Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe (N178AC)

These aircraft have been redesignated as S-64 Aircanes (This is an F model) since Erickson owns the Type Certificate now. :)

Great shot.

These are the most amazing helicopters on the planet IMHO.

Always reminds me of Thunderbird 2! :-)

Thunderbirds are GO!

Awesome Helicopter !

Actually I've always reserved Thunderbird 2 for the McD / Boeing now C-17, but this would work as well.

Anyone know if these are designed with a "standard" shipping container in mind?

Thank you wylann, Paul,Red Comet, Hertz & Matt for your commentary.

Nope, negotiations for a "standard" for shipping containers had not yet been started when the USAF placed the first Operational Aircraft Order for these beasts. That said, the pin & clevis attach points you can see in the picture were designed for "maximum load flexibility" (Sikorski promo brochure). I strongly suspect any good fab-shop could put together an under-frame with controls that could pick and latch a full-size standard container in a matter of seconds. Might take them a few weeks to build the first one. After that you'd be out scrounging for flyable Sky-Cranes...

"Clear Prop" - What an amazing piece of machinery. Great pic!!

The CH-54 Army model beat the F4 phantom in a time to climb contest to 10,ooo ft. It could sling load a caterpillar D6 dozer with no strain.

Edward...........

That is an amazing piece of Aviation Trivia............

It was a real treat to see this Sky Crane land at our humble airport to refuel. The captain said their range is only 200 miles between fuel stops.