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, November 16, 2022

Sikorsky S-70i Fire Hawk helicopters revisited (2 of 2)

I am following up on the post I made on November 14th about the Sikorsky S-70i Firehawk. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation has a list of these Fire Hawks and the agency who operates them in his March 12, 2022 article, all are operated by agencies based in California. I want to close with embedding a couple of videos of CAL FIRE's S-70i Fire Hawk.

I start with a short video by Eli Hunter of an S-70i Fire Hawk landing.

Direct link to video by Eli Hunter on YouTube

Here is a video by Firedudes of an S-70-i Fire Hawk refilling.

Direct link to video by Firedudes on YouTube

I was not able to find a short video of an S70-i Fire Hawk working a fire, but in this short video below by CAL FIRE at about 35 seconds you will see a Fire Hawk dropping on what appears to be wildfire or a controlled burn. I am sure that there are videos out there of the S70-i Fire Hawk in action over a wildfire that I was not able to find.