Helicopter logging on the Queen Charlotte Islands: productivities and costs of a Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane in clearcuts, patch cuts and single-tree selection cuts
In 1992 the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) studied a heavy-lift helicopter logging operation on the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia. The study was part of a Fish-Forestry Interaction Program project to investigate the feasibility of using alternative harvesting and silvicultural systems to harvest timber from potentially unstable terrain. The study provided information on the productivities and costs of helicopter logging in clearcuts, patch cuts, and single-tree selection cuts, using a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane equipped for choker logging. Information on basal area removal levels, damage to residual stems, and ground disturbance was also collected. Production and cost functions were derived from detailed-timing and shift-level data to predict helicopter yarding productivity and cost by harvesting treatment for yarding distances of 100 to 1 500 m.