[caption id="" align="alignright" width="243"] Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane helicopter lifts an air-handling unit onto the roof at SolarCity's South Park Avenue site Saturday. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)[/caption]

A powerful orange helicopter named “Camille” arrived in Buffalo Saturday to help with construction of the SolarCity factory at Riverbend.

The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane helicopter, lifted 44 air-handling units onto the roof at the South Park Avenue site.

Each of the heating and air-conditioning units weighed between 14,000 and 18,000 pounds.

With three pilots aboard the helicopter and a 26-member crew on the ground and the roof to handle the units, the work began at 7 a.m. Project managers expected about five units an hour to be moved, with work expected to wrap up around 2 p.m.

“They’re trying to make the best of the weather. The wind is the biggest factor for this type of operation,” said Danielle Zientek, senior environmental safety manager for LPCiminelli, the Buffalo-based construction contractor.

The 1.2-million-square-foot factory will be the biggest solar panel factory in the Western Hemisphere. The building and equipment will be owned by the state and is funded $750 million in taxpayer money.

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