CH-54 Tarhe

Infobox Aircraft
name=CH-54 Tarhe


caption=A CH-54A carrying a parachute bomb
type=Heavy-lift cargo helicopter
manufacturer=Sikorsky Aircraft
designer=
first flight=1962
introduced=
retired=
status=
primary user=United States Army
more users=
produced=
number built=105
unit cost=
developed from=CH-37 Mojave
variants with their own articles=S-64 Skycrane

The CH-54 Tarhe is a twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter designed by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. It is named after Tarhe (whose nickname was "The Crane"), an eighteenth-century chief of the Wyandot Native American tribe. [ [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=371 Ohio History Central page on Tarhe] ] The civil version is the S-64 Skycrane.

Development

Initial work on the Sikorsky "sky-crane" helicopters began in 1958 with the piston-engined S-60.

The first flight of the turboshaft-powered S-64 Skycrane was May 9, 1962, with the U.S. Army eventually purchasing 105, designating them CH-54. Used in Vietnam for transport and downed-aircraft retrieval, it was highly successful, thanks to the 'adaptable' nature of the module system first conceived by General James M. Gavin in his book "Airborne Warfare" in 1947. Early pods could not carry troops and external sling-loads at the same time. Advanced pods for the CH-54 could carry troops and cargo underslung at the same time but were not purchased. The Skycrane can not only hold its cargo up and tight against its center spine to lessen drag and eliminate the pendulum effect when flying forward, it can winch vehicles up and down from a hovering position, so the helicopter itself need not land. Due to budget cuts the Heavy Lift Helicopter (HLH) program was cancelled and the CH-54s not upgraded with larger engines. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook gradually supplemented it in combat, although Skycranes remained in U.S. National Guard service until the early 1990s. The Soviet Union also created much larger crane helicopters with a similar skeletal design.

Today, Erickson Air-Crane of Central Point, Oregon operates the largest fleet of S-64 helicopters in the world under the name Erickson S-64 Aircrane, which can be equipped with water-dropping equipment (some also have foam/gel capability) for firefighting duties worldwide. After obtaining the type certificate and manufacturing rights in 1992, Erickson remains the manufacturer and world’s largest operator of S-64s.

Variants

*YCH-54A: Pre-production aircraft, six built.

*CH-54A: Production model powered by two 4500shp T-73-P1 turboshafts, 54 built.

*CH-54B: Heavier version of the CH-54A with two 4800 shp T-73-P700 turboshafts and twin-wheeled main undercarriage, 37 built.

Operators

;USA
* United States Army

urvivors

A large number of surviving airframes exist in flyable condition as well as in museum collections worldwide.

pecifications (CH-54B Tarhe)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=copter
jet or prop?=prop

ref=The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft [cite web |url=http://avia.russian.ee/helicopters_eng/sik_s-64-r.html |title=Sikorsky S-64 / CH-54 “Tarhe” helicopter |work=The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft |author=Donald, D. |year=1997 |accessdate=2006-10-08 ]
crew=3
capacity=
payload main=20,000 lb
payload alt=9,000 kg

length main=88 ft 6 in
length alt=26.97 m
span main=72 ft 0 in
span alt=21.95 m
height main=25 ft 5 in
height alt=7.75 m
area main=4071.5 ft²
area alt=378.24 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main=19,800 lb
empty weight alt=8,980 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=47,000 lb
max takeoff weight alt=21,000 kg
more general=

engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney T73-P-700
type of prop=turboshaft engines
number of props=2
power main=4,800 shp
power alt=3,580 kW
max speed main=130 kn
max speed alt=150 mph, 240 km/h
max speed more=
cruise speed main=100 kn
cruise speed alt=115 mph, 185 km/h
cruise speed more=
range main=200 NM
range alt=230 mi, 370 km
range more=
ceiling main=18,330 ft
ceiling alt=5,600 m
climb rate main=1,330 ft/min
climb rate alt=6.75 m/s
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

armament=

ee also

aircontent

related=
* S-64 Skycrane
* CH-53 Sea Stallion
* CH-53E Super Stallion

similar aircraft=
* CH-47 Chinook
* Mil Mi-10

sequence=

lists=
* List of active military aircraft of the United States
* List of helicopters
* List of military aircraft of the United States

see also=
* Aerial crane

References

External links

* [http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/aviation/factsheets/ch54.html CH-54 U.S. Army Aviation history fact sheet]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/h-54.htm CH-54 Skycrane/Tarhe on Global Security.org]