today, they made 40 lifts and had tank trailer for refueling. Lots of jet A!
Nate
Nate
wreckerman893
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In 1992 I was stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama. I got a gig as a journalist with the post Public Affairs Office when my transportation unit was deactivated.
Fort McMuffin was closed later under BRAC.
The country music group “Alabama” had just released a song that mentioned Little River Canyon in it.
LRC is just down the road from Fort Payne, Ala., where the group is from.
For years the canyon had been a dumping ground for vehicles that had been stolen, stripped and pushed into the gorge.
“Alabama” got behind a big cleanup effort and a call was put out to the military for help. The Mississippi National Guard sent a huge “Sky Crane” chopper to lift the debris out. The Alabama National Guard sent a Huey for a camera ship and soldiers from an Engineer Unit in Fort Payne repelled down into the gorge and cabled the cars together so they could be lifted out.
Our Commanding General sent a request (yea…that’s what it was….a request) to our office to send someone over to cover the event. Since I would rather fly in a Huey than make tricycle motors I was on the assignment like a hobo on a ham sandwich.
On the appointed day the Huey landed at McClellan and picked me up…..I was supposed to have a photographer (civilian) with me but our best guy was chopperphobic and weaseled out of the job.
We flew over to the canyon flying “nape of the earth” since this was technically a “training mission”.
The pilot was an old Vietnam vet and had flown Hueys in combat. I got the ride of my life in that bird.
Imagine being right on the deck in the bottom of that gorge flying wide ass open with the doors open. I was tethered to the Huey with a bungee cord and once we started hovering I was allowed to step out on the skid if I needed to in order to get a shot.
The pilot allowed me to give him directions for the maximum view of the Crane…….we circled the big machine as it pulled the junk up on the cables and flew them to a drop point up on the rim…..since I had a headset on I got to listen to the two pilots coordinate with each other as we jinked around each other.
We spent most of the day up there…..we landed for a tasty MRE lunch….flying around watching the clean up. We were supposed to have a photo opp with ALABAMA but they got tied up and did not make it before we flew out to meet a fuel tanker.
I wish I had pics to post but all of the film belonged to the Army (this was before the digital age…we still had a darkroom to develop film). They are in my portfolio.
One of the best days I had in the Army.
A couple of weeks later I got a phone call from the Miss Nat Guard Public Affairs Office...they were sending another Skycrane over to move some targets at a tank gunnery range near Fort McMuffin and asked me if I wanted to cover the event for the post fishwrapper.....let's see.....fly in a Skycrane, watch them perform a real mission and get to eat catered chow. Oh yea!!!!! I'm in.
They flew into McMuffin and picked me up....just a few miles from the range....and I got great pics and a story that got top billing on the front page of the fishwrapper.
As a special deal the Crew Chief let me operate the hoist and pick up an old tank turret that was being set up as a target.
The Miss Guard guys that flew the Crane were all Vietnam vets that had flew them in combat....I got some cool facts about the bird.....worlds record for helicoptor altitude...and in Nam they dropped the 10,000 pound cratering bombs to make "instant Firebases".
Maybe my second best day in the Army.
This was before the age of digital pics (at least in the Army anyway) so all my pics are in prints.
Maybe I'll scan some in.
Update.......Found one.
Fort McMuffin was closed later under BRAC.
The country music group “Alabama” had just released a song that mentioned Little River Canyon in it.
LRC is just down the road from Fort Payne, Ala., where the group is from.
For years the canyon had been a dumping ground for vehicles that had been stolen, stripped and pushed into the gorge.
“Alabama” got behind a big cleanup effort and a call was put out to the military for help. The Mississippi National Guard sent a huge “Sky Crane” chopper to lift the debris out. The Alabama National Guard sent a Huey for a camera ship and soldiers from an Engineer Unit in Fort Payne repelled down into the gorge and cabled the cars together so they could be lifted out.
Our Commanding General sent a request (yea…that’s what it was….a request) to our office to send someone over to cover the event. Since I would rather fly in a Huey than make tricycle motors I was on the assignment like a hobo on a ham sandwich.
On the appointed day the Huey landed at McClellan and picked me up…..I was supposed to have a photographer (civilian) with me but our best guy was chopperphobic and weaseled out of the job.
We flew over to the canyon flying “nape of the earth” since this was technically a “training mission”.
The pilot was an old Vietnam vet and had flown Hueys in combat. I got the ride of my life in that bird.
Imagine being right on the deck in the bottom of that gorge flying wide ass open with the doors open. I was tethered to the Huey with a bungee cord and once we started hovering I was allowed to step out on the skid if I needed to in order to get a shot.
The pilot allowed me to give him directions for the maximum view of the Crane…….we circled the big machine as it pulled the junk up on the cables and flew them to a drop point up on the rim…..since I had a headset on I got to listen to the two pilots coordinate with each other as we jinked around each other.
We spent most of the day up there…..we landed for a tasty MRE lunch….flying around watching the clean up. We were supposed to have a photo opp with ALABAMA but they got tied up and did not make it before we flew out to meet a fuel tanker.
I wish I had pics to post but all of the film belonged to the Army (this was before the digital age…we still had a darkroom to develop film). They are in my portfolio.
One of the best days I had in the Army.
A couple of weeks later I got a phone call from the Miss Nat Guard Public Affairs Office...they were sending another Skycrane over to move some targets at a tank gunnery range near Fort McMuffin and asked me if I wanted to cover the event for the post fishwrapper.....let's see.....fly in a Skycrane, watch them perform a real mission and get to eat catered chow. Oh yea!!!!! I'm in.
They flew into McMuffin and picked me up....just a few miles from the range....and I got great pics and a story that got top billing on the front page of the fishwrapper.
As a special deal the Crew Chief let me operate the hoist and pick up an old tank turret that was being set up as a target.
The Miss Guard guys that flew the Crane were all Vietnam vets that had flew them in combat....I got some cool facts about the bird.....worlds record for helicoptor altitude...and in Nam they dropped the 10,000 pound cratering bombs to make "instant Firebases".
Maybe my second best day in the Army.
This was before the age of digital pics (at least in the Army anyway) so all my pics are in prints.
Maybe I'll scan some in.
Update.......Found one.
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Yessir!I think the Chinook was the CH47...yes?? Been awhile
Of course us CH-53 folks called them "S**thooks". We were not any kinder to the CH-46, called them "Shiverin' S**tcans". Despite that, they were all great birds.
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And for heavy lifting, before the CH54 Tarhe was the CH-37 Mojave. Ugly as sin, but open the mouth and drive right in.
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Pawnshop
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I know they can't ALL be saved, and they can't ALL stay in service... but it makes me sad to see the old Gals put out to pasture...
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Wreckerman/Richard:
There ain't nuttin' like an old fart with a good story to get everybody listening. Thanks for sharing that memory with all of us (before you start forgittin' that old stuff) and sinding such a good tale.
Good job
There ain't nuttin' like an old fart with a good story to get everybody listening. Thanks for sharing that memory with all of us (before you start forgittin' that old stuff) and sinding such a good tale.
Good job
Flyingvan911
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Wreckerman gets to do all of the cool stuff.
wreckerman893
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Writing is one of my few talents that I actually made some decent money on.
Folks who have attended the GA Rally may have heard some of the tales of my mis-spent youth.
I'm glad that some of you enjoy it.
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WM:
You're gifted in the written word. And thanks the WM & Elmo Radio Show, those of us who have never met you face-to-face have now heard your spoken word as well.
They say that you can "hear" a man's IQ in the way he speaks, or in his writings....
So,,, How do they measure IQ down there in Alabama?
Thanks for sharing with us what leaks from your gray matter.
hehehehe
![[thumbzup]](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumzup.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbzup]"){kind=icon}
coecamo
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Thats an Erickson skycrane My old boss had a calender of theirs " the only crane with 20.000 Lb lift 14,000 foot reach at any radius. I have worked under sikorsky skycranes prop wash is bad 90 MPH downdraft is cold in summer ,bitter in winter. Tuck in all clothing or it beats you to death. Gary 
Pawnshop
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I found this in a Google image search for "Erickson Skycrane", I think it sums my feelings up nicely:
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Firehound
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Those old CH-34s were powered by RADIAL engines... back then there wasn't a jet engine powerful enough...
elkhunter
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Good thread! Enjoyed all the "Input" and pictures. Keep it coming! Nice job.
AN/ARC186
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Let's not forget this ol' gal , the CH-53E Super Stallion. Next to the UH-1N this has got to be my all time favorite.
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Roger that, it's a big bird, the Super Stallion. Always loved that last pic with the girl in the camo pattern.
