A four fold increase in the production of cherries in Washington State between 1999 and 2017 (26.5 million 20-pound boxes) is behind a major increase in the number of helicopters under contract to area growers to fan rainwater off maturing fruit to prevent splitting between May and August. This includes a remarkable fleet of about 15 Sikorsky S-55s operated by Golden Wings Aviation's Dave Smith (in 2016) and nine S-58s operated by VI 1 LLC based at Anderson Field in Brewster, WA and the nearby Monse heliport. This S-55 (ex 54-1422) and 14 others were re-registered to Sierra Aeronautics LLC of KY in 2021.