Skycrane question

Which of the two do you think captures the original best? I too have both, because I plan to build an Erickson Air Crane example one day, but the cockpits of both kits have their share of problems. I made a small web page to compare the cockpit sections:

Perhaps you can comment?

Rob de Bie

My models:

Me 163B site:

Since flying first began in the UK dozens of aircraft have crashed in remote locations, mostly due to engine failure, wartime battle damage or being plain old lost on a dark night in hilly country. I'm sure the same has happened around the world. I know that helos have been carried by helos, a recent example being an RAF Sea King being lifted from the Lake District by a Chinook in May 2004.

For the Skycrane, try Google Images with "CH-54 Aircraft" e.g.

Alternatively, as you have 3 Skycrane kits you can show one lifting another...

Nick

For firefighting they suspend large buckets and dip into a convenient stream, lake, etc. to fill.

or knew about it!

>

Google "skycrane" and "forest fire" and you get this:

Last pic in the sequence is the water bucket

or knew about it!

>

stream, lake, etc. to fill.>

While this is true of many of the firefighting helicopters, it is not for the Skycrane. It has a very large tank attached to the cargo area and uses a long "snorkel" tube to drop into the source of the water and pump into the attached tank.

For all thing related to Fire Fighting aircraft a visit to the premier site on the subject might be in order.

You can follow the buttons on the left side to the S-64 section and see all the information one would ever need to build an accurate model.

Norm

I seem to remember seeing in old Popular Mechanics magazines photos of the Skycrane being used for logging operations in the Pacific Northwest. You could try a civil bird.......

-- John The history of things that didn't happen has never been written. . - - - Henry Kissinger

"Gray Ghost" wrote

Think aircraft, not airplanes.

KL

How's your supply of "Air Progress" from the mid-to-late '60s? ISTR a photo published of one Skycrane carrying an F-102 that clearly was to be scrapped. Or was it an F-4? Anyway, the thing was carried by a 4 strap sling that gathered together between chopper and plane. I 'might' still have that copy but I don't remember which one it was and I have around 4 years' worth to look through. Now I wish I'd gotten them indexed. :]

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Went to "airliners.net" did a search on the term "skycrane" and came up with 90 photo hits. Didn't have a chance to check them all out, but did see at least one cockpit shot.

Don McIntyre Clarksville, TN

I would think there are many reasons to "ride it down", but especially in the case of a gear up landing. Landing gear up due to combat damage. Also, about 1983 or so, there was a US Gov't facility here that had an F-84 on display, & IIRC it was sent to Barksdale AFB via a Skycrane from Meridian, Ms.

Kurt Laughl> "Gray Ghost" wrote

otherwise

leave,

Too true. In this scenario, the best recovery equipment would be a dustpan and brush!

Have you considered a scenario where an aircraft made a controlled wheels-up landing at its home base? This would have "blacked" the runway. At an operational base this would need to be cleared fairly quickly and so having the wreckage hauled off by helicopter would seem to be an attractive option.

Another option would be if the aircraft had landed at a forward operating base and was found to be unserviceable, perhaps with a major engine fault or having undergone major airframe stress during combat manoeuvers. If there was insufficient engineering support to rectify the problem, a relatively intact aircraft could be slung underneath a helicopter. I have personally seen this happen with Harrier fuselages slung underneath Chinooks.

snipped-for-privacy@xs4all.nl (Rob de Bie) wrote in news:41dad587$0$6218$ snipped-for-privacy@news.xsall.nl:

I don't know enough about it to render an opinion. Nice site though.

This is supposed to be a fun project like when I was a kid, just with better finishing.

Mad-Modeller wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@nextline.com:

That is what I thought. That should be doable, it sounds like it is suspended from the winch.

Thanks!

BTW, you get a prize for being on topic, I want to sling an airplane not timber or water.

"Enzo Matrix" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Another good thought. Just need a plausible reason why an "aircraft" is slung under the Skycrane, gear up or down.

I spent some time today going through my Air Progress collection. There were several shots of 'cranes carrying stuff but none exactly as my memory said. I suspect that issue isn't here. However, I did spot one that was carrying an F11F, formerly of the Blue Angels, to a university in Lawrence, Kans. The Tiger was going to be a teaching aid in aircraft maintenance and repair. Oddly, the plane was suspended from the winch by a basic loop in the sling. The sling ran around the fuselage just behind the wing trailing edge. They must have depended on the aircraft's flying surfaces to keep the load from twirling and rocking in flight. In another issue there was an article on a school at Ft. Rucker (?) where the crews learned the craft of picking stuff up. There were a few pics out the rear windows of a practise session with an old F-80 carcass. You don't see much of the interior, just the operator's shoulder. There was another 'in action' shot of one delivering a howitzer to a hilltop artillery position in Vietnam in another issue but that's not on topic.

Venturing afield, there were a lot of neat photo articles in those old issues. There was one with the first Tu-144 flying along with the 'Analog' MiG-21. Whatever happened to McDonnell-Douglas' L-188 STOL airliner? It looked like a viable alternative to longer runways. Some pics were published of the conversions for the upcoming "Tora, Tora, Tora" movie plus pictures of the CONFEDERATE Air Force flying shows and in the BoB movie. In other words, I had an enjoyable time flipping through the mags.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

For a comprehensive comparison of both the Aurora and Revell kits check out Rob deBies' web site at the link below:

Guys, the USAF spent quite a lot of time and money recovering downed a/c from the Vietnamese jungles, for a lot of reasons. Most of the a/c recovered were in pretty good condition - US pilots liked to stay with their ship for as long as possible, to help them get as far away from trouble as they could. This used up available fuel - not all of it, but most. Bombs, missiles and other jettisionable ordnance was pickled, as were drop tanks if they weren't required for the trip home. Leaving the a/c was a last, deperate act of survival - bang seats ARE NOT a fun ride. As well as using up fuel, flying a cripple homewards made for a shorter trip for the rescue helos, many of which were shot down in the performance of their duties (and then needed recovery...) . Potential for re-use of the whole airframe or just components was thus good - not too many big fireballs in the jungle. Even a mangled bit of wreckage has some use. Then there's not leaving anything behind for the enemy to gain information from. And the US idea of recovering the bodies of lost servicemen - sometimes the guy in the seat didn't make it out - injury, damage, lack of heght to eject are reasons here - so the helos went in to remove him with his a/c to cut him out of it at a friendlier place - a base with no-one shooting at you was preferable. This was often a big operation - Huey slicks to provide troop support, Cobra or Huey gunships and Spads to fly around and supress enemy activity, a recovery crew and their helo... it was a big deal. Somewhere (the undiscovered country!) I have some pics of F-4s and Hueys being lifted by Skycranes... somewhere. I'll have a dig and see what I can come up with. Also, a/c that arrived at the runway a bit u/s after combat were also often lifted around the base by helo - quicker than getting a crane and moving it, as posted above.

RobG

"Gray Ghost" wrote in message news:Xns95D6C3BEDC1Wereofftoseethewizrd@127.0.0.1...

"Rob Grinberg" wrote in news:41dda7fa snipped-for-privacy@news.chariot.net.au:

Most excellent Rob. Helps in making up the backstory.

"Scott A. Bregi AKA The Model Hobbit" wrote in news:5EeDd.7012$Tf5.6850@lakeread03:

Been there done that thanks!