A Rare Bird alights...

July 1, 2008, about 9:15 am...

As it turns out, this particular helicopter is as unusual as it looks!

It's a Kaman Aerospace K-Max K-1200 Aerial Lift Truck, and it's owned and operated by Rainier Heli-Lift of Kirkland, Washington.

It's designed for repetitive heavy-lifting operations, like construction, logging and - yes! - firefighting. On the ground, just under the tail section, is a 660-gallon water drop bucket, called a "Bambi Bucket" by the crew.

The chopper weighs in at 5200 pounds and is powered by a 1500 HP Lycoming turbojet engine. It has an intermeshing dual rotor system, which accounts for the fact that this machine can lift a bit more than its own weight (6,000 lbs.).  

The rotor blades are made of Sitka Spruce (as in "Spruce Goose"), the main spars of which are cut from the same tree. The rotors include a trim tab/aileron system on the trailing edge of each rotor blade, which allows for fine adjustments during lifting operations. The span of the rotors is over 48 feet.

N699RH has a one-of-a-kind (for this model helicopter) belly tank, which has a 700-gallon capacity. It can be filled in less than a minute with either fire retardant or water.

Apparently, only 38 of these helicopters were built, and this is number 19, built in 1996. 

Chopper crews stretch out and relax between operations, catching some smoke-filtered rays of warm sun, coffee and breakfast.