Helicopter operator and manufacturer Erickson has delivered the last of two S-64 Air Crane heavy-twin utility helicopters to the Korean Forest Service for 2019. These latest deliveries were of the K8 variant, which incorporates the company’s newest modifications, namely composite main rotor blades and a glass cockpit. The addition of the K8 variant brings the Korean Forest Service’s operational fleet of S-64s to six helicopters, according to Erickson.
The Korean Forest Service and rotorcraft manufacturer have a nearly 20-year business relationship that has included the development of a model firefighting and emergency response program along with by-the-hour maintenance services and pilot training.
In 1999, Erickson sold its first S-64 to the Korean Forest Service , which also marked the first S-64 purchase by a foreign government. The Portland, Oregon-based company became the type certificate holder and purchased the intellectual property of the S-64 from Sikorsky in 1992. The model’s first flight was in May 1962, and the U.S. Army placed an initial order for six S-64As that it designated as the YCH-54 Tarhe.