Erickson Air-Crane grew out of the Erickson family business, which had generations of experience in the timber industry. With the purchase of two S-64 Skycranes in 1971, Erickson Lumber Company expanded into heavy lift helicopter logging and became Erickson Air-Crane. Since that time the company has conducted successful operations in the Pacific Northwestern United States, Canada, and in the tropical forests of Malaysia and Indonesia. Canadian Air-Crane Ltd., a subsidiary of Erickson Air-Crane, located in Delta, British Columbia, has been in business since 1992 performing aerial timber harvesting, firefighting, and heavy construction operations in and around the province of British Columbia. Currently, Canadian Air-Crane is engaged in an operating partnership with Weyerhaeuser Canada which involves S-64 Aircranes in timber harvesting operations during all seasons of the year.
Helicopter timber harvesting with the S-64 is a cost-effective and environmentally sound method of harvesting wood, a natural renewable resource. Timber is lifted vertically and flown out rather than skidded across the forest floor. The benefits of this state of the art forest practice include far less damage to adjacent stands of trees, soil, and riparian areas resulting in a healthier forest environment. In addition, timber harvesting by helicopter provides for substantial cost savings by minimizing the need for road development, reducing the costs of falling, loading, and hauling the timber. The S-64 is not bound by limitations of conventional logging practices, allowing for a greater number of harvesting options. Through the use of irregular cut block boundaries patterned for the environment rather than the machinery, the visual impact concerns are significantly reduced, preserving the natural beauty of our forests.
Erickson Air-Crane uses a highly successful hydraulic grapple system for the S-64 that has greatly enhanced the non-intrusive nature of helicopter timber harvesting. The Erickson Air-Crane Logging Grapple operates from aircraft hydraulic power to open and close the jaws within 3 seconds exercising over 42,000 pounds (19,000 kg) of pressure to keep the logs secure as they are pulled up and out of the forest floor. The grapple has been used extensively on conventional helicopter timber harvesting operations across British Columbia and in the Pacific Northwestern United States.
Recently, Erickson Air-Crane has developed a revolutionary new method of retention harvesting that involves pulling standing tree stems up and out of the forest with no damage to the tree or surrounding area. "Standing Stem Harvesting" involves the S-64 Aircrane using a standard grapple with two shackles welded to the frame allowing the grapple to be suspended horizontally. The horizontal grapple grabs the stem where it stands as the Aircrane pulls and snaps the tree off at the pre-cut point. This new method has been used with great success in harvesting operations along the B.C. mainland coast where the scenic value of the land must be maintained. In these areas, it is nearly impossible to tell that there has been any harvesting at all.