Heavy-lift helicopter operator and manufacturer Erickson is currently in the final prototyping stage for its next-generation water cannon, which has been under development since 2018. According to the company, the new firefighting system for the S-64 Air Crane is electronically driven, as opposed to the heavier and bulkier hydraulic equipment required for its previous water cannon.
The Oregon-based company's new cannon can articulate in all directions, enabling fires to be targeted more efficiently because it can shoot forward, side-to-side, and up and down. An inertial measurement unit helps keep the stream fixed on a specific location regardless of the movement of the helicopter. In addition, the unit is more powerful than its predecessor, able to blast up to 900 gallons per minute to a distance of more than 200 feet.
“The huge benefit of this design is that the system is significantly more capable than anything else on the market, ultimately allowing crews to put more water on hard-to-reach fires than ever before,” explained Joey Sasser, Erickson’s manager of autonomous aircraft development. He expects the new system, which can be installed on an S-64 in just a few hours, to be available by next year.
Meanwhile, Erickson is celebrating a milestone this year with its half-century anniversary. The company was founded in 1971 by Jack Axel Erickson, an Oregonian with a background in logging who had the idea to use a helicopter to harvest timber from steep terrain in northern California. After experimenting with an S-61, he determined it was too small for the task so he leased a more powerful S-64 Sky Crane from Sikorsky and formed the Erickson Air-Crane Co., which over its later editions became virtually synonymous with the type.
Since then, Erickson—which acquired the type certificate from Sikorsky in 1992 and restarted production as the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the rebranded S-64 Air Crane—has used the heavy-lift helicopter around the world developing new technologies in its utilization and expanding its capabilities into firefighting (one of Erickson’s first modifications after acquiring the type was developing a 2,600-gallon fire suppression system as a bolt-on accessory), construction, and powerline infrastructure.
The company currently operates 18 of the 45 S-64s currently in service while providing support for the type globally as OEM. Aside from Erickson’s S-64E and -F models, its fleet also includes Bell 214STs (Erickson also holds the type certificate) and Airbus H-225 Super Pumas, along with fixed-wing Beech 1900Ds and Casa 212s.
“It has been a 50-year journey full of challenges, changes, and the professional commitment of our employees, both past and present, that has made Erickson the successful company it has become,” said Brittany Black, senior v-p of sales, marketing, and business development.
Last August, the company announced that it had retained merger and acquisition consultancy Houlihan Lokey to accelerate its growth. “We are seeking a strategic partner who shares our vision, our commitment to customers and employees, and can add operation value in the aviation and aerospace industry,” said CEO and director Doug Kitani at the time, adding that Erickson’s aim was to upgrade its assets “including technology advances in the S-64 Super Air Crane and expand our capabilities in MRO.”