MCAA Members Are Changing the Skyline in Pittsburgh, PA.

June 6, 1999, 5:30a.m., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- In the early hours of a calm Sunday morning, an orange S-64 Aircrane Helicopter sits in a secured area of the Pittsburgh /Lake Erie Railroad Station. A TRANE HVAC unit, transformer, and chiller sit nearby, rigged for placement onto the roof of the Oliver Building in downtown Pittsburgh.

Erickson Air-Crane of Central Point, Oregon, a member of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America for over 12 years, was contracted by fellow MCAA member, Scalise Industries of North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to place the HVAC unit and components on the roof of the Oliver Building at the corner of Smithfield and 6th Avenue.

As the sun started to rise, Erickson pilots and crew completed assembly of the patented "Anti-Rotation Device" and specially designed 8-point rigging. The rigging on the HVAC components was checked again to insure an efficient and safe hookup and transport of the units. A mandatory safety briefing followed for all personnel associated with the helicopter lifts.

Operations started at 6:30 a.m. with the lift and placement of the 18,000 lb. TRANE chiller unit. The footprint (size) of the unit demanded longer spreader bars for the rigging. After the unit was placed, the Erickson crew changed the rigging on the helicopter to a more standard 4-point arrangement. The Aircrane finished the job by placing the 4,500 lb. Transformer and HVAC units. The entire job lasted 32 minutes of flight time and because of the size of the chiller unit on a building as tall as the Oliver building, an Erickson pilot later remarked that "it changed the Pittsburgh skyline"