Sikorsky HRS (N2302F)

Three more S-55 QTs will soon be joining the present fleet seen here, and I will be shooting individual snaps of each one as well as a large fleet photo when the newest ones arrive.

Who is the operator, and for what purpose? That's fairly unusual type to see these days.

Hi, Torsten.
Whisper Jet, Inc., helicopters owns all four of these and also the three that will soon be arriving. The WJ, Inc., company owns most (if not all) of the S-55QTs that are still flying. (If there is another in-service S-55QT out there, neither they nor I know where it is or who is flying it.) WJ, Inc., also has a huge warehouse with the entire remaining inventory of S-55QT parts, many parts of which are still new. They do heavy lift jobs using specially-built long saws and saw-claw combination equipment, but they are also able to do tourist transport right from the passenger terminal direct to the South Lake Tahoe resort area. Of the other four S55 pics already in the FA gallery, three are mine and one of those pics shows N17758 doing a lift at a job site. These are a treat to be around and to photograph. The name is well-deserved; they are very quiet.

Nice catch Gary! I checked the FAA registry and found Whisper Jet Inc has some 31 helicopters registered and all are Sikorsky's. Seems their home office is not far from me in Kirkland, WA. I look forward to more photos of these classics from you.

Gary, thanks for another great photo! Below is a link to a picture that I posted a question to, but have not received an answer. I thought you might know the answer...Thanks, Sam http://flightaware.com/photos/view/666332-2a3be0481a2aed7aaef0ef0575571e6d882db917/all/sort/date/page/3

Thank you very much for your compliment and comment, Leland. The company formerly operated in New Guinea. It is now continuing the process of relocating to here and these four S-55QTs are only the first ones; three more are already coming later this month. I was given a tour of the business as it was relocating and establishing here last year, and the owners have asked me to be an agency photographer (an offer I excitedly accepted), so I will get more, and better, photos of ALL of them. Once again, I appreciate your compliment. (Wave) :-)

Sam, I just now saw your comment and question. I'm about to get dinner (and my lady does not tolerate late arrivals to her always-beautifully-set table) so I'm going to stay out of the doghouse and go to dinner. I'll check out your link NLT tomorrow. And thanks for the compliment. PS .. Any more old pics to share? Yours are treasures to view. Talk w/ you tomorrow.)

Sam, click on your link to view my reply to your question about the Guppy.
Also, Sam, I just posted a snap of the Kaman Huskie that I said (in my comment under your Huskie pic) I would post. :-)