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Our Sky Cranes arrived today

AussieMan

AussieMan

SOH Staff .."Bartender"
"Ichabod" and "Gypsy Lady" arrived in Sydney this morning in the belly of an Antonov 124. They will be here for our summer fire season and from the look of thingst they will be spending a lot of time airborne.

They will be re-assembled and tested over the weekend ready to start work next week.
 
You should see them up close mate. Back in 2006 one turned onto a buzz saw and destroyed several blades. At the time I was working on flight following from the airstrip they were at. I have photos of the rotor hub sitting on 4x44gallon drums.

Incidentally the woman who was the pilot that day has not been employed flying helicopters since.
 
Yup. Them's some big egg beaters alright.

Since I'm too old to worry about seeming dumb, how are they used in the fire season? Gigantic water bucket carriers? Or some other role?
 
they have a large V shaped tank mounted in the cargo area,,use snorkel tubes to suck water from lakes or ponds..or even big portable tanks..yesterday i went to the sacramento airport to pick up a friend and two erickson aircrane trucks were hauling fire fighting "supplies" including a collapsible tank.better to just show a couple helitankers eh?..

View attachment 94159View attachment 94160
 
Thanks for the shots, Daveroo. Explains it all.
Now we can hope that they won't have all that much to do over there
 
By the looks of things, they'll be pretty busy from now on. You guys over east look to have a very early start to the fire season it seems pretty hot and dry already - out south west here, things are still moistish and cool for the time of year......
 
AussieMan said:
You should see them up close mate. Back in 2006 one turned onto a buzz saw and destroyed several blades. At the time I was working on flight following from the airstrip they were at. I have photos of the rotor hub sitting on 4x44gallon drums.

Incidentally the woman who was the pilot that day has not been employed flying helicopters since.
Click to expand...

I'm a fixed wing man and always have been! I strongly believe this is true: helicopters beat the air into submission and the air's always looking for a chance to get even!

Ken
 
I spent 3 years doing initial attack with Bell 206's and 407's on a US Forest Service contract ... have seen these type of Erickson Aircranes up close and personal ... such amazing and absolutely huge helos they are ! Mike :salute:
 
It is Tony ...... the one that started near Lithgow has already burnt out 12000ha. and there is another two on the Blue Mountains.
 
Looking even worse today - 100's of houses gone, but no (confirmed) loss of life yet. Fingers crossed. 88,000Ha gone so far.

Edit: spoke to soon, first death confirmed - guy staying behind to defend his home........more likely.

would like to think I could save our place, if the worst came to the worst, but when, in a catastrophic fire, (like Victoria 2009) the radiant heat alone can kill you from 200yds, I don't think 2 fire pumps and a swimming pool would be much good....

Got a mate living at Blaxland, 5km from Springwood......hope he's OK
 
SPman said:
Looking even worse today - 100's of houses gone, but no (confirmed) loss of life yet. Fingers crossed. 88,000Ha gone so far.

Edit: spoke to soon, first death confirmed - guy staying behind to defend his home........more likely.

would like to think I could save our place, if the worst came to the worst, but when, in a catastrophic fire, (like Victoria 2009) the radiant heat alone can kill you from 200yds, I don't think 2 fire pumps and a swimming pool would be much good....

Got a mate living at Blaxland, 5km from Springwood......hope he's OK
Click to expand...

True indeed! But, I also think few people understand how fast brush and forest fires can move. 50 mph is normal and if the winds whip up, which is common during fire season, it is not uncommon for them to move at 100 mph or more! Point being, you cannot just up and decide to evacuate at the last moment once you realize it's beyond your ability to control. By then, it may be too late to out run it!

The best example to show folks is the frequency by which professional smoke jumpers get killed. They have all the training, experience, and equipment, but often they get caught.

Ken
 
Skyhawk_310R said:
True indeed! But, I also think few people understand how fast brush and forest fires can move. 50 mph is normal and if the winds whip up, which is common during fire season, it is not uncommon for them to move at 100 mph or more! Point being, you cannot just up and decide to evacuate at the last moment once you realize it's beyond your ability to control. By then, it may be too late to out run it!

The best example to show folks is the frequency by which professional smoke jumpers get killed. They have all the training, experience, and equipment, but often they get caught.

Ken
Click to expand...

When I was a kid, we lived in a small mining town in NY's Adirondacks with one road in and out. A forest fire threatened to cut us off and head our way. It did neither, but even at five miles away I can remember feeling heat and being quite awed by the enormous blaze. I wouldn't want to deal with one again.

It was also the first time I saw a helicopter brought in by the state forest service to watch (not fight) the fire and report to guys on the ground. The pilot even let me sit in it for a few minutes.
 
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