Skylift Appreciation Thread

[smartergaming]

 

The Skylift from single player makes an appearance in the Smuggler's Run trailer... based off the Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe and S-64 Sky Crane...

 

Here is the Skylift doing a selling run...

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by smartergaming

[xXxKAMIKAZExXx]

I love the Skylift. I've been wanting to fly one in online since TBoGT was announced. Hopefully we can finally purchase one.

[79'Blazer4x4]

I wonder what it will be able to do. Will the magnet drop out on a cable like the Cargobob's hook or will it be limited to picking up stuff that fits inside the gap? I have to assume it will act as a heavier duty Cargobob that can lift things that the Bob struggles to lift, but will it be limited to vehicles or will there be other things it can lift(I assume there will be missions with sea cans to carry or something).

Edited August 26, 2017 by 79'Blazer4x4

[DangerZ0neX]

I have a feeling it'll be mission-restricted and not for sale.

[Nyamber]

I hope we actually buy it and it won't be limited to a VIP job or something. I've always wanted to own a chopper with a magnet. Ever since that one mission in GTA SA.

[Mattoropael]

I hope we actually buy it and it won't be limited to a VIP job or something. I've always wanted to own a chopper with a magnet. Ever since that one mission in GTA SA.

 

I always hated how they restricted the magnet Leviathan to mission-use only, and gave us a bog-standard Leviathan as a "reward". Thank god for mods to fix that, the magnet is a sh*t ton of fun to screw around with.

 

It would be great if they give the Skylift more functionality than just lifting scripted stuff, but I'm not going to expect much.

[Happy Hunter]

Another glorious helicopter

[CrysisAverted]

But can it carry an Insurgent?

[Malibu Club]

I saw a dude flying around in one in a public session a few days ago. It was a sign.

[HKM87]

But can it carry an Insurgent?

If it can carry the APC

[MeisterJazz]

I hope we can buy it. This would serve a lot of purpose for me in money making

[Alvarez]

I would be able to steal containers with this thing, nice

[marco6158]

I have a feeling it'll be mission-restricted and not for sale.

If they let us buy an useless Tug boat, I can't see why the Skylift shouldn't be purchaseable. Hopefully it will have a working magnet even in free roam.

[Stormer2000]

By far my favorite heli. I really do hope it'll be added to freeroam and not just making an appearance in a mission only.

[Lemoyne outlaw]

i dont see why you shouldent be able to buy it. if you can have rocket bikes why not a helicopter that is realistic? it is a cool helicopter though. it was always annoying to me that you couldent use it in tbogt. and even in the one gta 5 mission. but you cant keep it. why not? let people have their fun.

[M*A*R*I*N*A]

I doubt we'll be able to own the Skylift. If we are able to I hope we get another version with a working magnet.

[smartergaming]

Here is a video of our slow, heavy lifting friend... the Skylift in action.

 

 

[Darekl92]

This thing makes Cargobob a speeddemon.

[PresidentJukeBox]

This thing makes Cargobob a speeddemon.

 

It makes the Cargobob look like an Ultralight Single Seat Helicopter. XD

[oleg_aka_djmeg]

 

I have a feeling it'll be mission-restricted and not for sale.

If they let us buy an useless Tug boat, I can't see why the Skylift shouldn't be purchaseable. Hopefully it will have a working magnet even in free roam.

 

how about basically every emergency or service vehicle? or lost slamvan?

[smartergaming]

Rockstar has no logic in the game and what they allow... you can have a Cargobob with a hook... but so far no Skylift with a magnet.... come on Rockstar!!! Why not release it! It would mean more shark cards...?

[ScooterEightyTwo]

What is with R*'s love of making the Skylift unobtainable? Like in it's first appearance in TBOGT you could only get it if you cheated to spawn a Buzzard & chased it down after a mission, & here it's made a couple of appearances in singleplayer & now online, yet it's still not purchasable?

Edited September 17, 2017 by ScooterEightyTwo

[Arrows to Athens]

What a beauty.

 

 

 

[Willy A. Jeep]

In the years after World War II, as the Cold War ratcheted up, the United States and the Soviet Union were embroiled in an arms race. After all they had learned from fighting the greatest threat history that has ever known, they were really eager to get back to showing each other up with new toys. Assault rifles, jet fighters, and nuclear bombs were the new norm. While Vinewood profited on army surplus and public paranoia, the military-industrial complex squeezed every last cent out of its workers in order to outdo the enemy. Ever hesitant to actually have a go at one another, east Asian proxy wars and melodramatic showings of power made up the majority of the real conflict, leaving the USSR and U.S. spitting at each other from across the globe.

 

To actually go to war is a whole other step beyond being ready for it, however. Even with all the firepower in the world, you can't take the fight to 'em if you don't have the tools to get you there. You need planes, boats, and helicopters to move troops, supplies, and arms, even in the age of remote warfare. While WWII was the first modern war, it was also the last traditional war, one of both legacy and innovation, reuse and creation. Free of the shackles of modest prewar industry and brimming with modern technology, even the most mundane of automated transport could exceed anything known before. Purpose-built craft became feasible in this post-war boom, and as events unfolded in Korea and Vietnam, became necessary in the global mobilization of the western allies.

 

Enter Western, fresh from supplying half of the aircraft used in World War II, and just starting to get the hang of rotorcraft under the guidance of, coincidentally, a Russian engineer. After producing a few compact observation/evac helicopters through the 1950s, Western put their team to work on a large, twin-engined, heavy-lift concept, foreseeing the demand that Vietnam would bring. The first W-69 Skylift began testing in 1962, just in time for that big scare down in Cuba, and full production came in 1964, with Tonkin ready to pop. At first reluctant to buy an odd-looking chopper designed by a Rusky, the U.S. armed forces soon acquired over 100 units when they realized it's hard to drive tanks through all the jungles and mountains between Saigon and Hanoi. Now christened the Western CB-71 Puckshinwa, these massive heavy-lifters carried thousands of pieces of hardware - tanks, daisy cutters, howitzers, houses, bridges, even other helicopters - all across Vietnam. Despite sharing little of the glory that its compatriot Valkyrie enjoyed, a production run of less than 200, and obsolescence at the hands of later tandem-rotor heavy-lift models, the Skylift has seen continued post-war success, especially in firefighting roles. From flattening forests to keeping them from burning down, how about that.

 

OK, I don't own this one, but I do get to fly it on occasion. It's for rent from the Port Authority of Los Santos, and some businesses I have investments in or do contract work for request it when one of those tandem-rotors just won't do. I don't know if these were originally optioned with an electromagnet like this one's got, but it'll lift an old LTA subway car like it's nothing, so I'm not complaining.

 

 

As always, more images in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

 

[JumpingKentFlash]

Just had the Casino Work mission where you go to Terminal and locate a container. After the mission I get a call from Baker who utters “And the Skylift.... Do what you want with it”.

 

Tried to put it in my hangar, but NOOOOOO of course I couldn’t.

[DrEeveell]

We have Skycranes? Oh man, I want one of these so bad.

I got one of these for a hanger sale mission and was immediately bummed. I would much rather have a CH-54 than a CH-47 sh*thook. Really irked that we can't buy them. It was dog slow while carrying the container, but perked right up after I dropped it off.

Back last millenium, when I was in the Nevada National Guard, we had the last unit with operational Skycranes in the US. Never had an excuse to bum a ride in one, but I have ridden in Chinooks. Most notably, through the mountains from Reno, NV to near Monterey, CA.

Fun fact, the "jet powered lawn mower" from the Home Improvement TV show was using an auxiliary power unit from a CH-54.