Boeing CH-47 Chinook: The Civil Heavy-Lift Profile
Two Chinooks fly US civil work: Columbia's standard-category Model 234 at 25,000 lbs and restricted CH-47D conversions at 28,000 lbs. Specs, hooks and rules.
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Heavy Lift Analyses, Cost Tables, and Regulatory Explainers
Load charts, cost anatomy, and regulatory explainers for the estimators, engineers, and project managers who plan heavy lift work. Figures are verified and regulations are cited, so the numbers hold up when you take them into a bid.
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Kaman K-MAX K-1200: The Helicopter Built Only to Lift
The Kaman K-1200 K-MAX lifts 6,000 pounds on 85 gallons an hour and seats one. Full specifications, the payload-by-altitude curve, and why only 60 were built.
What Is a Heavy-Lift Helicopter? Defining the Class by Payload, Not by Adjective
No FAA rule defines the term. In US civil practice a heavy-lift helicopter carries 10,000 pounds or more on the hook, topping out at 28,000 pounds.
Setting Steel on the Mountain: How Helicopters Install Ski Lift Towers
Chairlift towers are flown by helicopter where lift lines have no road. How medium and heavy helicopters set an entire ski lift line in a few summer days.
FAA Part 133 Explained: The Complete Guide to Rotorcraft External-Load Operations
Every US commercial helicopter lift flies under 14 CFR Part 133. The 24-month certificate, load classes A to D, and congested area rules, decoded.
Top 10 Heavy Lift Helicopters Available in the United States in 2026
Ten commercially available US heavy lift helicopters ranked for industrial work in 2026, from the 25,000 lb S-64F Air Crane to light twin utility types.
Bell 214B Big Lifter: The Single-Engine Heavyweight and Its Fifty-Year Career
The Bell 214B Big Lifter put 2,930 shp behind a Huey airframe for 8,000 lb of lift. Development history, specifications, and where the 70 production aircraft work.
Rigging a Helicopter Lift: Slings, Angles, and the Design Factors That Keep a Load Flying
Why aerial rigging departs from crane practice: center of gravity, sling-angle tension, 5:1/7:1/10:1 design factors, and ASME B30 hardware.
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