Aerial crane

As aerial cranes, helicopters carry loads connected to long cables or slings in order to place heavy equipment when other methods are not available or economically feasible, or when the job must be accomplished in remote or inaccessible areas, such as the tops of tall buildings or the top of a hill or mountain, far from the nearest road.

The most consistent use of helicopters as aerial cranes is in the logging industry to lift large trees out of rugged terrain where vehicles are not able to reach, or where environmental concerns prohibit roadbuilding.

[3] Originally produced for the military as the CH-54 Tarhe for heavy lifting of downed aircraft and artillery pieces, the S-64 Skycrane was nothing more than just enough airframe to attach two powerful engines, the main and tail rotors and transmissions, a cockpit, and a cargo hook and winch system.

Skycranes were used in 1972 when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge connecting Maryland and the Eastern Shore was being built to bring concrete and other supplies to the construction site.

In 1993, an Erickson aerial Skycrane, normally used for hauling lumber in Oregon, was used to remove the “Statue of Freedom” from the top of the Capitol dome in Washington, D.C.