First with Airfast-Helicopter registered VH-UHK this S-61 was damaged by Cyclone Tracy at Darwin, Australia on December 24, 1974. Rebuilt in Canada by Okanagan Helicopters, it was registered C-GOKZ in 1976. The helicopter is pictured with Croman having had a "Shortsky" conversion. On September 1, 2022 the helicopter had a suspected engine failure after heli-logging operations near Medford, OR. It descended to the ground and suffered a hard landing, rolling on it's side. No injuries to the two crew, the helicopter was recovered for investigation and repair.

Croman's S-61N about to dip in a small reservoir while fighting the Apple fire in Riverside Co

It has a nice new paint scheme since I saw it here a year ago.

Water drop on a fire in the Santa Ana river bottom in Riverside

Originally 149009 with the US Navy, this Sea King was transferred to the USAF as 62-12571. Placed in storage at MASDC Dec 16, 1974, it was sold to Croman October 15, 1981. Photographed looking slightly askew, the helicopter had earlier lost the tail rotor assembly when lifting off. The pilot managed to put it back on the ground before going into the adjacent ditch (where the tail rotor and gear box ended up). It's still current with Croman at the time of uploading.