SEAT air tanker bases

Before leaving SEATs and moving on to my next series of posts on stall speed, I want to briefly address the issue of SEAT (single engine air tanker) airbases. I obtained a copy of the 2008 Air Tanker Base Directory -- now outdated and no longer available on the web -- published by the US Forest Service. There are SEAT only bases in just about every region of the U.S. And many bases serve both multi-engine airtankers and SEATs. I did a very rough and not reliable count of the airtanker bases. There are a little over 100 bases, approximately 1/3rd are SEAT only bases, and just over half are authorized for SEAT and multi-engine airtankers.

Of course, there are likely to be many more SEAT bases that are not on this list I referred to such as those who have SEAT contracts with States, such as Downstown in New Jersey.

Reference

US Forest Service. 2008 Interagency Airtanker Base Directory (NFES # 2537), Good through December 1, 2008 (no longer available on the web).

More on Air Tractor and Leland Snow

At some point in the last couple of weeks, I learned about Leland Snow and his relationship to both the Air Tractor aircrafts and the Ayres Thrush. I mentioned in my entry on the Ayres Thrush SEAT that Leland Snow designed and built the Snow S2 airplanes, an early ancestor of the current Thrush Commander line of aircrafts.

As you can see from this history, after he sold his company to Rockwell-Standard in 1965, he was hired by Rockwell as Vice President where he worked on the S2-R models, aka the Thrush Commanders. In 1978, he quit Rockwell, went back to Olney Texas where he started out, and began building the Air Tractors. The first Air Tractor was the AT-300. In addition to the AT-802 models, Air Tractor builds the 401, 402, 502, and 602 models. Late last year, Air Tractor built their 300th AT-802F. These firefighting SEATs are fighting fires world wide from Croatia to South Africa to Australia to America.

Air Tractor is in the process of developing a larger model, called the AT-1002 with a 1060 gallon hopper. See this article for more information.

NJ Forest Fire Service Feb 09 activity

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) is near the end of their prescribed burning window. The NJFFS has a good webpage describing their prescribed burn program that may be found here. From what I understand this window ends around March. To date the NJFFS has done prescribed burns in about 9,000 acres in Central and Southern NJ. I have no information about prescribed burns that may be done in northern NJ. See this discussion thread on wildlandfire dot com for details. There is a good article about a prescribed burn in Stafford Township NJ, not all that far from the May 2007 Warren Grove Fire, in The Press of Atlantic City (dated Sunday, Feb. 22).

Dromader M-18

I first heard about the Dromader M-18, made in Poland by PZ Melec, a couple of months ago when I found out that Downstown Aero used to own a Dromader M-18. From what I understand, Downstown sold the Dromader sometime in the last year. Followers of this blog may recall that the NJ Forest Fire Service contracts with Downstown for Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs). In later wonderings on the web learning about the world of SEATs, I ran into frequent references about the Dromader M-18. A description of the Dromader may be found on this page.

The Dromader specs page on the manufacturers website uses the metric measurements. Conversions to the english system is a matter of using the correct conversion formulas. Thanks to this spec page that TL Stein sent me, those of us still using the english system have a set of recognizable specs to look at without using conversion formulas. Those of you who prefer these specs expressed in the metric system can go here. I believe that the hopper of the Dromader has a capacity of about 600 gallons.

For still pictures of the Dromader M-18, go here. Note the pictures by Downstown of the Dromader taken before they sold the aircraft. Finally for a video of the Dromader in action, see this youtube video.

Ayres Thrush Commander SEAT

The current Thrush Commander line of aircraft (sometimes referred to as Ayres Thrush Commander), used as crop dusters and for firefighting, is descended from a long and respected line of agricultural aircraft. Over fifty years ago, Leland Snow developed an agricultural aircraft known as the Snow S2. Design and production rights to the Snow S2 and later airplanes in the same family have changed hands a couple of times since the mid 1950s. The current manufacturer is Thrush Aircraft, for a brief history of this company see their about us web page.

I suspect that there are many different versions of this aircraft in service as SEATs for wildland fire fighting. To get an idea of the specifications of a representative Ayers Thrush, see the specifications for the 660 Model Turbo Thrush . If you read the specs, remember that this aircraft is used both for crop dusting and for firefighting, hence the different hopper capacities.

Do you want to see some pictures of this aircraft? Thrush aircraft maintains a photo gallery. Check it out.

Finally, for a video of a Thrush in action, watch this video on youtube.

US wildland firefighters in Australia

Bill Gabbert posted a couple of pictures of wildland firefighters from the US working the Australia fires. Go here to see the pictures.

More on SEATs

In my wonderings around the web learning about the world of the use of air support in wildland fire fighting, I quickly found out that there are more than one type of single engine air tankers (SEAT) being used. Yes, it does seem that the AT-802F SEAT is the only SEAT approved by the Interagency Airtanker Board, see my Feb. 10 post for more information.

I do want to take this opportunity to remind everyone, myself including, that there are other SEATs out there that can be used for State contracts or other contracts that are not nationwide contracts. For example, the NJ Forest Fire Services uses AgCats (aka FireCats), contract aircraft owned by Downstown, the contractor that NJ was contracted with for years. Go here to read my earlier post on the AgCat.

So with that in mind, I am going to write about two more SEATS, the Ayers-Thrush models and the Dromander M-18.

I will write about Ayers-Thrush in my next post.

correction to an earlier post on the AT-802F

I made a correction to this post from last week on the AT-802F. The retardant delivery system is known as a Fire Retardant Delivery System (FRDS). I had incorrectly used the term Fuel Retardant.

I have gone in and made the change. Also, Air Tractor's FRDS is specific to their air tanker. If I understand correctly, it can not be used in another manufacturer's air tanker.

Visit to a Hemlock Ravine

I only discovered the Wescott Nature Preserve, one of the preserves managed by the Hunterdon County Dept. of Parks and Recreation a couple of months ago. The preserve is bisected by the Locatong Creek. And includes one of the few stands of Hemlocks in the County.

I took a walk down into the Hemlock ravine yesterday. In the mud. And I loved every minute of it. The photos were taken in early November, but it looks about the same in mid-February. Walking in the mud along the Creek amongst the Hemlocks, I felt rejuvenated and peaceful. As I write about this place, I am going traveling back to the ravine, and again feel peace.

I needed the shot of peace after spending much of the afternoon trying to learn about airtanker contracts.

Flight 3407: condolences and prayers

I want to pause in my writing on aircraft stalls and express my condolences to all those who lost family and friends in the crash of flight 3407 in Buffalo NY. And to those in the community where the plane crashed, I can not begin to imagine what you have gone through and what you continue to go through.

I live in New Jersey, where the flight originated. . .

I offer my thoughts and prayers.

US sending firefighters to Australia

Bell Gabbert reported today that the United States is sending 60 wildland firefighters to Australia. Check out this post in his blog for more details.

On Some AT-802F specifications

Referring to these AT-802F specifications from the Queen Bee webpage, I want to spend a few moments describing some of the specifications in a little more detail. Queen Bee is an authorized Air Tractor dealer and has a SEAT contract with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A complete listing of BLM SEAT contracts as of July 1, 2008 may is listed in this pdf document.

A word on the weight and useful load specifications. The aircraft has a maximum rated weight for take-off and landing. This would be a fully loaded aircraft including pilot, fuel, and payload (water/retardant, additional cargo and equipment, etc.). Useful load is difference between the maximum weight of the aircraft and the empty weight. So, the useful load includes pilot and crew (if any), cargo, water/retardant, and fuel. It also includes anything attached to an airframe that was not installed at the factory as factory installed equipment.

Water or retardant is carried in the 820 gallon hopper.

The AT-802F has an 18 gallon foam tank. This is for the foam agent that can be mixed with water. When water is loaded into the hopper on the aircraft, the foam agent is mixed in at the specified ration.

The final specification that I want to write about is something called stall speed. I ran across this spec on the Air Tractor Company’s page for the AT-802F. Click on performance, note the three stall speeds. As I understand it from my correspondence with TL Stein, stall speed for an aircraft is the speed where the forward speed of the aircraft is not producing enough air flow over the wings to produce lift or support the airplane at its altitude.

When a pilot is landing an aircraft, the plane is just over stall speed.

If you have used the link above to look at Airtractor’s performance numbers for the AT-802F, you will note the following numbers:

Stall Speed, Flaps up: 105 mph (169 kph) at 16,000 lbs (7 257 kg)

Stall Speed, Flaps Down: 91 mph (146 kph) at 16,000 lbs (7 257 kg)

Flaps are usually on the trailing edge of the wings. If you fly on a commercial airliner and are seated at a window seat near the wings, you may have noticed that the flaps are in the down or extended position when the pilot is landing the plane. This reduces the stall speed allowing the aircraft to approach landing more slowly. In some aircraft, flaps may be partially extended for take-off. Conversely, if flaps are in the up or retracted position, stall speed is higher. For a discussion on flaps with pictures, see this wikipedia article .

I will be writing more about stall speed in my next post.

Australia Fires: update

Bill Gabbert posted this update on the wildfires in Australia in his blog on Feb. 10.

From what I read in Bill's post and elsewhere, the U.S. Government is sending wildland fire crews to Australia. I believe that this effort is being coordinated by the National Interagency Coordination Center. Check out this discussion thread on wildlandfire dot com for more information. Start looking at posts dated today (Feb. 11, 2009).

More videos of AT-802F in action

Here are links to two youtube videos showing the AT-802F in action:

1. phoscheck retardant drop. Phoscheck is a type of retardant (note the red tint in the retardant drop in this short video.

2. Croatia.

About AT-802F: Part 1

The single engine AT-802F, manufactured by Air Tractor, is widely used both in the United States and globally for wildland fire fighting for retardant and water/foam drops. The 802F is Air Tractor’s fire fighting model, equipped with special equipment adapted for wildland fire fighting, I’ll get to that a little later. There is also an 802, without this special fire fighting equipment, that is used primarily for agricultural use such as crop dusting. Go here for Air Tractor’s page on the AT-802. The “A” suffix added to the end, e.g. AT-802FA or AT-802A means that it is a single seat cockpit. There is an 802 and 802F that come equipped with amphibious gear for landing on water. These models are known as the AT-802 Fire Boss and the AT-802F Fire Boss.

Air Tractor has a web page on the AT-802F . I posted a link to the later page a couple of days ago, so if you have not checked out, check it out now. If for no other reason than to see some spectacular pictures of the 802F and the 802F Fire Boss in action.

I will be writing about the AT-802F (either the single-seat cockpit version or the two-seat cockpit version) as well as the AT-802F “Fire Boss”. These Air Tractor models have what is known as the Air Tractor Fire Retardant Delivery System (FRDS). I refer you to this link for more information on the AT-FRDS II system. I think it is self explanatory. What is notable about the FRDS system (aka the FRDS air tanker door system) is that it is the only SEAT door system that is approved for use by the Interagency Airtanker Board (IAB). All aircraft contracted for use for wildland fire fighting by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other cooperating federal must meet IAB standards. TL Stein, aviation historian, tells me that

there are other systems available, including home-made systems in use that are not USFS or BLM approved. These other systems may be used by State aircraft or other 802’s not available for a nationwide tanker contract. Generally, the after-market and home made conversions are done on older aircraft where the installation of a FRDS system is not economically feasible or needed.

For a very good and short video of an 802F in action, including shots of the FRDS, check out this youtube video.

updated information (as of January 28, 2010). At the time that I wrote the above, I only knew about one approved SEAT door system approved by the IAB, the FRDS I system. Sometime in the last few months a newer model of the FRDS SEAT door system -- FRDS II -- was put on the market. At the time I wrote the original article, there was information available on the web through Air Tractor (I believe) on the FRDS I gate system that I linked to in February 2009. That link has since expired. With the advent of the FRDS II system I have not been able to find any obvious information on the net about the FRDS I system that is still being used in many AT-802F's (e.g. Queen Bee's). Moreover, I recently found out that there is another computerized SEAT gate system that has preliminary approval by the IAB, known as the Hatfield Gate. I expect to writing about the Hatfield Gate system in early February 2010, so stay tuned.

Australian Wildfires

If you are interested about reading about the wildfire storms in Victoria, Australia (Melbourne area), Bill Gebbert (we follow each others blogs), maintains a very good website called wildfire today with news relating to wildfires. He has written two posts recently about these fires. You may go here and here.

He has links to maps, some pictures, along with a short video clip from local media.

I found this link with information from CFA in Victoria on all the incidents in Victoria on and another link from CFS in South Australia. I obtained these links from this discussion thread on wildlandfire.com.

For my friend in the Melburne area, not a firefighter, we are praying for all of you. Please evacuate early if you need to evacuate.

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By the way, I should have a section on who is following this blog. Bill Gebbert is the guy in the hard hat, just click on the picture and you will go to Bill's blog.

Air Tractor AT-802

I am going to be writing about a SEAT known as the AT-802F, manufactured by Air Tractor. The AT-802F is widely used in wildland firefighting both in America and internationally. I plan on making at least two and possibly more posts on this aircraft. I think that I have finished my research on the aircraft, but I have to plan out my entries before I write my first entry sometime this weekend.

In the meantime, to learn a little about this aircraft, go here to the manufacturer's website to see some pictures and look at some of their specs.

And for a video of an AT-802 in action, go here.

For more on helicopter firefighting

Early on in my research on the role of aviation in wildland firefighting, TL Stien sent me this link to a site with a whole assortment of links about aerial fire fighting and aviation operated by Thomas Eggleston. Included in the links, as an article by Thomas Eggleston on Helicopter Firefighting, focusing on the use of the bambi bucket. I found it very interesting and have added to my growing file collection. It may be found here (you will need adobe reader or another pdf viewer to read the file).

bambi buckets

Along the vane of a picture or a short video is worth a thousand words, here are three videos of helos (aka helicopters) with bambi buckets.

1. firefighting helicopter in El Dorado Hills

2. bambi bucket

3. bucket cam

With a special thank-you to TL Stein for sending these really awesome videos to me. Check them out. All of them.

prescribed fire or burns

Yesterday, I made reference to the fact (through supplied links as well as my text) to the role of helicopters in prescribed fire or burns without making reference to exactly what prescribed burns are. So, I offer three links, two State Forest Fire Agencies (NJ and Florida) and to the Everglades National Park where prescribed burns have been in place for quite a few years. I think that by reading this information you will get an idea of how prescribed burns are used, and what is involved in planning for prescribed burns.

1. New Jersey Forest Fire Service on prescribed burns (there is a link to video, I could not play the video when I checked the link, perhaps you will have better luck. I did watch this video several weeks ago and it is good.

2. Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry, Wildland Fire on prescribed burns.

3. Everglades National Park on prescribed burns.

This is not to imply that these are the only agencies doing prescribed burns, these are just the links that I had handy.