Had to dig out Jack McKenna’s “ Sky Crane, Igor Sikorsky’s Last Vision “ to confirm some things that I “ sorta remembered “ from conversations about what had gone on before I signed on. Even that reference doesn’t answer all with finality.
Re the rotor head being the prototype for the Super Frelon: cannot say, but always heard it was a modified S-61 head. It is perhaps more than curious that the rotor diameter of the 61 and Super Frelon are exactly the same ( thus the centrifugal forces on the individual blade arms etc would be in the same ballpark etc. The too the 61 head had a naval ( auto folding ) variant like the Super Frelon whereas the six bladed 64 head didn’t. The parent S-56 head was manual fold.
Love the conversation re Army Crane pilots. Assignments to 64 outfits had to come out of the Warrant Officers bBranch at the pentagon and it was curious that it seemed to most observers that only the senior, experienced pilots were assigned to those units.They were an interesting group. At Pleiku in 1965-66 there was a CWO-3 Merle Handley who everyone got to know-a most gregarious and friendly member of WOPA ( the unofficial tern applied to the Army Warrant Officer Pilots Union. Now there was no such thing, but on some occasions, danmned if events didn’t disprove that assumption. ). Later on in that war, we heard at Sikorsky that the Army was dropping 10,000 lb bombs from a Crane in order to clear landing zones. Amazingly, we heard the names and Merle Handley was involved. Soon after, he was sent up to the factory in Stratford to report on that work and pops into the Pilots Office unannounced. Merle is all dressed up and always cut a figure: in shape, lots of decorations, a trace of gray at the temples, trousers creased and shoes like mirrors etc.. After renewing acquaintances, I take him into meet our Chief test Pilot, Bob Decker. I’m just about to introduce him when Merle goes around the desk to Decker and says “ Hello Mr. Decker, I’m Merle Handley, the Army’s best helicopter pilot and also the most handsome”. This was way before the UTTAS and I was a very junior member of the group. ( and thinking that, anymore stunts like this from other friends and I might forget about ever getting to be a senior member ). Mr. Lappos was not yet with us to witness this.
SAS, I think you put your finger on the factor that worked against the crane’s longevity, which was that it was really, really good at the very heavy sling load work, and as things progressed with both the CH-53E and the advanced Chinook variants, a special purpose machine wasn’t needed. Sure, there was the People Pod design and it worked fine, and it could have been modified, I’m sure, to have a removable hole in the floor to permit single point slings, but perhaps some foresaw a queuing theory problem in the field: “ whose got the People Pod for 429?? “. Etc.
Some very very good aviators have flown ( and are now flying ) that aircraft. Putting the CN Tower together is a video that stands out. Back Seat pilot was Larry Pravecek of Ericsson , in his prior life working for the 101st Airborne at Dong Batin ( spelling? ) and then Sikorsky.
And, name another helicopter in which, in order to attain the stature of first pilot, one must demonstrate ground taxi, hover, takeoff, climb and pattern flying to include a precise approach to a hover at your takeoff point and then landing, all from a pilot position facing toward the tail rotor. Instruments are a torque meter and a hook load indicator as well as an AFCS input/control authority crosspointer indicator. Not so much that its hard ( its not ) but it is unique!