Editor’s note: Vertical Editor-in-chief Oliver Johnson received the below letter from Andrew Mills, president of commercial aviation at Erickson Inc., in response to a recent opinion piece written by Lee Benson.
Dear Oliver,
We read with great interest the guest opinion piece by Mr. Lee Benson regarding the Firehawk helicopter and California aerial firefighting. We respect Mr. Benson’s hard won opinions and agree with the general content of his piece regarding the severity of wildfires and the need for effective aerial helicopter assets in California. However, we are compelled to point out an inaccuracy in the article that should be corrected.
Mr. Benson states, “…there is no other helicopter currently in production that can deliver more water per minute.” This is not factually correct. Erickson is the manufacturer and type certificate holder for the S-64E and S-64F Standard Category Aircrane helicopter, and it is currently in production. In fact, we are currently manufacturing three S-64E Aircranes with state of the art composite main rotor blades for the Korea Forest Service and in negotiations with other agencies about additional new aircraft.
He also mentions the Firehawk’s water tank can hold 1,000 gallons of water and be refilled in under a minute from any nearby water source using its snorkel system. The Aircrane has a 2,650-gallon tank as well as a both a hover and sea snorkel, and the S-64F can carry this load of water in real conditions. The S-64E carries slightly less, but both far exceed the water dropping capability of the S-70 Firehawk (which is an excellent multi-mission helicopter, but is often weighed down with additional mission equipment). The Erickson helitank system has the most effective measured drop pattern of any helitanker in the world, and it has been tested and perfected for over 20 years.
Because of Erickson’s time-tested experience and the continuously improved S-64 Aircrane, we fight fires in major markets around the world and have served some countries for more than 20 consecutive years. When it comes to a reliable and effective single purpose firefighting helicopter, the Erickson S-64 is unequalled in performance, and is in current production today.
Thank you for your consideration,
Andrew Mills
President, Commercial Aviation, Erickson Inc.
Well said Andy, the Aircrane is by far the most capable rotary-wing, aerial firefighter aircraft in production today!
Perhaps Mr. Benson should have included the requirement for many fire agencies to carry helitack hand crews and be capable of aerial rescue as major parts of their mission (not to mention helitorch and reconnaissance for which neither helicopter may be ideal). The Crane is indeed an awesome machine and as a citizen of California I am pleased it is looking like it will be available for years to come as an EU or CWN aircraft preventing small fires from turning into sieges as sometime befall us. Who is to say that given the climate changes we are bound for, that there won’t be larger fire supression aircraft like the 64 or C130 in permanent State livery.
Amen, having logged over 6000 hrs. in both E & F model Cranes, mostly in the firefighting regime very few A/C including the Firehawk can match the payload and drop patterns of the Crane. The Cranes eight different coverage levels plus Salvo can make it rain or pour. It would be interesting for someone to articulate the the cost per gallon to see who is getting the most bang for their buck!!