Thu, Sep 16, 2010
K-MAX Cargo Helo Moves 2.45 Million Pounds Of Boulders To Over
10,000 Feet
Swanson Group Aviation based in Grants Pass, OR, recently hauled
2.45 million pounds of boulders to the top of a 10,400 foot
mountain peak in Mt. Lassen National Park in northern California
with a company-owned and operated Kaman K-MAX cargo helicopter. The
helicopter, dubbed the Aerial Truck, completed the move in just
over 40 hours.
File Photo
Swanson’s K-MAX, flying under a U.S. government contract,
used a specially designed bucket system to dump the 500-700 pound
rocks at the top of the mountain peak while maintaining a steady
hover, avoiding the landing process. “The K-MAX’s
unique rotor system provides excellent high-altitude lift
performance” stated Jeff Allen, director of business
development for Swanson Group Aviation. “We were able to
carry nearly 5000 pound loads, even at this altitude,”
continued Allen.
Carson Johnson, Swanson Group Aviation’s vice president,
said that the Swanson Group started using the K-MAX initially to
support their parent company’s forest products division,
providing helicopter logging services to support its saw mills in
the northwestern U.S. “In that role, the K-MAX typically
lifts over one million pounds of timber a day, and on a few
occasions, we’ve exceeded two million pounds” stated
Carson. “The K-MAX really does remind you of a truck. It
doesn’t require much maintenance, even when we’re
flying over thirty lifts per hour,” said Carson. Swanson
Group operates their K-MAX with one pilot and one mechanic, and
typically leaves the machine parked in the woods overnight while
operating in these remote sites. “We don’t normally
have the luxury of hangars where the K-MAX lives” stated
Carson, “but the machine was designed to handle this kind of
work, and does it remarkably well.”
K-MAX UAS
“This is exactly the type of mission K-MAX was designed to
handle," said Sal Bordonaro, president of Kaman Helicopters.
"Through our partnership with Lockheed Martin, we continue to
invest in the unmanned K-MAX program for the U.S. military. Taking
a machine that has proven itself as an aerial truck, and using it
for unmanned cargo movements for the military is a natural
progression. It’s simple and it’s strong, just what
you’d want in an unmanned aerial truck” he said.
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