Random Ramblings: Aerial Wildland Firefighting

I have blogged about aerial wildland firefighting since 2009. I am not a firefighter and am not a pilot, just an interested bystander who wants to learn more and share what I learn here. Join me here as I blog on the aircraft and the pilots who fight wildland fires from the air in support of crews on the ground. I also blog on concerns affecting fire crews on the ground as well as other aviation and meteorology issues. Learn what it takes to do jobs that are staffed by the best of the best.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

About the C-130 MAFFS

There are eight Air National Guard/Air Force Reserve C-130s spread arose four military installations that can be equipped with a modular airborne fire fighting system (MAFFS). These C-130 MAFFS are used for aerial firefighting when all commercial air tankers are already committed or are not available. Up through June 7, 2013, I am not aware of any C-130 MAFFS that have been called up for aerial firefighting duty. You may download a fact sheet describing the MAFFS from this NIFC link (a MS Word docx file. The Air Force Reserve Command (302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, CO) has their own fact sheet describing the MAFFS that you may find here. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation wrote a very informative article on Ten Things to Know About MAFFS, I certainly learned something from his article.

The 302nd Airlift Wing provides two C-130s that can be equipped with MAFFS units. The remaining three military units providing two C-130s each are: the 153^rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne; the 145^th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, Charlotte; and the 146^th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, Port Hueneme.

Loading the modular airborne fire fighting system (MAFFS) onto an Air National Guard C-130