At Quartz Hill, located 120 miles (193 km) from Ketchikan, Alaska in 1983, U.S. Borax found one of the largest deposits of Molybdenum deposits in America. Environmental restrictions, weather, and time constraints dictated a compressed schedule for the 9 mile (14 km) access road to the mining area. The solution was to build the road in 6 sections, towards each other, all at once. To accomplish the task, heavy construction equipment had to be brought in and placed at several different locations. The motivation for this bold and innovative approach was the use of the Erickson S-64 Aircrane with a proven capability for heavy construction and precision placement. More than merely delivering the loads, the helicopter had to put large pieces of machinery back together with machine tool accuracy. After drilling and clearing out landing pads, smaller earthmovers like the D-4 and D-6 were brought in as 1 and 2-piece lifts.
The S-64 Aircrane is the only aircraft built specifically as a flying crane in contrast to those with fuselages built for internal loads. The S-64E is powered by two 4,500 Horsepower Pratt and Whitney jet engines. The pilot can draw on 9,000 Horsepower for normal lifts. The Erickson Aircrane will fly in any kind of weather that men can work in with the only exception being reduced visibility, as in fog.
The S-64 features a uniquely designed aft-facing pilot station with a full set of flight controls that allow the aft-facing pilot to control the aircraft during operations requiring a high degree of precision. A plexi-glass bubble airshield provides an unobstructed view of the load being carried. The S-64 is always serviced by a full Erickson ground crew including FAA-certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanics capable of complete overhauls. During the Quartz Hill job, a floating hangar carried a large inventory of parts and spare components for the job.
Working closely with the equipment dealer, NC Machinery, and contractor, Southcoast Incorporated, Erickson Operations personnel assisted in breaking down the heavier construction equipment into maximum lift configurations. A Caterpillar 980 loader was broken down into four lifts: the axles and tires, the front lift arm assembly, the main body, and finally, the bucket fully loaded with miscellaneous parts. Special modifications, such as steel guide rods and templates were attached to the pieces to facilitate quick reassembly. Since there were no hoisting devices available, it was critical that the sections were properly aligned when they were lowered onto the pad. Within hours the 980 was at work.
The largest and most critical piece of equipment was the Cat 235 Excavator. The track was held in a rigid frame to maintain its original factory alignment so that the next piece would fit back on top of it. The second piece, the lower frame, was quickly and precisely seated on the tracks. The 1,800 pound (~8,100 kg) center body was set down on a dowel pin with a tolerance of only 4 tenths of a millimeter. An attached metal alignment post brought the carriage into general alignment as series of cylindrical and conical alignment guides positioned it within the micrometer tolerances of the dowel pin. The engine was also guided into general alignment by a post and positioned by flange plates in the precise final fit.
In all, Erickson Air-Crane moved 176 lifts over two, two-day periods, a total of 1,100 tons (1,000,000 kg). Among the major pieces were four D-4s, three D-6s, two D-7s, two D-8s, four 235 backhoes, four Cat 980 loaders, eight Mac trucks, four DJB dump trucks, one grader, eight drills, and eight compressors. The essential tools that made the multiple-heading concept work and made airlift history at Quartz Hill with the largest civilian airlift operation ever attempted.