The Super Stallion at Fantasy Island

Today was really windy so we rode out at Fantasy Island.  It's usually quiet and tranquil, but not today.  This was flying over the mountain bike park.  It's a Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion.  From Wikipedia we learn the following.  The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest and heaviest helicopter in the United States military. As the Sikorsky S-80 it was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, a seventh blade to the main rotor and canting the tail rotor 20 degrees. It was built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Marine Corps.
It is an enormous helicopter.  Today was a training mission.  It would go over to Davis-Monthan and pick up a large heavy object.  Then it would fly a lap over the island and go put it back.

  
The two vertical things below the helicopter are the slings it was using to carry the load.  On their low passes they would wave at us.

 

Here it is going across the fence with its load.

 

This is the dust kicked up every time it would deposit or pick up the load.

 

It was really cool watching them fly.