From Legacy to Legendary
Erickson’s Advanced Engineering Capabilities
Engineering services include the entire commercial and defense aircraft spectrum from concept development, requirements gathering, system architecture, hardware and software development, FAA and EASA certification, and field deployment. Our engineers are focused on the most challenging operational environments using advanced technologies.
Check out our Research & Development Playlist on YouTube.
Areas of Active Development
Next Generation Water Cannon
The next generation water cannon offers the following:
- Rapid installation on the S-64 Air Crane® helicopter
- Driven electrically via power generated by the aircraft drive system, rather than with hydraulic pumps, making the product lighter due to elimination of bulky hydraulic equipment
- Increased water flows from 200 gallons (about the volume of a large refrigerator) per minute to 900 gallons (about half the volume of a storage unit) per minute
- Increase stabilization of the water cannon through an inertial measurement unit that keeps the water cannon pointed at a fixed location despite movement of the aircraft
- Improvements in distance of water reach – can shoot 210 feet (approximate 3x the rotor disc diameter) from the ground, and can shoot side-to-side while in the air
- Articulation of the water cannon is now all directions – shoots forward, right to left, up and down, enabling safe operation and fires to be targeted more effectively
The water cannon is an accessory that can be installed on the S-64 Air Crane® helicopter within a few hours. It is in the final prototyping stage now and will be ready for customer installation by next spring.
Virtual Reality Trainer
The VR (Virtual Reality) Trainer links together crew members globally in the same virtual environment. The multi-pilot aspect allows two users to simultaneously be in the same cockpit anywhere in the world — as long as there’s a good Wi-Fi connection.
Design and development for the VR Trainer started pre-COVID, in early 2020. It was designed to enhance pilot training without having to access the actual aircraft. Shortly after, COVID created an increased need for remote training, while also proving the technology to be just as valuable. The trainer benefits pilots of the S-64, both experienced and brand new, allowing them to interact in the same virtual cockpit with Erickson training pilots. The engineering team is currently working on use cases for others whom the trainer will benefit, which include additional crew members and maintainers.
The trainer is equipped with impressive features that include:
- High resolution, with 4k display for each eyeball for improved detail, sharpness, and an even wider color spectrum
- Full-fidelity cockpit model of the aircraft, down to the last switch and dial
- Linking together cutting-edge optics with multi-player video game technology
- Designed to take advantage of Virtual Reality instead of the traditional screen-based simulation
- Allows new mission-specific training, which can’t be done in a simulator
- Fully immersive long-line training
- Also, it’s way more fun!
Composite Main Rotor Blades
Several years ago Erickson was faced with a dire situation for its flagship platform, the S-64: Create more main rotor blades or eventually ground the entire S-64 fleet. Over time these blades wore out due to the high-demand for flight hours of the uniquely-capable heavy lifting S-64. Then came the eventual retirement of the old blades — and the opportunity to engineer a new product that would enhance the S-64 legacy fleet.
Erickson’s New Composite Main Rotor Blades:
- Increases performance at hot and high-altitude conditions
- Lowers cost with advanced composite materials
- Reduces fuel burn significantly
- Extends the performance of the next generation S-64
Testing the Composite Main Rotor Blades
Erickson’s engineers are constantly upgrading the S-64 with improved systems and capabilities, so we have frequent needs to do on-aircraft prototype and certification testing. During this testing, the aircraft is outfitted with a suite of hundreds of sensors, and a data acquisition platform that monitors all types of aircraft system states such as strain levels, torques, pressures, temperatures, etc. Owing to our worldwide operations in extreme environments, we test in all corners of the globe including Europe, South America, Canada, and of course North America’s highest public airport at Leadville, Colorado.
Competitive Advantage:
With Erickson’s frequent design improvements, the S-64 will continue to have an outsized role in utility aircraft operations well into the future.
Sea Snorkel Development
The purpose of this project is to instrument and test the Sea Snorkel to determine the loads and stresses experienced in flight. This requires designing and building test fixturing, instrumenting and calibrating strain gauges and equipment, and data acquisition that will be used for a conceptually new and improved design.
The Sea Snorkel allows Erickson Inc.’s fleet of S-64 helicopters to rapidly fill our 2,600-gallon fire suppression tank during forward-flight with water from oceans and other sources, which conserves fuel and allows us to reach more remote fires all while executing faster and more frequent water drops.
MATRIX™ Technology
Erickson is integrating Sikorsky’s MATRIX™ Technology autonomy suite with the S-64, enabling autonomous operation in challenging environments. The MATRIX™ system will allow firefighting operations in reduced visibility environments, including in heavy smoke and after sunset, a capability that does not exist anywhere in the world today.
SIKORSKY® and MATRIX™ are trademarks of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
The S-64F+
Erickson’s recent aircraft orders and deliveries have signaled a demand for the S-64 as a firefighting platform of the future. We will transition to new production aircraft with the future introduction of the S-64F+.
The future S-64F+ will include the following innovations and enhancements:
- Incorporation of a modern engine, enhancing range and fuel efficiency
- New Composite Main Rotor Blades
- Enhanced cockpit and flight control system
- Improved water cannon to provide best in class performance
Total Modifications on the S-64
Erickson Announced S-64F+ Model
Of Innovation
Join our Team
Are you looking to tackle some of the world’s largest problems? Join our team of designers and engineers at Erickson.
Featured Clients & Partners
- Bell
- NASA – Johnson Space Center
- NASA – Armstrong Flight Research Center
- Lockheed Martin & Sikorsky Innovations
- Sierra Nevada
- Piasecki Aircraft Corporation
- Vigili del Fuoco
Bell
3255 Bell Flight Blvd
Fort Worth, TX 76118
NASA – Johnson Space Center
2101 E NASA Pkwy
Houston, TX 77058
NASA – Armstrong Flight Research Center
4800 Lilly Ave
Edwards, CA 93523
Lockheed Martin & Sikorsky Innovations
6900 Main St
Stratford, CT 06614
Sierra Nevada
444 Salomon Circle
Sparks, NV 89434
Piasecki Aircraft Corporation
519 W 2nd St
Essington, PA 19029
Vigili del Fuoco
Via Alessandro Scarlatti, 16
Palermo, 90134
Italy
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