Friday Fun: P-51 Mustang (dual seat) flying over NJ shore

 In looking for a fun aviation to share with you for Friday Fun I did a search on YouTube on flying over the NJ shore and saw this 2016 video from a passenger on a dual seat P-51 Mustang "Betty Jane" from the Collings Foundation. I was intrigued by this 14 minute video and wanted to share this with you. You may want to read about the P-51 Mustang, "Betty Jane" on this page from the Collings Foundation. You will see the pilot introducing the P-51 to his passenger before taking off on their flight over the New Jersey shore. The Collings Foundations takes their historic planes on tours around the United States, and I have visited them in New Jersey a couple of times over the last several years I was privileged to see Betty Jane up close and in person.

Direct link to video by  Duke JJZ on YouTube

Multi-Agency Rescue on Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service like other State and National Fire Fighting Agencies may be involved in assisting other agencies in rescues on hiking trails and the like. Such an incident happened the night of June 25th near the Catfish Fire Tower on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in the Delaware Water Gap (see the map).

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service assisted in a medical rescue on the AT near the Catfish Fire Tower.

A Facebook Post from the Knowlton Twp. Fire and Rescue Company #1- Station 41 (embedded at the end of this post) there were two rescues on the evening of June 25th. The first was a sick hiker near the Catfish Fire Tower who was evacuated via a stokes stretcher.  The following agencies assisted in this rescue: Knowlton Township Fire and Rescue Co No 1, St Lukes Emergency and Transport Services, Blairstown Hose Company, Stillwater Area Volunteer Fire Company, Blairstown Ambulance Corp, NJ Jersey Forest Fire Service,  National Park Service LEO Rangers, Warren County Search and Rescue, St Clairs Emergency Medical Services Paramedics.

While the rescue near Catfish Fire Tower was going on, there was a second incident, a fall from the Red Dot Trail on Mt. Tammany in the Worthington State Forest. Agencies involved in this rescue were: Knowlton Township Fire and Rescue Co No 1, Portland Hook and Ladder, Stillwater Area Volunteer Fire Company,  Freden Volunteer Fire Department, Blairstown Hose Company, NJ Forest Fire Service, NJ Park Police, NJ State Police, National Park Service LEO Rangers, National Park Service High Angle Rescue Team, Warren County Search and Rescue, and Blairstown Ambulance Corps. The terrain on this trail required five rope systems in order to evacuate the injured party on a Stokes stretcher.

I have been on both of the trails mentioned here, but that was several years ago before I got arthritis in my knees. I would not hike on the Red Dot Trail again, it is rugged and some rock scrambling is required as I recall. I am not sure about the AT up to the Catfish Tower, a nice trail but I am not sure my knees could take it. I offer my thanks to all the agencies who were involved in both of the rescues last night. Kudos to all. 

Fatal SEAT (Air Tractor 802A) Crash on June 21st in New Mexico

RIP Ronald "Van" Patton. My thoughts and prayers are with your family, colleagues, friends and all who loved you. Edited at 4PM on June 24th to add that thanks to a friend, I saw this post on Facebook from Coastal Air Strike about the fatal SEAT crash. It was not until June 26th that I found out that Kelly Andersson of Fire Aviation made an excellent post on June 24th about the crash, you will want to go and read Kelly's excellent write-up about Ronald "Van" Patton.

2024 Wildfire Season: Salt & South Fork Fires, New Mexico

I want to thank a good friend of mine who sent me an article (dated July 19th) about the Salt and South Fork Wildfires that started on Monday, July 17th on Mescalero Apache tribal land. I learned from this article from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal with photos that the State Police had found the bodies of two individuals who had died in the fires, that 1,400 homes in and around Ruidoso have been destroyed, there was a mandatory evacuation order in nearby Ruidoso, and that some residents were unaccounted for. Heavy rainfall has lead to other problems, most notably debris flows. I then went to Wildfire Today and saw that Kelly Andersson wrote about the Salt and South Fork Fires on June 18th.

I went to Inciweb a short time ago to find more information, their page on the Salt and South Fork Fires may be found here. I have shared their latest below. The current Incident Commander is Dave Gesser of The Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5. As I write this, the South Fork Fire has burned 16,349 acres and the Salt Fire has burned 7,652 acres. Both fires are at 0 percent containment. The State of New Mexico has similar information about these fires that I found here, please note that I suspect that this page is updated so depending on when you are reading this article you may see something different.

Obtained on June 21, 2024 at 2 PM from the South Fork and Salt Fires Inciweb Map page

Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Governor of New Mexico, declared a State of Emergency on June 20th authorizing $5.25 million for relief efforts. Also on June 20th, President Biden declared a Major Disaster Declaration to support relief efforts. KRWG Public Media out of New Mexico has  June 20th article on their website reporting on a Thursday night public meeting with a discussion on the effects of heavy rain on Wednesday night leading to flash flooding and the dangers of debris flows. Evacuation orders are still in place.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Wildfire Along NJ Turnpike (Hudson County)

 A wildfire is currently burning along the eastern spur of the New Jersey Turnpike in Secacus, Hudson County. This is north of Newark International Airport and south of the George Washington Bridge in northern New Jersey. The lead agency is the Secaucus Fire Department with the NJ Forest Fire Service assisting. For more information see this article from News 12 New Jersey and this gifted article from NJ Advance Media. Travelers on the Turnpike are experiencing smoky conditions. The cause and the size of the wildfire are unknown at this time. According to the NJ State Police, the fire was extinguished on Thursday afternoon.

2024 Wildfire Season: New BLM SEAT Base in Casper WY

 Direct link to Facebook post by Casper/Natrona County International Airport

I have a lot of respect for the Bureau of Land Management Fire operations in the United States. Further, as regular readers know, I have a lot of respect for Single Engine Airtankers (SEAT) that do important work all over the United States and internationally working wildfires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground. SEAT bases and other airports capable of handling SEAT traffic and supporting operations in close proximity to wildfires are important. So when I saw reference to the opening of a BLM SEAT base at the Casper/Natrona County International Airport on June 14th, I knew that I wanted to share this with you. I understand that this airport also has a Large Air Tanker base.

Aerial Fire Magazine has a short article about the opening of the new base in Casper that may be found here. In addition, K2Radio out of Wyoming covers the opening of the new base in an article posted after the base opened

2024 Wildfire Season: Post Fire, AZ and Update on Adams and Spring Fires

On June 5th, I wrote about two larger wildfires that were burning in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona, the Adams and the Spring Fire. The Spring Fire was 100 percent contained at 4,097 acres over a week ago and the Adams Fire was also at 100 percent containment a week ago at 5,029 acres.

Direct link to video from OnsceneTV on YouTube

Thanks to my friends at the B10 New Jersey Wildfire Page where I learned about the Rose Fire, thanks to a video they shared today that I have embedded here. The fire started last Wednesday, June 12th near Wickenburg, AZ, north west of Phoenix in Maricopa County. I believe but am not sure that the footage fromthe scene of the wildfire was shot last Thursday, June 13th. While according the stats from Inciweb on the Rose Fire, the fire burned 166 acres it did destroy 15 structures, seven of which were residences along with some vehicles. What hit homes for me about this wildfire is that a relatively small wildfire of a couple of hundred acres can lead to the loss of people's homes and other structures and vehicles. 

SEATs were initially used on the wildfire before larger aircraft, Scoopers, Very Large Airtankers and Helicopters. News 12 out of Phoenix has a June 16th report (with a video) on the fire reporting on some losses of those who lost their homes.

2024 Wildfire Season: Bridger Aerospace Sends Scoopers to Arizona

 I like to try to keep track of where Airtankers are deployed to help the crews on the ground as they fight wildfires. When I was checking social media just now to try to see what was going in the aerial wildfire community I saw that On July 13th,  Bridger Aerospace out of Bozman Montana is sent two of their Scoopers, 285 'Devils Brigade" and 286 "Matthew, to Arizona to assist in fighting wildfires. Thanks Bridger Aerospace, stay safe.

2024 Wildfire Season: New Jersey Forest Fire Service Sending Engine and Crew to Southern California

Every year around this time I start looking to see if the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) is sending an engine(s) and crew to other parts of the country to help them fight wildfires. This year, the NJFFS is sending one type 6 engine with two crew to southern California. Last year the NJFFS sent two engines with five crew to southern California. This deployment will not impact the ability of the NJFFS to fight wildfires in New Jersey. The crew is driving out west and I believe that the crew's deployment is for a period of up to two weeks. My understanding is that the receiving state, in this case California pays the cost. On a personal note, I have family and friends in southern California so I am thankful that the NJFFS will be helping out. Thank-you NJFFS type 6 engine and crew for your service. Stay safe.

CL-215/415 "Scoopers"

 One of the aerial tools in the wildfire toolbox are the CL215/415 Scoopers, these are amphibious aircraft specially built to scoop water out of water bodies to fight wildfires. There are at least two companies that fly Scoopers, Bridger Aerospace  and Aeroflite. Bridger has a nice 3D Tour of one of their Scoopers that I hope you can access from Bridger's webpage on Scooper operations, go here for the desktop version, and look for the "access 3D tour link"; I could not access the desktop link on Chrome but could on Safari and Firefox. The link for mobile devices should be here.

I just came across a video from ABC 15 News in Phoenix showcasing Aeroflite's Scooper. I found this report from ABCC 15 on Scooper operations and their benefits to be very informative and I hope that you will enjoy this video, just over 2 minutes. The CL215 and 415 Scoopers from Bridger Aerospace should operate in the same as Aeroflite's. As the video points out, one of the important benefits of Scoopers is that they can scoop water out of a water body near a wildfire, fly the fire and then come back for another load and to the same thing again, as long as needed. ABC 15 Phoenix does have the video on their YouTube channel but I am unable to embed their video, but there is a direct link to video from ABC15Arizona on YouTube if you want other viewing options (report on the Scooper starts at 28 seconds).

Friday Fun: Nightime Aerobatics in a Twin Beech 18

 A while back I read a book (I'll Take the 18 by Scott H Gloodt) on freight flying in a Twin Beech 18 where I felt like I got to know the Beech 18 through the pilot author. When I was looking for a fun aviation video to share this week for "Friday Fun" I ran across a couple of videos of Twin Beech Aerobatics flown by Matt Younkin. To learn about the Twin Beech 18 that Matt Younkin flies go to the aircraft page on his website. The video that I am embedding here shows Matt flying a Twin Beech 18 doing night time aerobatics at the 2023 TBM Avenger Reunion.

Direct link to video by AirShowStuffVideos on YouTube

2024 Wildfire Season: Arizona Wildfires

Direct link to video from 12 News in Arizona on YouTube

Thanks to my friends at the daily video updates from my friends at the B10 NJ Wildfire Page as well as stories in the wildfire channel of the newsfeed on my devices, I have been aware of the wildfires that are burning in Arizona. One wildfire that I have read about is the Wildcat Fire that burned 14,402 acres in the Tonto National Forest near Phoenix Arizona, the Wildcat Fire is now at 100 percent containment. I am aware of two other larger wildfires that are still burning, both are in the Tonto National Forest. Stage 1 fire restrictions are in place for much of Arizona.

Adams Fire The Adams fire is still burning in the Tonto National Forest. According to the most recent update on the Adams Fire on Inciweb the Adams fire has burned 5,029 acres and is at 49 percent containment.

Spring Fire The Spring fire continues to burn in the Tonto National Forest. According to the latest update on the Spring Fire on Inciweb (the evening of Jun 4th), this wildfire has burned 4,097 acres and is at 70 percent containment.

About Hurricane Hunters in 2024

I was listening to  WHYY, this morning who broadcasts reports from National Public Radio (NPR) as a part of their Morning Edition broadcast. I heard a good report on the Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the text of the report and some nice photos may be found on this NPR page.

Here is an embedded to link to their audio report:

I hope that you look at the link I provided earlier to look at their awesome photos.

A couple of points stuck out, one is that they have been using the same aircraft since 1996 and have requests to Congress for increased funding. Another point is that for the last several years they have been flying some missions in the winter to assess winter storms. This means that instead of flying for six months they are flying for 10 months. Finally they are bracing for a busier than usual 2024 hurricane season.

Here is an excerpt from their report where some of the pilots share about flying hurricanes:

The squad is known as the Hurricane Hunters, and they’re bracing for a busy tropical season. On a late May afternoon, 6 airmen are gathered around a conference table at their headquarters, looking over conditions for the day ahead of a training flight.

“I was thinking at some point today we run through the invest checklist [to] get ready since storm season is a week away,” McDermott says during the pre-flight briefing.

This is the only U.S. military unit tasked to collect real-time information for hurricane forecasters. They fly over, around, and through dangerous storms, piercing the eyewall as the propeller aircraft is pelted by hail and at times, winds topping 150 miles-an-hour.

“There's the cliché it’s like a roller coaster in a car wash,” says Lt. Col. Steven Burton, deputy operations commander with the Hurricane Hunters.

"A lot of times it's not that bad, but you get those once every now and then and makes you question your life's choices where it's violently shaking and there's hail hitting the windows and it's loud and the pilots are doing everything they can to maintain control of the airplane," says Burton, who has been with the Hurricane Hunters for about ten years.