''Elvis'' is the nickname of Erickson S-64 Air-Crane, tail number ''OB-2081-P (N179AC)'', which has gained fame in Australia as a highly visible and valuable tool in

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

suppression. The

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

, which can hold of water or foam mix, has been brought out by the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

from the United States for each fire season since 2001-2002. The aircraft obtained its nickname due to the time that it spent working for the

United States National Guard The National Guard is a U.S. state, state-based military force that becomes part of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military's reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, reserve components of the United States Army, U.S. Army a ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, where singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

lived for most of his life.

Erickson Air-Crane Erickson Incorporated is an American aerospace manufacturing and aviation service provider based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1971, it is known for producing and operating the S-64 Aircrane helicopter, which is used in aerial ...

helitankers were first brought out to Victoria in December 1997. The first one, dubbed by locals as "Eric the Water Bomber" (N223AC), was used to fight a fire in Frankston and the Caledonia fire in the

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hi ...

, and was brought out again for subsequent fire seasons up to 2000-2001. On December 27, 2001 ''Elvis'', which had arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, was immediately deployed to

Bankstown, New South Wales Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...

to help with fire fighting efforts in the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

region and was lauded for its role in helping to save almost 300 homes. It was also credited with helping save the lives of 14 firemen in the Burragorang Valley in New South Wales. Two other Aircranes, ''Georgia Peach'' (N154AC) and ''Incredible Hulk'' (N164AC), were rushed out from the US aboard a Russian

Antonov An-124 The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; ; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (USSR). The An-124 is the ...

air freighter to assist with the 2001-2002 Sydney bushfires following the successful deployment of ''Elvis''. A number of other Aircranes and Skycranes have subsequently been brought out to Australia for each bushfire season and based in South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. Elvis has also lifted

transmission tower A transmission tower (also electricity pylon, hydro tower, or pylon) is a tall structure, usually a lattice tower made of steel that is used to support an overhead power line. In electrical grids, transmission towers carry high-voltage transmis ...

s in

Alberta, Canada Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, portrayed in the 2014 TV documentary ''Rise of the Machines''.

Aircrane (AC) and Skycrane (HT) deployments in Australia

*1997–1998 Victoria: ''Millie'' (N223AC) *2001–2002 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC); New South Wales: ''Georgia Peach'' (N154AC) and ''Incredible Hulk'' (N164AC) *2002–2003 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC); New South Wales: ''Georgia Peach'' (N154AC) and ''Incredible Hulk'' (N164AC) and ''Isabelle'' (N178AC) and ''Gypsy Lady'' (N189AC). *2003–2004 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC); New South Wales: ''Isabelle'' (N178AC) *2004–2005 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC); New South Wales: ''Rocky'' (N722HT) * 2006–2007 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC) and ''Malcolm'' (N217AC); New South Wales: ''Shania'' (N720HT); Australian Capital Territory: ''Delilah'' (N194AC) * 2007–2008 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC) and ''Elsie'' (N218AC); New South Wales: ''Shania'' (N720HT); Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania (shared): ''Incredible Hulk'' * 2008–2009 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC) and ''Bluey'' a.k.a. ''Elsie'' (N218AC); New South Wales: ''Malcolm'' (N217AC) and ''Clancy'' a.k.a. ''Isabelle'' (N178AC); South Australia: ''Flynn'' a.k.a. ''Christine'' (N173AC); spare ''Delilah'' (N194AC); for the period of Australian operations, some aircraft have been temporarily renamed with Australian themed names. * 2009–2010 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC) * 2011–2012: Western Australia: ''Elsie'' (N218AC) * 2012–2013 Victoria: ''Elvis'' (N179AC) and ''Gypsy Lady'' (N189AC). * 2013–2014 New South Wales: ''Gypsy Lady'' (N189AC) and ''Ichabod'' (N957AC); Victoria:''Delilah'' (N194AC) and ''Malcolm'' (N217AC) * 2019-2020 New South Wales: ''Gypsy Lady'' (N189AC) and ''Jerry'' (N247AC); Victoria: ''Delilah'' (N194AC) and ''Marty'' (N243AC); South Australia: ''Elsie'' (N218AC); Western Australia: ''Georgia Peach'' (N154AC) The aircranes are contracted to the various state and territory governments through the

National Aerial Firefighting Centre National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) is a not-for-profit company that manages and coordinates Australia's national aerial firefighting fleet. The company provides Australian States and Territories resource sharing capabilities. The NAFC Boar ...

References

External links

{{commons category, Firefighting helicopters in Australia
planepictures.net: photographs of "Elvis"
1990s United States helicopters Bushfires in Australia Individual aircraft Articles containing video clips Aerial firefighting helicopters