Part 1 of 8: Introduction to Annual Service of Cessna 172P

Late last December I spent two half-days and one full day at State Line Aviation on the field of Alexandria Airport (N85) watching one of N85's Cessna 172P trainers, (I refer to her as “Red”), get her annual maintenance. I had a great time and I learned a lot. As I watched the inspection and had the opportunity to ask Brent or his apprentice questions, I took notes on what I saw and heard. Over the next few articles, I am going to take you on a photo tour of my time watching the annual along with some commentary about what I learned. This is not meant to be a chronicle of an annual maintenance from beginning to end. Rather, I suppose you can say that I am touching on certain highlights of this annual. This is the first of eight articles that I will post over the next 2 to 3 weeks.

I want to start with the aviation mechanic's creed that is posted on the wall of the State Line Aviation. Please take a moment to read it. When I was talking to the owner, Brent, we got talking about what makes aviation mechanic's tick. He took me out and showed me the creed. I stood there, spending a few minutes reading the creed and letting the words soak in. As I watched Brent and his apprentice, John, work on Red over the course of the next couple of days, I saw the creed in action.

See the image below for a copy of the 100 hour/annual inspection checklist. In the case of the 172P, this is her annual inspection.

This is Red with her engine cover taken off, this a side view of the engine compartment. Having done a couple of pre-flight inspections that included checking the oil and checking one of the belts, it was something special to get my first glimpse at what is under the hood (or cowling). What is under the hood and the propeller (out of the picture) provides the thrust. Thrust along with the lift provided by the wings are two of the four forces of flight that act on an aircraft in flight. The other two forces of flight are drag and weight. Drag works in opposition to thrust and weight (gravity) works in opposition to lift.

Remembering the days when my car had a carburetor, I wanted a photo of Red’s carburetor.

One of the things on the done in the annual is changing the oil filter, note the date on the filter. That is the date the new filter was installed. The number 3998.4 is, according to Brent, the tach time (akin to an odometer in an automobile) found on the bottom of the tachometer. The tachometer records the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the engine crankshaft. In the 172P, the propeller is attached to the engine crankshaft, so the tachometer records both engine and propeller RPM. Tach time is the total number of hours that the engine has run.

Next up: landing gear, wheels, and brake service

retardant v suppressant (follow-up)

Last week, I was writing about retardant v suppressant here. Let’s just say that I was wondering about when to use the term fire retardant and when to use the term fire suppressant. To be honest, I had forgotten that some of the information that I was looking for on retardant v suppressant is here in this blog, written over two years ago. What I am going to do is to spend a little time with what I wrote two years ago, and do some additional reading and revisit retardant v suppressant. However, I do want to briefly address the question that I raised last week.

In the meantime as I understand it, foams and gels (water enhancers) are suppressants, suppressing the fire. The Martin Mars, Canadair CL-215/415 (aka super scoopers) and some Helicopters with buckets and/or tanks (e.g. type 2 helicopters are among the aircraft using water/foam (usually clear). Retardant on the other hand (usually red in color) retards or slows the fire. Some of the aircrafts using retardant include but are not limited to CAL FIRE’s S-2T’s, P-2s and P-3s.

The US Forest Service has a page with some definitions that you might useful. In addition, you might want to read an article I posted in March 2009 on the differences between retardant and foam.

As I said, I’ll be writing more about retardants v suppressants, just not quite sure when. Tomorrow, I will be starting a series based on some time I spent last December watching the annual inspection of a Cessna 172 (aka a trainer).

We don't always see the tankers (intial attack)

Someone sees a small fire, doesn’t matter how it started. Word goes out to the nearest CAL FIRE tanker base, a S-2T tanker and the OV-10 air attack plane are dispatched. The OV-10 arrives first followed in short order by the S-2T tanker. Air Attack communicates with the tanker pilot telling him where to make his first retardant drop, asking him to drop a half load. The tanker pilot flies his pattern and makes his drop. Around this time the wildland firefighters arrive and their incident commander (IC) communicates with Air Attack, discussing the fire. IC tells his crew where to start digging line and tells Air Attack where he wants the second drop, the tanker pilot drops what is left of his retardant as directed by Air Attack and the IC. The IC tells Air Attack that he wants the tanker to come back, doing what is known as a load and return (with more retardant). Air attack continues to circle overhead talking to the IC and talking to the tanker. The tanker returns, makes a couple of more drops as directed by Air Attack and the IC. One more load and return is ordered by Air Attack before Air Attack sends him back to base, satisfied the fire is near containment. Time elapsed maybe an hour or two. Maybe your only witness to your actions, aside from other aircraft and the crews on the ground, were those too far away to comprehend your mission.  I'm sure you got the attention of a Coyote or two as well.  Many of us don’t need to witness your call to duty, we already know. We silently celebrate your safe mission, and silently wait for your next call.

Red Flag warning in an eastern state at the beginning of the spring fire season. The Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATS) just went on contract, AT-602’s. A small fire in the woods, grasses and trees are burning. Wildland firefighters are dispatched along with the AT-602 from the nearest base. An acre maybe two. Winds are blowing, but not strong enough to ground the SEAT. Firefighters are concerned because the winds are favoring the fire moving to some difficult to access terrain. If that happens, the fire could blow up to something bigger. The Huey arrives with her bucket. The Huey and the Air Tractor make drops in strategic areas as designated by commanders to help the efforts of the firefighters on the ground. The firefighters back burn a couple of acres in hope that the fire can be stopped at the road. Helos work hotspots. Another SEAT arrives to help. Three or four hours later the fire is contained at 25 acres, including the burn out. Maybe your only witness to your actions, aside from other aircraft and the crews on the ground, were those too far away to comprehend your mission.  I'm sure you got the attention of a Deer or two as well.  Many of us don’t need to witness your call to duty, we already know. We silently celebrate your safe mission, and silently wait for your next call.

These are hypothetical examples of initial attack. The all important initial attack that often goes unnoticed. But not by me and not by many. I may not know all the incidents where you are flying initial attack. I don’t have to, for you were there, doing what you do best, working to support the firefighters on the ground to put out the fire.

They (as in the P-3's) are baack

By now I suspect that some of you already know that Aero Union's P-3 tankers are back in the air, see this National Examiner Article by Bill Gabbert. I'd like to thank a friend who sent me the link to Bill's article over the weekend.

I thought that some of you would enjoy seeing these short clips of the P-3 tankers in action.









Updated on August 3, 2015: The US Forest Service terminated its contract with Aero-Union for their Lockheed P-3's, going out of business a month later. (see my articles of July 30, 2011, August 17, 2011, and January 18, 2012). 

Texas wildfires - air attack

C-130 MAFFS from the 115th Airlift Squadron, California Air National Guard



Air Attack - Wildfires near Possum Kingdom Lake



And some more footage of the fire near Possum Kingdom Lake TX from the same videographer that did the above video, this time focusing more on the fire itself and shots of the devastation. And also some footage of the air attack.




Helitanker drop

Texas Wildfire update #2

Some footage from CNN (dead link removed on 10/21/16) of the fire burning near possum Kingdom Lake, TX. You will see a C-130 MAFFS at the beginning of the footage and Neptune T-11 towards the end. A street sign is fitting -- hellsgate.

correction - (posted on April 23, 2011 and revised on April 24, 2011)
In the video when you watch T-11 making a drop, the reporter refers to a tanker dropping fire suppressant. I believe that the proper term is fire retardant, not fire suppressant. I tend to use the phrase fire retardant not fire suppressant. However, at this point it is not clear to me that the phrase fire suppressant is improper usage. I'll try to spend some time reading up on this issue and write something to follow-up on the usage of fire retardant v fire suppressant at some point in the not to distant future.

Update on October 21, 2016: the link to the CNN that I shared here is no longer valid and I have removed it. 

Texas wildfire update #1

This video was posted on the Abilene Reporter News website this morning. The video shows footage of the Wildcat Fire near Grape Creek. The Albilene Reporter News has a nice page of fire photos.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been doing a good job reporting on the Texas Wildfires. He reports here on the C-130 MAFFS working the fire with three videos of the C-130s that you may want to check out. Another article, this one on a fire threatening McDonald Observatory may be found here.

Firefighter death

Finally Bill reports on some sad news here, on the death of a Firefighter Jaquez who suffered third degree burns while fighting one of the Texas wildfires a few days ago. Another article on Mr. Jaquez's death may be found here. My deep condolences to Mr. Jaquez's family, friends, colleagues, and all who loved him.

Aero Union

There were a couple of stories yesterday on the Reporter News website about the grounding of the Aero Union P-3 fleet, the first one may be found here. In a second article early yesterday evening (4/19/11), they report on discussions between Aero Union and Texas Governor Perry's Office to "try to resolve the issue on the (Texas) State level." To the best of my knowledge, the three P-3s were still on the ground in Abilene.

Updated on August 3, 2015: The US Forest Service terminated its contract with Aero-Union for their Lockheed P-3's, going out of business a month later. (see my articles of July 30, 2011, August 17, 2011, and January 18, 2012). 

Texas wildfires

Edited on October 24, 2017 to strike out or removed outdated links and video embed code

Where to begin on the wildfires in Texas? I expect that most of you have heard about the wildfires that have been burning in Texas for the last couple of weeks from various media.  I am not even going to try to summarize all the fires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Texas largely, but not exclusively, in rural areas of the State.  Nonetheless, evacuations have been or may still be in place in different locations and residences have been destroyed by the fires. There is a nice article and video from CNN where you may learn more about this wildfire, go here to see the CNN report and video.

According to Lubbock Online (4/18/11 @ 12:11 AM):

• Governor Rick Perry is asking the federal government for help.
• Two C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) dropped retardant one of the Texas wildfires.
• Two helos with buckets worked the fire in southwestern Austin.

Death of a firefighter

It is with great sadness that I write about the death of volunteer firefighter, Greg Simmons, this past Friday. I offer my condolences to Greg's family, friends, colleagues and all who loved him. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today writes about Greg here and here.

Air Support

When I went and read the TX Forest Service situation report update written on April 18, 2011 at 11:46 local time (this link is outdated but I am not removing the link so you know where I got the information from), they reported on two C-130 MAFFs that had dropped retardant in a fire burning in the Del Rio area (also reported by Lubbock Online above). In that same "situation report", the TX forest service reports that a tanker base is in the process of being set up in the Midland area to support a DC-10 tanker, and that the Dyess Air Force Base is being set up to support four MAFFS. These resources are in addition to the two helos mentioned earlier and other air resources deployed to the fire. Wildfire Today is also reporting about the mobilization of more air tankers to Texas (and other updates) here.

Where to go for information

As I write this, the Inci Web incident information system has several pages devoted to Texas wildfires. The Texas Forest Service has a current report in pdf format that has been updated at least once a day during this current wildfire siege. An html version of the latest situation report from the Texas Forest Service may be found here. Another good source of information is the morning report (pdf format) put out by the Southern Area Coordinating Center with a summary of current fires burning in TX and other states in the SACC region.

Aero Union P-3s grounded

Over the course of time that I have been writing about aerial wildland firefighting I have gained a growing appreciation for just how complicated the business of aerial wildland firefighting is. I have learned that what the tanker and helo pilots, and ground crews do is complicated.

There is more. I have an awareness -- often only a vague awareness -- that there is much that goes on in the business of aerial wildland firefighting that I do not know about, things that have to be in place in order to keep the tankers and helos flying. About all I can say about such matters is that the tanker and helo business is complicated.

I was again reminded of such complexities when I first heard that Aero Union's P-3 tankers were grounded late in the day last Wednesday, April 13, see this Lubbock Online report dated April 14.

As reported by wildfire today on April 15 who, in an update, referenced this 4/16/11 article from Lubbock Online, the P-3s remain grounded. According to the April 16 article from Lubbock Online, Aero Union officials are meeting with representatives from the US Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration this Tuesday in LA to discuss the matter of the P-3s.

To the best of my knowledge, the 11 P-2V air tankers (9 from Neptune and 2 from Minden) are not affected by whatever lead to the grounding of the P-3s. Some are already on contract and available for aerial firefighting, and others will be going on contract in the coming weeks.

As the 2011 wildfire season gets started in the southwest and the west, and is already well underway in Texas, let us hope and pray for a speedy resolution so that the P-3s can be back in the air again soon.

Updated on August 3, 2015: The article here reports on what was a temporary grounding, and the P-3's were flying again about three days later. The US Forest Service terminated its contract with Aero-Union for their Lockheed P-3's, going out of business a month later. (see my articles of July 30, 2011, August 17, 2011, and January 18, 2012). 

RIP Dave Kelly Sr. (1927-2011)

I want to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the family, friends, colleagues of Dave Kelly, Sr. (1927-2011) -- air tanker pilot -- who passed away on April 4 after an illness. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Dave. However, over the last two plus years that I have been writing about aerial wildland firefighting, I ran into his name in my wonderings on the internet.

What I learned was that he was a veteran tanker pilot well respected by his fellow tanker pilots. Dave was great friend and mentor to many inside and outside the tanker business who will miss him. He soloed at the age of eighteen, obtaining first his private pilots certificate and later his commercial rating. He was also a flight instructor and an aviation mechanic. Before he started flying air tankers in 1967 he worked as a crop duster for many years. He grew to be an old pilot before passing on at the age of 83. Take a couple of moments to read Dave's obit here.

I am sorry that I did not know Dave, the loss is mine.

Dave, I know that you are flying in favorable tailwinds with all of your old buddies.

B-17 - post WW II uses

Some USAAF B-17's were not used as bombers, rather the B-17H, later known as the SB-17G, were modified for use in search and rescue operations. A lifeboat was carried on the belly of the plane that was dropped by a parachute to downed airmen. Armament was deleted after the end of WW II only to be added back during the Korean War. For more information, see this fact sheet from the National Museum of US Air Force on the Boeing B-17H. On December 29, 2021 I noted that the link about the Boeing B-17 H that I referenced here is no longer working and I am so far not able to find another link for you. I live this dead link here as a reference for where I found this information in 2011.

After WW II ended, most surviving USAAF B-17s were flown back to the U.S., stored in aviation boneyards and were eventually scrapped. But some were not. For example, the US Air Force used some B-17s as drones and control drones in nuclear testing and other forms of weapons testing, reconnaissance, transport, engine test beds, and trainers. For more information see this page from the National Museum of US Air Force on Boeing B-17G Variants.

Added on September 4, 2017, the link that I accessed in April 2011 for Boeing B-17-G variants on the National Museum of US Air Force website is no longer available. Some post-war history of the B-17 is available on Wikipedia' article on the B-17.

The last B-17 to retire from service in the US Airforce was Piccadilly Lilly II, she retired in 1959 and is reported to be in the process of being restored to flying condition.

A few B-17s (known as PB-1W) saw service in the U.S. Navy, mostly for anti-submarine surveillance. Modifications included the addition of a radar and extra fuel tanks (Jablonski 1965 38-9). Go here for more information. As I understand it, these Naval PB-1W's saw service through the middle of the 1950s.

The U.S. sold some B-17s to other countries after the end of WW II.

Some B-17s that saw post WW II military service were later used as firebombers, I'll get to firebombers in a later series of articles. A couple of B-17s including one or two that were used as firebombers were used in movies or television. Wikipedia has a list of surviving B-17s, both those currently in the U.S. as well as those that are in other countries, this list may be found here. In addition, the main Wikipedia article on the B-17 includes sections on post WW II uses as well as foreign operators of the B-17.

I will be writing a shorter series of articles on the B-17s service as a firebomber. I need a little more time (perhaps a week o two) as I am still gathering some information.

A look inside a B-17 bomber

I've still got a little more work to do on other uses of the B-17 and her post WW II history. I thought that you might enjoy taking a look inside two restored B-17 bombers, the Commemorative Air Force's B-17 known as the Sentimental Journey and the Collings Foundation's B-17 that I knew as the Nine O Nine.

Edited on September 4, 2017 to revise some links.



Direct link to video


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B-17 in WW II - many did not come home

For all those who never made it home. From any war. Both videos contain some poignant and graphic footage, (stills in video 1 and video footage in the second video) of fatally wounded B-17s on their way down.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

B-17 in WW II - maintenance

Just as important as the pilots and the rest of the crew were the maintenance crews on the ground who often worked by night to get the B-17 under their care ready for the next bombing run. Theirs was a labor love. There were times when parts were in short supply, especially early in the War. This necessitated the need to cannibalize B-17s that were no longer airworthy for parts.

Even B-17's that were temporarily out of service waiting for parts to arrive were at risk of being cannibalized. Early in the war in the pacific theater, a B-17 was out of service for one month waiting for a new engine. It was at least a month before a replacement engine arrived. During this time, parts were taken off this plane and used to keep other B-17's flying. The situation got so bad that the crew chief in charge of this particular B-17 had permission to guard the plane with a gun. The new engine eventually arrived (Freeman 1977 65-6).

Roger Freeman has a chapter where George Cuda, a flight chief with the 600th Bomb Squadron. He oversaw the maintenance operations of the B-17s in his squadron. Cuda describes the special relationship that a mechanic had with his B-17"

"Crew chiefs became very attached to their B-17s and there was quite a competition as to who would knock up the most missions without an abort for mechanical reasons. Some wouldn't take any leave because they didn't trust others looking after their plane The boys took it pretty hard if the lost a B-17 they had nurse for a good number of missions. When you almost lived night and day with your plane it was more than just a machine to you. I remember one of my crew chiefs, Joe Goeller, had a Fort that went 5 missions before being lost after a raid on Merseburg. He nearly cried when that B-17 crashed. Freeman 1977 163)"

Next up:

April 8: Some don't make it back
April 11: other military service and post WW II

Reference:

Roger A. Freeman. 1977. B-17 Fortress at War. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons

B-17 in WW II - Memphis Belle

Direct link to video from the Library of Congress

Perhaps one of the best known of the Fortresses was the Memphis Belle. Her crew was the first to complete 25 missions during WW II. Some of you may have seen the movie of the same name based in part on the story of the Memphis Belle. I understand that aspects of the movie were fictionalized, see this wikipedia article For example, the names of the crew were changed in the movie. The pilot of the Memphis Belle in WW II was Robert Morgan.

There is a decent article on Memphis Belle B-17 on wikipedia including a list of the 25 missions flown by the Morgan crew. The Museum of the US Air Force has an exhibit (opened in 2018) devoted to the Memphis Belle, go here for more information about the exhibit on the Memphis Belle with more links. 

Here is a 2018 video from the EAA of the unveiling of the Memphis Belle exhibit.

Direct link to video on YouTube

I am doing some rearranging of this first group of articles on the B-17, I'll be back in a couple of days with my next article and a revised list of these first set of articles focusing on the WW II service of the B-17.

edited on December 29, 2021: many of the links in my original 2011 article and later changes are invalid. The videos and links that I provide here were valid at the time I updated this article.

Crystal Fire - Ft. Collins CO

There is a 2,000 acre fire burning in the Fort Collins area of Colorado. I believe, but am not certain that at least one heavy tanker has worked the fire since the fire started on Friday. Winds may have grounded the crews last night and there was a storm that went through mid-day today that also may have grounded aircraft. I understand that it was quite windy last night.

inciweb on Crystal Fire
Wildland Fire hotlist forum on Crystal Fire
Wildfire Today on Crystal Fire
slide show from channel 9 in Denver (no longer available)

Here is a report from a station local to Fort Collins (channel 9), I'm not certain about the date of the report. For those who are interested, there is some fire footage. It is a little over 20 minutes. They are reporting on damage to structures and evacuations are in place. Precipitation is in the forecast. At the time that I first wrote this blog article in April 2011, Channel 9 in Fort Collins CO had a great 20 minute report on this fire. I only just realized on September 5, 2017 that the video is no longer available so I have deleted the video.

B-17 in WW II - stories in pictures and video

I am profoundly moved by the accounts of the crews of the B-17 (and the B-24) during WW II. Words escape me. But one picture or video is worth a thousand words, so I offer two videos. Thanks to Airboyd TV for the fist video on the 12th Airforce, and thanks to FuntimeSteve for the second video, B-17 8th Airforce Tribute,


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