In my internet wonderings last week when I was reading about the
AgustaWestland 139 Helicopter I was reminded that at least one government agency in southern California had acquired some new multi-purpose helicopters to add to their fleet of helicopters available for firefighting. As I have family and friends in San Diego County and in the Los Angeles area, and always wanting to learn more about new aviation assets, I wanted to spend some time to see what I could find out. I started with San Diego, and more specifically the City of San Diego because of family living in San Diego County. A quick internet search led me to a couple of media reports, a press release, and an article from
Bill Gabbert's Fire Aviation about San Diego's new helicopter, a Sikorsky S-70i Firehawk helicopter, more on that helicopter in a moment:
In their news release announcing their new Sikorsky s-70i Firehawk,
City of San Diego speaks about the capabilities of the S-70i Firehawk:
The S-70i version of the Firehawk includes wide chord rotor blades for increased payload and maneuverability, enhanced engine power, a stronger airframe than previous models, a digital cockpit with flight management system for enhanced situation awareness, and an Integrated Vehicle Health Management System to monitor the aircraft’s operational health.
The Firehawk’s military design allows it to undergo enormous physical pressure stemming from its ability to drop 1,000 gallons of water multiple times a day on a fire line. Among the improved safety features, the aircraft includes a terrain and obstacle avoidance system that alerts the air crew to the proximity of potential hazards on the ground.
I knew that CAL FIRE is in the process of acquiring new helicopter as is Los Angeles County. Thanks to Bill Gabbert's fine reporting, I found out that both of these agencies had recently acquired the S-70i Firehawk. In a
November 30, 2020 Fire Aviation article, Bill Gabbert reports on LA County's acquisition of a couple of S-70i Firehawks and the anticipation of acquiring some more in the near future. Bill reported in
October 2019 about CAL FIRE's plans to acquire 12 S-70i Firehawks, reporting that one had already been delivered; on
May 10 2020 he reported that one LA County S-70i and a CAL FIRE S-70i were being tested in Colorado with CAL FIRE taking delivery of the second S-70i on
May 22nd
My understanding from Bill's reporting, as well as this
February 2020 Aerial Fire article on the S-70i Firehawk is that United Rotor added an 1,000 gallon belly tank and extended landing gear to the Sikorsky. Sikorsky is a division of Lockheed Martin, and Lockheed Martin has a nice webpage featuring the S-70i Firehawk, with a walk around, a video, and other multimedia. I had a good idea that the Sikorsky Firehawks, the older S-70 and the new S-70i are very similar to the Military's Blackhawks helicopters, but knew no specifics, thanks to this fine article by Jon Bourke in a 2018 Vertical Magazine article, "Meet the New iHawk: We fly the the Sikorsky S70i", I learned more about the development of the Sikorsky Firehawks.
I look forward to seeing and learning more about the S-70i Firehawks over the coming months. As I do, and as I find videos, I will share them on this blog.
