New Jersey: update on fire season

A few quick updates on fire season in New Jersey that I obtained from a website maintained by Section B-10 of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

1. The Jersey Devil fire is 100 percent contained. This is the fire that I posted about on April 19.

2. There was light fire activity on April 19, two fires were mentioned on the B-10 website: (1) a fire in Bergen County in Ringwood at approx. 4 acres, and (2) a 1.5 acre fire in Pemberton, NJ (Burlington County, in or near the Pinelands National Reserve. A helicopter with a bambi bucket worked the Ringwood fire, and an Air Tractor 602 worked the Pemberton fire.

3. Here is a link that I found on the Section B-10 website for a you tube video on a 150-acre that burned in Parsippany/Troy-Hills (Morris County) a couple of weeks ago.

C-130 MAFFS: history and specs

In the early 1970s a number of serious wild fires in Southern California resulting in significant property damage overwhelmed the then existing civilian air tanker flee. The U.S. Congress wanted to address this problem so they asked the U.S. Air Force to serve in a back-up capacity when all civilian air tankers were committed or otherwise unavailable. These Congressional actions resulted in a joint effort between the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserve where military C-130’s are fitted with a modular airborne firefighting system (MAFFS).

I will be writing more about the MAFFS unit, as well as the activation, load and deployment of the C-130s in subsequent posts. Briefly, only when all civilian air tankers are either committed to initial attack or extended attack incidents, or are otherwise unavailable can C-130 MAFFS air tankers be requested. A 24-hour lead time is required to outfit the military C-130 with the MAFFS unit before the tanker is deployed to a fire. The C-130 is a transport or cargo plane, and the MAFFS unit fits into the back of the cargo area with two pipes sticking out of the back of the aircraft. The C-130 MAFFS is able to drop up to 3,000 gallons of retardant.

Specifications:
engines: four turboprops (two on each wing)
length (ft): 99
wing span (ft): 133
turn radius (ft): 80
cruise speed (mph): 275
gross weight (lbs): 156,000
range loaded (st. miles) 1,500
contract operating weight: 105,553
retardant load (gallons): 3,000
number of gates: 1

Update on "Jersey Devil" Fire

According to the latest report posted here at 9:45 PM, the fire is 75 percent contained. Volunteer fire departments from Atlantic County NJ have been released with the exception of one water tender. Twenty-five personnel are still deployed. One off-road wildland engine and tractor plow unit will remain over night for mop-up and monitoring over night.

Nice work NJFFS and Atlantic County Volunteer Fire Departments!

A media report with pictures from earlier this evening may be found on NJ.com.

I used the accounts of the Jersey Devil Fire from wildlandfire that I referenced in this post and my earlier post to mark an approximate location of this fire using Google Earth.

Will get back to multi-engine air tankers

I will be getting back to writing about multi-engine air tankers on Monday. At the same time, I will continue to follow the spring fire season here in NJ.

"Jersey Devil" wildfire in Southern NJ

Jersey Devil wildfire:

At approximately 2 PM, an observer in the Batso Fire Tower reported a 300 acre fire in a cedar swamp near in Egg Harbor City burning southeast to Galloway Township. It is 50 percent contained. Ground equipment ( 10 engines, 3 tractor plows, 2 water tenders), a helicopter with a bucket, an observation helicopter, and two contract SEATS are working the fire. Sixty personnel working the fire include the NJFFS and 10 volunteer fire companies.

If my NJ road atlas is correct, this fire is burning in the Pinelands National Reserve.

Yes, the incident has been given the name "Jersey Devil".

For more information on this incident, see this thread on the wildlandfire "hotlist" forums.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: SEAT contracts

Some of you may recall that I first wrote about the NJ Forest Fire Service (NJFFS), including SEAT contracts, in this post on 1/24/09.

You may recall that the NJFFS contracts for SEATs (AgCats and Air Tractor 602). For more information on SEATs (single-engine air tankers) under contract during the spring fire season (between now and early May, see this posting from the wildlandfire dot come "hotlist" forums.

NJ Forest Fire Service: prescribed burning

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) has had a prescribed burning program for many years. A friend and I spent a day in the Pine Barrens in central NJ in March. We drove near an area undergoing a prescribed burn. It was well marked, with signage saying that there was a prescribed burn going on and not to call 911 to report same. I also saw evidence of what may have been recent prescribed burn activities in that there were areas of burned ground with standing trees.

For more information on the NJFFS's prescribed burning program go here. There is also a very good short video describing the role of prescribed burning in NJ.

If you go to the home page of the NJFFS and scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see the following statistics for prescribed burns in 2009:

Statewide Prescribed Burning Totals as of 4/06//09

Northern New Jersey - 749.50 acres
Central New Jersey - 16,929.50 acres
Southern New Jersey - 3,936.50 acres

The Atlantic City Press has an article about the NJFFS 2009 prescribed burning season here.

Fire weather forcast for NJ: April 18

I was interested in brush and/or wild fire activity yesterday in NJ. In my wonderings, I found this webpage for NJ Forest Fire Service Division B Section 10 where they have a box on their main page for current statewide wildfire activity. This morning (Sat. April 18) they reported:

Friday 04/17/09- Light Initial Attack (IA) statewide
Friday 04/17/09- DIV A- Scotch Plains, Union County- (Division)A (section)8 crews worked a reported 2 acre fire on a mountain on the Watchung Reservation. (9pm)

obtained on April 18, 2009 at 12:40 PM from http://www.sectionb10.org/

Watchung Reservation is a park in Union County, NJ.

What is initial attack? The Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group initial attack (IA) is:

A planned response to a wildfire given the wildfire's potential fire behavior. The objective of initial attack is to stop the fire and put it out in a manner consistent with firefighter and public safety and values to be protected.

NJ, and portions of Delaware and PA continue under elevated fire threat today.

From the Mt. Holly office of the NWS:

Special Weather Statement

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
124 PM EDT SAT APR 18 2009

DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-
055-060>062-067>071-182300-
NEW CASTLE-KENT-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-KENT MD-
QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-
SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-
GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-
ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-
COASTAL OCEAN-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-
NORTHAMPTON-CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WILMINGTON...DOVER...GEORGETOWN...
REHOBOTH BEACH...ELKTON...CHESTERTOWN...CENTREVILLE...EASTON...
DENTON...NEWTON...WASHINGTON...MORRISTOWN...FLEMINGTON...
SOMERVILLE...NEW BRUNSWICK...FREEHOLD...SANDY HOOK...TRENTON...
PENNSVILLE...GLASSBORO...CAMDEN...CHERRY HILL...MOORESTOWN...
MOUNT HOLLY...JACKSON...MILLVILLE...HAMMONTON...
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE...OCEAN CITY...ATLANTIC CITY...
LONG BEACH ISLAND...WHARTON STATE FOREST...JIM THORPE...
STROUDSBURG...READING...ALLENTOWN...BETHLEHEM...WEST CHESTER...
NORRISTOWN...DOYLESTOWN...MEDIA...PHILADELPHIA
124 PM EDT SAT APR 18 2009

...ENHANCED BRUSH AND WILD FIRE CONCERNS FOR THIS AFTERNOON...

EARLY THIS AFTERNOON, RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS HAD DROPPED BELOW
30 PERCENT OVER THE REGION, AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DROP THROUGH
MID-AFTERNOON. FINE FUELS ALSO WERE UNIFORMLY DRY. SUSTAINED WEST
WINDS GENERALLY WERE 10 TO 15 MPH, BUT THERE WERE SOME GUSTS ABOVE
20 MPH. AS A RESULT, THERE IS A HEIGHTENED CONCERN FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT AND SPREAD OF BRUSH AND WILD FIRES IN OUR REGION
THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON.


obtained on April 18, 2009 at 1:50 PM EDT from http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=NJZ009&warncounty=NJC019&firewxzone=NJZ009&local_place1=Flemington+NJ&product1=Special+Weather+Statement

update on Red Flag Warnings on April 17

This is an updated map as of 11:00 AM MDT from the Modis Active Fire Mapping Program. Depending on when you access this site, the map that is included on this page may no longer be there. Instead, you will find the most recent map. Perhaps there are archives of past maps somewhere on that site, but I am not familiar enough with the site to know where they might be

Red Flag Warnings remain in effect for Essex,Hudson, Union, and Passaic Counties, NJ as well as much of adjoining NYS, and New England through 8 PM tonight. These warnings may be reinstated on Saturday for some of these areas.

Red Flag warnings for the rest of NJ were canceled at 1 PM on April 17.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
211 PM EDT FRI APR 17 2009

DEZ001>003-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012-013-015>023-
027-PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071-172300-
NEW CASTLE-KENT-INLAND SUSSEX-CECIL-KENT MD-QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-
CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-
WESTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-
NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-
SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-NORTHAMPTON-
CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WILMINGTON...DOVER...GEORGETOWN...
ELKTON...CHESTERTOWN...CENTREVILLE...EASTON...DENTON...NEWTON...
WASHINGTON...MORRISTOWN...FLEMINGTON...SOMERVILLE...
NEW BRUNSWICK...FREEHOLD...TRENTON...PENNSVILLE...GLASSBORO...
CAMDEN...CHERRY HILL...MOORESTOWN...MOUNT HOLLY...JACKSON...
MILLVILLE...HAMMONTON...CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE...
WHARTON STATE FOREST...JIM THORPE...STROUDSBURG...READING...
ALLENTOWN...BETHLEHEM...WEST CHESTER...NORRISTOWN...DOYLESTOWN...
MEDIA...PHILADELPHIA
211 PM EDT FRI APR 17 2009

...ENHANCED BRUSH AND WILD FIRE CONCERNS FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
SATURDAY...

TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL TOP OUT IN THE UPPER 60S AND LOWER 70S
THROUGHOUT MOST OF OUR REGION, AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES EARLY
THIS AFTERNOON HAD ALREADY DROPPED BELOW 30 PERCENT. A WEST WIND,
WHICH GENERALLY WAS AROUND 10 MPH AS OF 200 PM, WILL BECOME
SOMEWHAT GUSTY BY 400 PM OR 500 PM. OCCASIONAL GUSTS OF NEAR 20
MPH ARE EXPECTED, ESPECIALLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY OVER THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS.

AS A RESULT, THERE IS A HEIGHTENED CONCERN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
AND SPREAD OF BRUSH AND WILD FIRES IN OUR REGION. THAT CONCERN HAS
LESSENED ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COASTLINES OF NEW JERSEY AND
DELAWARE, WHERE A SEA BREEZE HAS BROUGHT IN COOLER AND MORE HUMID
AIR.

WITH HIGH PRESSURE IN CONTROL, SIMILAR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR
SATURDAY.

$$

IOVINO/STAUBER/DELISI

obtained from http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=NJZ009&warncounty=NJC019&firewxzone=NJZ009&local_place1=Sergeantsville+NJ&product1=Special+Weather+Statement on April 17, 2009.

Red Flag Warning for April 17 (northeastern U.S.)

You will see from the above image that much of the northeastern portion of the U.S. is under a red flag warning. Since I wrote about a red flag warning issued in March 2009 in my last post, I think the red flag warning for today is timely so I am posting this.

Red flag warning 04/17/09

urgent - fire weather message
national weather service mount holly nj
435 am edt fri apr 17 2009

njz001-007>010-012>015-172300-
/o.new.kphi.fw.w.0002.090417t1600z-090417t2300z/
sussex-warren-morris-hunterdon-somerset-middlesex-
western monmouth-eastern monmouth-mercer-
435 am edt fri apr 17 2009

..red flag warning in effect from noon today to 7 pm edt this
evening...

The national weather service has issued a red flag warning. It is
in effect from noon until 700 pm.

As temperatures rise into the upper 60s and lower 70s for this
afternoon, relative humidity values will drop into the 20s and
perhaps the teens at some locations. A west wind is forecast to
increase into the 10 to 15 mph range, with frequent gusts around
or slightly in excess of 20 mph anticipated. Even though the
region received some rain on tuesday and wednesday, conditions
remain quite dry.

Due to the expected wind gusts and the continued dry conditions,
the national weather service has issued a red flag warning for
this afternoon into early this evening. There is an increased
potential for the initiation and rapid spread of brush and wild
fires in the region.

With high pressure in control, the dry conditions are expected to
continue into saturday.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are expected. A combination of gusty winds and low relative
humidity values will create enhanced fire growth potential

http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=phi&wwa=red%20flag%20warning

And if you go here (this map is update daily so if you go to this page on another day, you will see the map generated for that day):

http://firemapper.sc.egov.usda.gov/recent3.php

You will see the map that I have copied to this page.

New Jersey: wildfire activity, March 2009

I mentioned in my last post that through April 5, there were 332 fires burning 499.75 acres in New Jersey. I want to spend a little time on some of the fire activity in March 2009. All of the links and other information that I am including in this blog entry are obtained from the wildlandfire.com forums on NJ: March 2009 Activity .

March was dry here in NJ. See this summary from the NJ State Climatologist. I was aware of the dry weather at the beginning of fire season, so I was not surprised to see reports of brush fires in NJ on the wildlandfire.com forums.

Wed.-Thurs. March 18-19

A 150 acre fire in Morris County (Parsipanny?Troy Hills). See these reports, both of which were posted to the wildlandfire.com forum referenced above:

Report 3 on March 18 at 23:15.
Final report on March 19 at 9:00.

Two small brush fires in Ocean County, NJ. See this Asbury Park Press article [“Cops: 2 suspicious brush fires set in Lacey” by Margaret F. Bonafide for the Asbury Park Press on March 21, 2009]

Sunday March 22

On March 22, the National Fire Weather Forecast for NJ:

UNTIL WE GET A PRECIPITATION EVENT, THE AREA WILL HAVE AN INCREASING THREAT FOR THE SPREAD OF WILDFIRES... IN THE NEAR TERM, THIS WILL BE EVIDENT ESPECIALLY ON MONDAY AS HUMIDITIES LOWER AND WINDS INCREASE. [obtained from http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showpost.php?p=35163&postcount=9 on April 14, 2009.

I heard of one very small brush fire near some NJ Transit Railroad tracks between Stirling and Gillette in Morris and Union Counties, NJ where the New Jersey State Forest Service was one of the responders. Perhaps there were more fires on that day that I was unaware of. [“Brush fire burns near railroad in Long Hill” for www.dailyrecord.com on March 22, 2009, obtained from http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090322/COMMUNITIES25/903220347/1005/NEWS01 on April 14, 2009.

Monday March 23

A Red Flag Warning covering the much of NJ and adjoining eastern PA:

The NWS has just issued Red Flag Warnings statewide for New Jersey at 1030 hours.

SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX- WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN- NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY- ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-COASTAL OCEAN- SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-

1030 AM EDT MON MAR 23 2009
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING, WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING. NORTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 25 MPH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. THE COMBINATION OF THE VERY DRY CONDITIONS, MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY
VALUES OF 15 TO 20 PERCENT, AND GUSTY WINDS WILL PROMOTE RAPID FIRE GROWTH IF IGNITION OCCURS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS, LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY, AND DRY FUELS WILL PROMOTE RAPID FIRE GROWTH. [I obtained this from this link]

A Red Flag Warning was issued by the NWS for eastern PA as well.

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA [I obtained this from this link].

I don’t know the full extent of wildland fire activity on this day or the next. But the Lehigh Valley News reported that there were eight brush fires in a 36-hour period from Monday morning March 23 through Tuesday, March 24. [Tom Quigley “Early rash of brush fires generates concern and warnings in region”, March 24, 2009 on www.lehighvalleylive.com]

The Sunbeam reported on a fifteen-acre fire on a farm in Salem County from a prescribed burn that went of control on March 23. The landowner had a permit for the prescribed burn, to burn away Phragmites (an invasive wee), but was unaware of the Red Flag Warning. [Randall Clark “Brush fires a danger county faces each spring”, March 24, 2009, www.nj.com/sunbeam]

The Star Ledger reported about one of the Warren county brush fires of March 23, one in Sussex County, and another small brush fire in Hunterdon County [Rohan Maxcarenhas/The Star Ledger “Brush fires break out in northern N.J.”, March 23, 2009].

I suspect that there are more wild (brush) fires in NJ over the last few weeks than those I have written about.

Some rain came later that week later that week and over that weekend. April has started out wetter than March, but it is still fire season.

About the NJ Forest Fire Service

I am going to take a break of about a week, maybe a little more, in order to make a few posts about the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS).

Spring in New Jersey means that it is fire season. If you go to the home page of the NJFFS and scroll down to the current wildfire activity box in the middle of the page, you will see that fire season in NJ lasts until about June 1. On this same page, you will also see from the map on the right hand side of the page that NJ Forest Fire Service divides the state into three divisions. There is a Division office in each division. If you scroll over the map, you will see a listing of the counties in each division. These are:

Division A:
Bergen
Essex
Union
Passaic
Sussex
Warren
Hunterdon
Morris
Somerset
Mercer

Division B:
Burlington
Monmouth
Ocean
Middlesex

Division C:
Camden
Gloucester
Salem
Cumberland
Atlantic
Cape May

Note that not all municipalities are in the NJFFS's primary response area. No municipalities in Hudson County are in the NJFFS's primary response area. If I understand correctly, the NJFFS will respond to brush and/or wildfires in towns outside their primary response area under mutual aid.

If you go to this NJFFS webpage, you will see that between Jan. 1, 2009 and April 5, 2009, there have been 332 wildfires burning 499.75 acres in NJ. I suspect that they update this page periodically, so depending on when you read this post, you might see different figures.

This webpage also refers to the goals and objectives of the NJFFS. I will repeat them here:

The objectives of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service are to hold wildfire losses at a level commensurate with values protected and to do the job safely and efficiently.

The goal is to limit the number of wildfires to under 2,000 annually and the acreage burned to less than one half of one percent (.5%) of the 3.15 million acres protected, or 15,750 acres.

Obtained from http://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/fire/ff_aboutus.htm on April 13, 2009

Finally, There is also a very good video introducing the NJFFS on this same webpage called Living with Fire. If you live, work, or vacation in NJ, you might want to watch this short video.

CL 215/415: more info, pictures, and videos

For a good overview of the CL 415, including narrative about the amphibious air tanker along with footage of the air tanker in action, and a description of its “scooping” capabilities, go here and allow about seven minutes to watch the video. This appears to a video from TLC -- The Learning Channel -- on mega machines where they did a segment on the CL-415 super scooper.

As I was reviewing the files that TL Stein sent me on the CL-215 and 415, I began to appreciate that this amphibious aircraft is probably not well suited for canyon drops and flying in tight conditions. See this short LA Times article where a now retired CL-415 pilot who flew the plane in southern California talks about the difficulty in flying this airplane in southern California. For a longer discussion of some of the politics of flying this aircraft in Southern California, see this 1998 article from Wildfire News.

Finally one link to pictures and four more videos that you might enjoy:

Pictures of the CL-215 and CL-415, see this page on airliners.net.

YouTube - 10/17/2008 North Bay terraces Wildfire #2

YouTube - Circuit CL 215 water bomber practice drop

YouTube - bullock drive fire

Revised on October 12, 2015 to remove dead links.

CL-215/415: Specs

The CL-215 was designed and built by Canadiar -- a Canadian company -- for fire suppression. It is an amphibious aircraft that “scoops” water from Lakes, Reservoirs, and other open water bodies. It “scoops” up water by skimming the surface of a body of water, without landing. That is, it scoops while it is “flying”. It takes about 10 secs at 86 to 92 mph to refill its water tanks.The first CL-215, sometimes known as a scooper or a Canadair, flew in 1967. This large aircraft is powered by two Pratt and Witney R-2800-83AM 18 cylinder radial engines (2,100 hp each). These are piston engines. Some 215’s (known as CL-215T) were upgraded with turboprops (Pratt & Witney 123AF) that resulted in a 15 percent increase in power. Most of the CL-215’s in service are flying outside of America (Canada and Europe for example). North Carolina has one, Minnesota has two, and a private operator in Arizona has a couple that were under nationwide contract in 2008 (based in Alaska).

Specs (CL-215):

length (ft): 65
wing span (ft): 94
cruise speed (mph): 180
range loaded (st. miles): 550
maximum take-off weight with disposable load on land (lbs): 43,000
maximum take-off weight on water (lbs): 37,700
retardant loads: 550 gallons water
number of gates: 2

The CL-215T’s were a success so Canadair (and later Bombardier) began manufacturing the CL-415 (aka the super-scooper) in the early 1990s with the first CL-415 flying in 1993. The piston engines are replaced by two Pratt & Witney Canada123-AF turboprops (2,380 shp each). The airframe is essentially the same as the one used in the CL-215 with the added power from the turboprops meaning larger water tanks and a longer cruising range. The 415, like its predecessor has a foam delivery system to allow foam to be mixed with the water. The super-scooper scoops water with two four by six inch probes in 12 seconds at 80 mph. It can scoop water from water bodies that are six feet deep by 300 feet wide. The province of Quebec in Canada leases two CL-415’s to the LA Fire Department for two or three months during fire season.

Specs (CL-415)

length (ft): 65
wing span (ft): 94
cruise speed (mph): 223
range loaded (st. miles): 1,310
maximum take-off weight with disposable load on land (lbs): 43,850
maximum take-off weight on water (lbs): 37,000
retardant loads: 1,300 gallons water
number of gates: 4

References used and further information:

Canadair CL-215 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bombardier 415 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Airliners.net The Canadair CL-215 & 415
Bombardier's homepage of the SuperScooper
Canadair CL-215/415 Close-Up by Geoff McDonell

2009 Federal Contract Airtanker List

It seems that the list of air tankers under federal contract for 2009 has been out for two or three weeks now. I just found out about this list over the weekend. As I understand it, this is the list of multi-engine air tankers available for nationwide contract. It is available here on the National Interagency Coordination Center reference material webpage. A pdf viewer is required to view the list.

Lockheed P2V: pictures and video from cockpit

Updated on May 13, 2013 taking out old outdated links and replacing with new links. Neptune Aviation, operator of P2V-5 and P2V-7's under federal air tanker contract, has a photo gallery of their aircraft that you might want to look at, go here to see the slideshow.

If you have a sixteen minutes to spare and want to see a video shot from the cockpit of a P2V airtanker in action the video used to found on Patricks Aviation which is no longer in operation. But I did find what I believe is the same video on the AAF youtube channel.

direct link to video

In Memoriam: Tanker 09

As I was going through the data that I had on the Lockheed P2V, I learned five days ago that a P2V air tanker owned and operated by Neptune Aviation and under contract by the U.S. Forest Service crashed at approximately 6:10 PM PDT on September 1, 2008 shortly after takeoff from Stead airport near Reno NV. There were three crew members on board, all died in the crash. Air tankers certified by the Interagency Airtanker Board for fire fighting and available for nationwide contract are given tanker numbers. The aircraft involved in this crash is Tanker 09 or T-09. T-09 had made a few retardant drops on a 200-acre fire (the Burnside Fire) in the Humboldt-Tolyabe National Forest south of Lake Tahoe, CA. After completing these drops on the Burnside Fire, CAL Fire ordered T-09 to make a retardant drop on the Smitty Fire in Calaveras County, CA. T-09 and her crew were on there way to the Smitty Fire when she crashed.

There is a nice seven minute montage of photographs of tanker 09 on You Tube.

I have been writing about air tankers for over two months now, and writing about wildland fires since early July 2008. I can no longer be dispassionate and uninvolved. I am involved, if only through my writing. I can not find the words to express my respect, admiration, and compassion for those who fly air tankers. What you do is incredibly risky. I know that the community of heavy air tanker pilots is a small one. I have gotten to know a couple of you through this blog. I am quite aware that it could have been you in that tanker. And it wasn’t. I was deeply saddened when I first learned of the crash from comments about a You Tube video on Tanker 09 (referenced above) five days ago.

I have grown to care about the men and women who fly, maintain, provide all means of ground support for air tankers.I have also grown to love the air tankers. I can never be “one of you”, but I do care. Writing has a way getting me up close and personal, and changing me forever.

I pray through my words and offer this entry as a memoriam for T-09 and her crew.

Gene Wahlstrom, 61, Captain of T-09 and chief pilot for Neptune Aviation with over 25 years in the aviation industry.

Greg “Gonzo” Gonsioroski, 41, First Officer, received his type rating on the P2V in the spring of 2006 and was well on his way to becoming an air tanker Captain.

Zachary VanderGriend, 25 an airframe and powerplant mechanic, was fairly new to Neptune. He got his private pilot’s certificate at the age of 17.

Tanker 09, registration number N4235T, serial number 150282, model number SP-2H, date of manufacture: 1962. Owned and operated by Neptune Aviation, Missoula, Montana.

For all of you at Neptune Aviation, I can not begin to imagine what you went through and are still going through. To the larger wildland fire fighting community, the crash of Tanker 09 happened to you as well, I can not conceive of the pain you felt and are still feeling. To the family, friends and colleagues of Gene, Gonzo, and Zach, please accept my heartfelt condolences and prayers. Tanker 09, may you keep flying in favorable winds.

I will fly with you one day.

Lockheed P-2 (P2V) Neptune: Specifications

The first Lockheed P-2 (P2V) Neptune, built for the U.S. Navy was in service around 1945. It was used for submarine surveillance and also for long range patrol until, beginning in the 1960s, it was replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion. The P-2 was converted for use as an air tanker, first by the U.S. Forest Service and then by independent operators. Originally a twin-engine aircraft with two reciprocating engines, the addition of two turbo jets to later models gives the aircraft additional power.

Three models of P-2’s are used as air tankers. The P2V-5 and the P2V-7 have identical specifications with the only difference being that the P2V-7 has a bubble cockpit. With 6 gates, the P2V uses a multiple-door gate system for retardant drops.

Specs (P2V-5/P2V-7 models):

length (ft): 86
wing span (ft): 98
turning radius (ft): 72
cruise speed (mph): 225
range loaded (st. miles): 1,100
gross weight (lbs): 80,000
contract op.wt (lbs): 73,900
retardant loads: 2,400 gallons
number of gates: 6

The third model, a SP2H is modified Lockheed P2V where the jet engines are removed. The retardant tank has a smaller capacity then the P2V and the retardant delivery system is a variable flow system with one gate. The aircraft is lighter then the P2V.

Specs (SP2H):

length (ft): 95
wing span (ft): 98
turning radius (ft): 71
cruise speed (mph): 22
range loaded (st. miles): 1,100
gross weight (lbs): 80,000
contract op.wt (lbs): 62,000
retardant loads: 2,000 gallons
number of gates: 1

Neptune Aviation has several (ten, I think) P2V’s under nationwide contract. For more pictures and videos of the P2V in action see these You Tube videos:

Lockheed PV2 Neptune Fire Bombers in California
Air Tanker Drop on Palace Fire, Prescott AZ
Milford Flat Fire-Tanker Drop

A couple of revisions to post on the Lockheed P-3 Orion

I made some revisions to yesterdays post to the first paragraph on terminology. I also added an acknowledgment thanking TL Stein for his continued help.

Lockheed P-3 Orion

Before I begin, I want to discuss some terminology. For brevity, when I write about multi-engine air tankers, I will use the term air tanker(s). If for some reason I need to refer to single engine air tankers, I will use the term SEATs (as I have been doing in recent entries). I believe that st. miles refers to statute miles. The number of gates refers to the retardant drop hardware on the air tanker. I thought it useful to define what an air tanker is and found this definition on an Interagency Airtanker Board webpage: “An airtanker is defined as an aerial delivery system configured for the purpose of dispensing water, fire retardant, or fire suppressant material from a fixed tank that controls the rate of delivery. The aerial delivery system includes the tank system and the aircraft.”

Finally, I again want to thank TL Stein for his help in providing me with the specifications and other pertinent data and information about the various air tankers that I am writing about.

The Lockheed P-3, like many other types of multi-engine air tankers used for aerial fire fighting, both currently flying and those “retired” from active service, are former military aircraft converted for use as air tankers. A four-engine turbo-prop, it’s military use was for submarine surveillance by the U.S. Navy. The military version, know as the Lockheed P-3 Orion was first put in military service around 1961. The wings sit low on the fuselage. It is a fast aircraft, can take-off on a shorter runway, can carries three thousand gallons of retardant.

Those of you who might be familiar with the air tankers currently under nationwide contract here in the U.S. might be aware that the Lockheed P-3 Orion was the successor to the U.S. Navy’s Lockheed P-2 (aka P2V) Neptune. The Lockheed P2V was also converted for use as a fire fighting air tanker. Given that the P2V has been around longer (first in service around 1945), it might make sense for me to write about the P2V first. I am unable to do that as I have a little more work to do before I write about the P2V. But stay tuned. The write up of the P2V will be coming soon.

Back to the Lockheed P-3.

Specs:

length (ft): 106
wing span (ft): 99
turning radius (ft): 65
cruise speed (mph): 275/320
range loaded (st. miles): 2,300
gross weight (lbs): 105,000
contract op.wt (lbs): 97,000
retardant loads: 3,000 gallons
number of gates: 1

Aero Union is the sole operator and fabricator of the P-3. In 2008, they had eight P-3’s on the federal contract air tanker list. You might want to spend a little time exploring their website to learn more about their P-3’s. Posting urls to specific web pages does not seem to work well, so I have not done this. However, if you click on flight operations in the menu on the left hand side of the page you will go to the flight operations web page where you may click on a link for aerial firefighting to learn more about their P-3 based aerial fire fighting program.

Aero Union also has a good P-3 photo gallery with some good shots of their P-3’s in action. From their main or home page, click on photo gallery to go to their main photo gallery then click on “Aero Union’s P-3’s in action”.

There are three good, short videos of P-3’s in action on you tube:

Tom's Branch Fire Retardant Drop
Bear Divide Hotshots, 2006

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). The link to Aero Union's old website no longer work.

Updated on November 30, 2017: New link to Interagency Airtanker Board

C-130s in brief and reordering of upcoming air tanker postings

When I originally planned out my postings on different types of multi-engine air tankers available for nationwide aerial fire fighting, I was going to start with the C-130. As I began to learn more about these different aircraft, I learned that the civilian C-130 air tanker fleet has been grounded due to maintenance problems and some tragic crashes of civilian C-130’s. Newer and meticulously maintained military (Air Force) C-130’s, aka the Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) are called into service only when all other multi-engine air tankers are in use and more are needed.

As I sat down this morning to write my first couple of air tanker postings, I decided to revisit the order of my postings. As the military C-130’s are only called into service for retardant drops if all other air tankers are in use, it made sense to write about the military C-130 aircraft only after I have written about “civilian” air tankers currently on nationwide contract for aerial fire fighting.

Intro to multi-engine airtankers

In addition to SEATs and helicopters, multi-engine air tankers are available for aerial wildland fire fighting support. The Interagency Airtanker Board maintains a list of SEATs, helicopters, and multi-engine air tankers that are certified for fire fighting. This is a list of specific aircraft by tail numbers. The tail numbers are tanker numbers, two or three digits, assigned by the Interagency Airtanker Board.

The aircraft on this list are available for nationwide contract, but it does not mean that they actually fly. The only aircraft that fly are aircraft that are listed as being under nationwide contract.

For example, I have a copy, now outdated of the 2008 Federal Contract Airtanker List, these were the listing of the 21 multi-engine air tankers available for nationwide contract in 2008. If I understand correctly, these air tankers are moved around the country dependent on the fire seasons. For example, there may be more air tankers available in the south during the spring that will be moved out west for fire season out west.

The 2009 Federal Air Contract Airtanker List is not available yet. At least I don't have a copy. If and when I can find a copy on the web, I will include a link in a later blog entry.

Over the next three weeks or so, I am going to be writing about various types of air tankers, including but not limited to those that were available for nationwide contract in 2008. Most multi-engine air tankers are former military aircraft converted for use for firefighting. In some cases, the conversion did not go well. I will include one or two of these cases.

Finally, I will include air tankers owned by state fire fighting agencies including California, North Carolina, and Minnesota. In the case of state-owned (or contracted) multi-engine air tankers, it is difficult to find specific information on the web. California may be in class by itself. I found information about Minnesota and North Carolina in my wonderings on the web.

So stay tuned.

drop patterns

The IAT website that I referred to in yesterday's post has a good SEAT training module (part 3) on fire operations. In other words the module talks about the parts of a fire along with different retardant drop patterns.

The module may be found here. Enjoy! I keep going back and reviewing this module, along with the one on fire behavior that I referred to yesterday.

fire behavior

Tomorrow I will be posting a link to an Interagency Aviation Training (IAT) module on SEAT firefighting tactics. I don't know the specifics of the IAT online modules nor do I know much about certifications and (re)certifications that airtanker pilots and helicopter pilots go through. What interested me in this site, was that I learned something from looking at certain modules.

With this in mind, I thought I'd post a link to the module on fire behavior. This is the first of four modules on SEAT training. By the way, the module for helicopter training is almost identical. I have looked at this module a couple of times, spending about fifteen to twenty minutes on my first go around. It requires the adobe flash player, and you can move backwards and view a slide again.

The retardant drop

After the retardant is loaded, there is one thing that may be done before take off. That is, the ground crew who loaded the retardant onto the plane will wash down the side of the plane. This is necessary because the retardant will oxidize the paint and metal if it is not washed away. The ground crew moves away, the pilot is cleared to start the engine and then cleared for take off.

Moving to the fire itself, and before getting to the drop, I need to discuss two important people, One is the incident commander (IC). According to the glossary of fire terminology from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the incident commander is the “individual responsible for the management of all operations at the incident site.” The air coordinator is in an airplane flying overhead and is thus able to get a bigger view of the fire than the IC on the ground. The air coordinator looks at conditions that will affect the drop such as wind direction, hazards such as powerlines and trees, and if and how the drop will aid the fire fighting crews on the ground.

For example, the IC may ask for an anchor point on one of the flanks of the fire and allow the air coordinator or air operations (AirOps) to determine the optimal plan for the retardant drops. After AirOps has decided on the drop, they will tell the air tanker pilot exactly where to make the drop along with how much retardant to drop. Sometimes the pilot will make a dry run before making the actual drop, especially in cases where the pilot has not flown in the area on prior occasions. When the pilot is not familiar with the area, a dry run allows the pilot to scope out potential hazards that AirOps might have missed, look for escape routes, and get a feel for how the terrain might affect the wind. After the dry run, if any, is done, the actual retardant drop is made.

I would again like to thank TL Stein for our e-mail correspondence discussing discussing what happens from the loading of the retardant to the time the drop is made.

Terminology from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group

Anchor Point: An advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to start building a fire line. An anchor point is used to reduce the chance of firefighters being flanked by fire.

Flanks of a Fire: The parts of a fire's perimeter that are roughly parallel to the main direction of spread.
Incident: A human-caused or natural occurrence, such as wildland fire, that requires emergency service action to prevent or reduce the loss of life or damage to property or natural resources.

Incident Command System (ICS: The combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedure and communications operating within a common organizational structure, with responsibility for the management of assigned resources to effectively accomplish stated objectives pertaining to an incident.



Incident Commander (IC): Individual responsible for the management of all incident operations at the incident site.

Preparing retardant: part 2

I came across this link -- thank-you, TL Stein, to a web camera at the Ramona CDF Air Attack Base. The web cam takes pictures every two minutes 24/7. Look at the above image that I downloaded from the Ramona webcam, you will see a white tank and a red trailer. The red trailer is known as a mobile mixing unit. The white storage tank is the retardant holding tank. The retardant powder is mixed with water based on the manufacturers recommendations. Most of the time, the ground crews at the air attack bases do the mixing.

The simple explanation is that a trailer is filled with retardant powder. A water supply line is attached to the trailer. The retardant is mixed with water in a piece of equipment attached to the trailer called an eductor. After the retardant powder has been mixed with water it is pumped into the white storage tank.

For a more technical explanation of retardant mixing as applies to the type of equipment referenced in the above discussion, see this pdf document (requires a pdf viewer). According to TL Stein, the water tanks referenced in this document are no longer used and have been removed or altered into tool storage areas." 

Loading the air tanker comes next. The air tanker taxis into a loading pit, one of the ground crew releases vent plugs on the air tanker, a filler hose is connected, a valve on the filler hose is opened, and the retardant is loaded into the tank(s) on the tanker. There are a series of vent holes (with vent plugs) in the plane’s storage tanks. When the retardant reaches the desired level in the tanks, the retardant starts to spill from the vent holes. The valve in the hose is closed and the plugs are inserted to reseal the vent holes (see the attached photo)  And the plane, loaded with retardant is ready to go.

In closing, I should say that the simple scenario of mixing and then loading retardant is based on facilities, equipment, and aircraft at the CDF Ramona Air Attack Base using a Phos-Chek powdered retardant. The specifics of mixing and loading retardant onto the aircraft will vary depending on the brand of retardant, the type (liquid concentrate or powdered), equipment and facilities, and type of aircraft (SEATs, multi-engine air tankers, or helicopters). For example, to see a brief discussion of retardant mixing for SEATs go here.

Preparing retardant: part 1

Before an air tanker drops retardant on a fire, the retardant has to be mixed and loaded on the air tanker. In this post, I will write in general terms about the mixing of the retardant.

I would like to start by thanking TL Stein for our ongoing e-mail correspondence on aerial fire fighting. In this case, for his help in providing me with some information about the mixing and loading of retardants.

On the theory that a picture, or in this case a video is worth a thousand words, I want to start with this you tube video on mixing retardant. The video refers to retardant used by MAFFS C-130. I will be writing about the use of military C-130’s in aerial fire fighting in about a week or so. A special unit called the MAFFS is put on the back of the military C-130 before the plane can be used for retardant drops.

you tube video on retardants used by MAFFS

Prior to watching this video, I really did think that retardants were akin to “red goo”. Honest. I even used the “red goo” description in describing this aspect of aerial fire fighting because most have seen air tankers making retardant drops on various media clips. After watching the video I wonder if I am not so far off in thinking about retardants about “red goo.”

Some examples on different mixes of retardants

Manufacturers of retardants, foams, and water enhancers have recommended ratios or formulas for mixing their product with water. But I have learned that these ratios are not necessarily set in stone and different retardant mixes can be used depending on the fuel, steepness of terrain, etc. I asked TL Stein for some clarification on these ratios or formulas:

The mix ratio is never a set number, at least in my experience.  There is the manufacturers recommended formula and then there is the actual field numbers.  Retardant and foam are tested in a variety of fuels and conditions and the manufacturers mix ratio is generated using the average effectiveness for all fuel types and conditions.
 
In the field, under actual conditions, sometimes a thinner mix is better than the recommended mix and sometimes a heavier mix is needed.  I'll give you a few examples:
 
A. On a gently sloping hill, with light fuel (short grass and brush) and nominal wind, a lighter mix of either foam or retardant will be more effective as the penetration factor is minimal.
 
B. Same hill except fuel is heavy (old growth sagebrush w/ a 12 foot canopy) and moderate wind, both a light mix and a heavy mix will be used.  The light mix, being less gelled, will penetrate the canopy to affect the undergrowth.  A heavier mix will only be effective on the upper parts of the sagebrush because the gelling action is more sticky, therefore only adhering to the upper parts of the canopy and not reaching the bottom layers.
 
C. On a steep hill (45 degrees or more) with medium to heavy fuel and higher wind conditions, a heavy mix is best as this fire type will burn fast, usually burning just the tops of the fuel (crowning).  On initial attack in a forest, crowning is a major issue.  It allows the fire to spread more rapidly and creates additional hazards for ground crews (snags and widow makers). By treating the tree tops and upper parts of the fuels involved, it will slow the fire down allowing ground crews to be more effective in their efforts with hot spots picked up by helicopters.
 
D. New Jersey's conditions and fuel types are different than, say New Mexico's.  Fire will be fought differently in each place.  Tactics in one place will not always work in the other. 
 
Think of retardant and foam like dish soap.  Depending on how heavy the grease is will depend on how much soap you use.  I guess that was a simpler way of explaining all this.  In any case, retardant and foam mixing ratios recommended by the manufacturer are only guidelines.  Consideration of the local fuel types, weather conditions and past trial and error usage will generally dictate what mix ratio is the best.

 
Glossary (Fire terminology from National Wildfire Coordinating Group)

Crown Fire (Crowning): The movement of fire through the crowns of trees or shrubs more or less independently of the surface fire.
Initial Attack: The actions taken by the first resources to arrive at a wildfire to protect lives and property, and prevent further extension of the fire.
Snag: A standing dead tree or part of a dead tree from which at least the smaller branches have fallen.

A little more detail on retardant v. foam

I asked TL Stein about the differences between retardants and foams a while back, this is what he said:

RETARDANT:  Retardant is a combination of base elements designed to slow a fire down, not put it out, by nature of chemical composition.  By design and purpose, retardant (I'll use Phos Chek XA as an example), mixed in it's various degrees, consists of a gelatin, fertilizer, iron oxide for color, water, and a few other catalysts.  When mixed, the consistency is that of a thick pudding.  It's job is to coat the fuel to shield it from the fire.  While shielding the fuel, gasses are given off when heated that inhibit the oxygen from the fuel.  The iron oxide provides a color mark (red) as an indicator of where the drop was made and the gelatin is what goops the load, enabling it to stick to the fuel.  Ammonium phosphate acts as a fertilizer to promote new growth immediately after the fire, thus enabling the burn area to recover quicker and prevent possible erosion.  Drop altitude and airspeed are all factors in the effectiveness of a retardant drop.  As retardant is released from the aircraft, it breaks up by nature. 

If a drop is made too high, the retardant ends up becoming a fine mist by the time it reaches the ground, which reduces it's effectiveness.  If a drop is made too low, it doesn't have a chance to break up properly and usually creates a heavy coating on the fuel, destroying the watershed fuel by flattening it, and could kill any firefighter caught in the drop path.  Low drops will also destroy equipment in the path of the drop and is dangerous for the aircraft and pilot, as wind shear at low altitude can and will cause and aircraft to simply run out of air, stall and crash.  If a drop is made too fast, the retardant will start to break down due to the increased airspeed and become a mist, just over a larger area.  There is a set criteria for air tankers and how drops are to be made.  Airspeed and altitude are now figured by computer, onboard most tankers.  The tank doors open to adjust to these two factors providing with the ideal amount of release of retardant in relation to the aircraft performance. Keep in mind, the computer does not control the aircraft, rather, it reads the altitude and airspeed and adjusts the retardant drop accordingly.
 
FOAM: By nature, foam physically smothers a fire.  While not having all the same properties of a retardant, some foam products do have a minimal retardant capability.  Foam allows a deeper penetration on certain fuel types and it's effectiveness dropped from an aircraft varies on the fuel type involved and fire behavior. While never having used any foam product in my working experiences (other than training for aircraft crashes and fuel fires), my working knowledge of foam is limited.  I do know that foam is a good pre-treatment for brush as well as structural protection from spotting ahead of the fire.  Even if the foam dissipates after application, it's effectiveness is still valid for a short period of time, however, not as long as a retardant.

Glossary (Fire terminology from National Wildfire Coordinating Group)

spotting: Behavior of a fire producing sparks or embers that are carried by the wind and start new fires beyond the zone of direct ignition by the main fire.

About retardant, foams and water enhancers: part 2

The USFS has a great deal of information about the various wildfire chemicals -- retardants, foams, and water enhancers that you can access through their wildfire chemical systems page. I will let you explore at your leisure if you care to. However, I do want to include one piece of information for each of the three types of chemicals. That is a sheet listing the different brands they use and how they are used (SEATs, multi-engine tankers, helicopters, engines). I found this information interesting and I thought that you might too. Note that I am writing about how this chemicals are used in aerial firefighting by SEATs and/or multi-engine tankers. Note that all of these sheets require a pdf viewer.

One of the manufacturers that the U.S. Forest Service contracts with for wildfire chemicals is a company called Phos-chek. They have webpages for each of the three different types of wildfire chemicals with some good information on how each is used. So as to not show any favoritism, Firetrol makes all three types of chemicals. And there is thermo gel, a water enhancer.

Retardants

Long-Term Retardants—U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Phos-chek retardant

Foams

Class A Foams—U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Phos-check class A foam

Water Enhancers

Water Enhancers—U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Phos-chek water enhancing gel

Some of the links on this page are to USDA Forest Service webpages. I think that they may be doing some site maintenance and/or updates to their server. I had some difficulty accessing their site earlier today. So, if the links don't work, check back later and they may work. All links worked as of 5:45 PM EDT on March 12.

About retardant, foams, and water enhancers: part 1

Recently when referring to chemicals that are dropped on fires by SEATs or multi-engine tankers, I was referring to retardant drops. However, I think that there are three different types of wildland fire chemicals used in aerial fire fighting. These are long-term retardants, foam fire suppressants, and water enhancers. Definitions of these three chemicals can be found on this U.S. Forest Service webpage.

If I understand correctly, foam fire suppressants do what the name implies, suppressing fires. I have written elsewhere in this blog about the AgCats owned by the contractor, Downstown, that has the SEAT contract with the NJ Forest Fire Service. I am fairly certain that the AgCats use a foam fire suppressant. Water enhancers are also suppressants, I understand that water enhancers can be quite effective when used in air tanker drops. Retardants, which are usually colored red, retard or slow the growth of the fire.

In my next post, I will provide a little more detail on the three chemicals used in aerial fire fighting.

avoid stalls during retardant drops

Remember the two stall speeds that I referred to for the AT-802F that I referred to here? There is a V-speed or velocity-speed known as Vs where Vs is the stall speed or minimum steady flight speed for which the aircraft is still controllable. As you can see from this wikipedia article on V speeds, there are many different V-speeds. Now, if I am thinking about this correctly, then Vs should be slightly higher then this AT-802F performance specification:

Stall Speed, Flaps Down: 91 mph (146 kph) at 16,000 lbs (7 257 kg)

The speed that an airtanker flies at when making retardant drops on a fire is related to Vs. This is expressed as a formula (1.3*Vs). According to the specs found on the Queen Bee web site, the drop speed is in the 120 to 130 mph range. For a more detailed discussion of the calculation of the drop speed (from which I based this discussion) using the AT-802 as an example, go to this BLM aviation page, an automatic download of a MS word document.

TL Stein offers this explanation of stalls, retardant drops, terrain, and fire-produced weather:

Stalls are to be avoided in ALL cases, excepting the landing phase of an aircraft.  In the air tanker world, landing is the only place you want a STALL.  Fire produces it's own weather conditions.  A tanker making a drop in a canyon can experience a tailwind on approach to the drop, which drops the forward airspeed.  Over the fire, a severe lift condition can and does occur, due to the heat raising from the fire.  During the drop phase, the aircraft releases it's load and becomes much lighter.  Consider the thermal wind activity over the drop zone, combined with a sudden tail wind.  The aircraft can loose enough forward airspeed over the wing to cause it to stall and crash.  This is why airspeed / drop speed are critical to the aircraft and the mission.  In the real world, stalls are practiced at a good altitude to enable a successful recovery.  This is mandatory for a "type rating" in the aircraft you will be certified to fly.  Stalls close to the ground, in a fire fighting scenario leave no room for recovery.  There are a lot of memorials to pilots who stalled and crashed.  Why?  Constantly changing conditions over the fire is a good start.  You can make two passes over a fire and the flight conditions will never be the same on each pass.  The best tanker pilots on earth know this.  Each drop you make you run the risk of something going wrong, it's a given and we know it.

stalls and icing

One of the factors that can contribute to stalls is icing on the wings and tails of an aircraft. Simply, ice formation interferes with the normal aerodynamic flows over the wing and tail (aka horizontal stabilizer) leading to lower stall speeds and tragic outcomes. Yes, there are various de-icing systems that can be used in flight such as de-icing boots to rid the wings and tail of ice during flight. It is not my intention to get into the world of de-icing an in-flight aircraft.

In my travels on the internet learning about stalls recently, I happened on a link to aviation safety at a US Forest Service website and found a safety advisory from the Interagency Airtanker Board on icing. I found these safety reminders for airtanker pilots to be very poignant. As I read this advisory, what came home to me is that an airtanker pilot has the right to say “no” to flying into a situation where icing might be a problem and/or to get out of an icing condition before making a drop if called for.

Of course, I don’t know enough to know if airtankers even do retardant drops in northern States in America during cold weather where icing might be a problem. I am not an expert in meteorology, but I know enough to know that 33 degrees on the ground is going to translate to something colder at higher elevation. I also know that there is something called rime ice, which I think is caused by “freezing fog.” And rim ice can form on aircraft wings and tail.

Link to IAB safety advisory on icing (this is a pdf filerequiring a pdf viewer)

If that link does not work, go here and look under Interagency aviation safety alerts for advisory FS 09-01 on aircraft icing.

The advisory also provides a good description on ice formation as affects aviation that I found very helpful.

good animation on aircraft stall

TL Stein sent me this awesome animation illustrating some of the concepts that I have been writing about. It may be found here. Note that the animation may take a couple of minutes to load.

Aircraft lift

I am moving on from writing about SEATs. I want to spend some time talking about retardants that airtankers -- SEATs and multi-engine airtankers -- drop on wildfires. But, before doing so, I need to spend some more time on the aerodynamics underlying “aircraft stalls” for reasons that I hope will be apparent in later posts. I will be spending a couple of weeks on this sequence of posts before I move on writing about multi-engine airtankers around the third week of March.

To review, I wrote about stall speed in my post of February 12:

“As I understand it from my correspondence with TL Stein, stall speed for an aircraft is the speed where the forward speed of the aircraft is not producing enough air flow over the wings to produce lift or support the airplane at its altitude.

When a pilot is landing an aircraft, the plane is just over stall speed.”

The engine provides the power or thrust to move the aircraft forward through the air, but it is the aerodynamic properties of the wings that provide the lift: chord, dihedral and anhedral, wing loading, and the shape of the top and bottom of the wing. The leading edge of the wing is thicker than the trailing edge. Recall that the flaps are usually on the trailing edge of the wing. The distance from the leading edge of the wing to the trailing edge of the wing is known as the chord.

Dihedral is the angle, usually upward of the wings of an aircraft in relation to the body of the aircraft. The wings of a bird also are dihedral. Anhedral are when the wings are at zero or negative dihedral. See this wikipedia article on dihedral for a more detailed explanation and some pictures.

Wingloading is the loaded weight of an aircraft divided by the wing area. TL Stein tells me that “the chord, length and ‘hedral aspects determine the amount of lift that can be generated by the wing for any given aircraft.

But, we are not done with lift yet. The standard wing design is a curved top and a smooth bottom, creating a high pressure area under the wings and a low pressure over the wings. TL Stein explains:

“the faster the air moves over the wing, the more lift is created. Air speed is in direct relation to lift. Lift enables flight. Lose lift and the aircraft sinks, When the forward airspeed no longer produces enough low pressure over the top of the wing to sustain flight . . . this is stall.”

SEAT air tanker bases

Before leaving SEATs and moving on to my next series of posts on stall speed, I want to briefly address the issue of SEAT (single engine air tanker) airbases. I obtained a copy of the 2008 Air Tanker Base Directory -- now outdated and no longer available on the web -- published by the US Forest Service. There are SEAT only bases in just about every region of the U.S. And many bases serve both multi-engine airtankers and SEATs. I did a very rough and not reliable count of the airtanker bases. There are a little over 100 bases, approximately 1/3rd are SEAT only bases, and just over half are authorized for SEAT and multi-engine airtankers.

Of course, there are likely to be many more SEAT bases that are not on this list I referred to such as those who have SEAT contracts with States, such as Downstown in New Jersey.

Reference

US Forest Service. 2008 Interagency Airtanker Base Directory (NFES # 2537), Good through December 1, 2008 (no longer available on the web).

More on Air Tractor and Leland Snow

At some point in the last couple of weeks, I learned about Leland Snow and his relationship to both the Air Tractor aircrafts and the Ayres Thrush. I mentioned in my entry on the Ayres Thrush SEAT that Leland Snow designed and built the Snow S2 airplanes, an early ancestor of the current Thrush Commander line of aircrafts.

As you can see from this history, after he sold his company to Rockwell-Standard in 1965, he was hired by Rockwell as Vice President where he worked on the S2-R models, aka the Thrush Commanders. In 1978, he quit Rockwell, went back to Olney Texas where he started out, and began building the Air Tractors. The first Air Tractor was the AT-300. In addition to the AT-802 models, Air Tractor builds the 401, 402, 502, and 602 models. Late last year, Air Tractor built their 300th AT-802F. These firefighting SEATs are fighting fires world wide from Croatia to South Africa to Australia to America.

Air Tractor is in the process of developing a larger model, called the AT-1002 with a 1060 gallon hopper. See this article for more information.

NJ Forest Fire Service Feb 09 activity

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) is near the end of their prescribed burning window. The NJFFS has a good webpage describing their prescribed burn program that may be found here. From what I understand this window ends around March. To date the NJFFS has done prescribed burns in about 9,000 acres in Central and Southern NJ. I have no information about prescribed burns that may be done in northern NJ. See this discussion thread on wildlandfire dot com for details. There is a good article about a prescribed burn in Stafford Township NJ, not all that far from the May 2007 Warren Grove Fire, in The Press of Atlantic City (dated Sunday, Feb. 22).

Dromader M-18

I first heard about the Dromader M-18, made in Poland by PZ Melec, a couple of months ago when I found out that Downstown Aero used to own a Dromader M-18. From what I understand, Downstown sold the Dromader sometime in the last year. Followers of this blog may recall that the NJ Forest Fire Service contracts with Downstown for Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs). In later wonderings on the web learning about the world of SEATs, I ran into frequent references about the Dromader M-18. A description of the Dromader may be found on this page.

The Dromader specs page on the manufacturers website uses the metric measurements. Conversions to the english system is a matter of using the correct conversion formulas. Thanks to this spec page that TL Stein sent me, those of us still using the english system have a set of recognizable specs to look at without using conversion formulas. Those of you who prefer these specs expressed in the metric system can go here. I believe that the hopper of the Dromader has a capacity of about 600 gallons.

For still pictures of the Dromader M-18, go here. Note the pictures by Downstown of the Dromader taken before they sold the aircraft. Finally for a video of the Dromader in action, see this youtube video.

Ayres Thrush Commander SEAT

The current Thrush Commander line of aircraft (sometimes referred to as Ayres Thrush Commander), used as crop dusters and for firefighting, is descended from a long and respected line of agricultural aircraft. Over fifty years ago, Leland Snow developed an agricultural aircraft known as the Snow S2. Design and production rights to the Snow S2 and later airplanes in the same family have changed hands a couple of times since the mid 1950s. The current manufacturer is Thrush Aircraft, for a brief history of this company see their about us web page.

I suspect that there are many different versions of this aircraft in service as SEATs for wildland fire fighting. To get an idea of the specifications of a representative Ayers Thrush, see the specifications for the 660 Model Turbo Thrush . If you read the specs, remember that this aircraft is used both for crop dusting and for firefighting, hence the different hopper capacities.

Do you want to see some pictures of this aircraft? Thrush aircraft maintains a photo gallery. Check it out.

Finally, for a video of a Thrush in action, watch this video on youtube.

US wildland firefighters in Australia

Bill Gabbert posted a couple of pictures of wildland firefighters from the US working the Australia fires. Go here to see the pictures.

More on SEATs

In my wonderings around the web learning about the world of the use of air support in wildland fire fighting, I quickly found out that there are more than one type of single engine air tankers (SEAT) being used. Yes, it does seem that the AT-802F SEAT is the only SEAT approved by the Interagency Airtanker Board, see my Feb. 10 post for more information.

I do want to take this opportunity to remind everyone, myself including, that there are other SEATs out there that can be used for State contracts or other contracts that are not nationwide contracts. For example, the NJ Forest Fire Services uses AgCats (aka FireCats), contract aircraft owned by Downstown, the contractor that NJ was contracted with for years. Go here to read my earlier post on the AgCat.

So with that in mind, I am going to write about two more SEATS, the Ayers-Thrush models and the Dromander M-18.

I will write about Ayers-Thrush in my next post.

correction to an earlier post on the AT-802F

I made a correction to this post from last week on the AT-802F. The retardant delivery system is known as a Fire Retardant Delivery System (FRDS). I had incorrectly used the term Fuel Retardant.

I have gone in and made the change. Also, Air Tractor's FRDS is specific to their air tanker. If I understand correctly, it can not be used in another manufacturer's air tanker.

Visit to a Hemlock Ravine

I only discovered the Wescott Nature Preserve, one of the preserves managed by the Hunterdon County Dept. of Parks and Recreation a couple of months ago. The preserve is bisected by the Locatong Creek. And includes one of the few stands of Hemlocks in the County.

I took a walk down into the Hemlock ravine yesterday. In the mud. And I loved every minute of it. The photos were taken in early November, but it looks about the same in mid-February. Walking in the mud along the Creek amongst the Hemlocks, I felt rejuvenated and peaceful. As I write about this place, I am going traveling back to the ravine, and again feel peace.

I needed the shot of peace after spending much of the afternoon trying to learn about airtanker contracts.

Flight 3407: condolences and prayers

I want to pause in my writing on aircraft stalls and express my condolences to all those who lost family and friends in the crash of flight 3407 in Buffalo NY. And to those in the community where the plane crashed, I can not begin to imagine what you have gone through and what you continue to go through.

I live in New Jersey, where the flight originated. . .

I offer my thoughts and prayers.

US sending firefighters to Australia

Bell Gabbert reported today that the United States is sending 60 wildland firefighters to Australia. Check out this post in his blog for more details.

On Some AT-802F specifications

Referring to these AT-802F specifications from the Queen Bee webpage, I want to spend a few moments describing some of the specifications in a little more detail. Queen Bee is an authorized Air Tractor dealer and has a SEAT contract with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A complete listing of BLM SEAT contracts as of July 1, 2008 may is listed in this pdf document.

A word on the weight and useful load specifications. The aircraft has a maximum rated weight for take-off and landing. This would be a fully loaded aircraft including pilot, fuel, and payload (water/retardant, additional cargo and equipment, etc.). Useful load is difference between the maximum weight of the aircraft and the empty weight. So, the useful load includes pilot and crew (if any), cargo, water/retardant, and fuel. It also includes anything attached to an airframe that was not installed at the factory as factory installed equipment.

Water or retardant is carried in the 820 gallon hopper.

The AT-802F has an 18 gallon foam tank. This is for the foam agent that can be mixed with water. When water is loaded into the hopper on the aircraft, the foam agent is mixed in at the specified ration.

The final specification that I want to write about is something called stall speed. I ran across this spec on the Air Tractor Company’s page for the AT-802F. Click on performance, note the three stall speeds. As I understand it from my correspondence with TL Stein, stall speed for an aircraft is the speed where the forward speed of the aircraft is not producing enough air flow over the wings to produce lift or support the airplane at its altitude.

When a pilot is landing an aircraft, the plane is just over stall speed.

If you have used the link above to look at Airtractor’s performance numbers for the AT-802F, you will note the following numbers:

Stall Speed, Flaps up: 105 mph (169 kph) at 16,000 lbs (7 257 kg)

Stall Speed, Flaps Down: 91 mph (146 kph) at 16,000 lbs (7 257 kg)

Flaps are usually on the trailing edge of the wings. If you fly on a commercial airliner and are seated at a window seat near the wings, you may have noticed that the flaps are in the down or extended position when the pilot is landing the plane. This reduces the stall speed allowing the aircraft to approach landing more slowly. In some aircraft, flaps may be partially extended for take-off. Conversely, if flaps are in the up or retracted position, stall speed is higher. For a discussion on flaps with pictures, see this wikipedia article .

I will be writing more about stall speed in my next post.

Australia Fires: update

Bill Gabbert posted this update on the wildfires in Australia in his blog on Feb. 10.

From what I read in Bill's post and elsewhere, the U.S. Government is sending wildland fire crews to Australia. I believe that this effort is being coordinated by the National Interagency Coordination Center. Check out this discussion thread on wildlandfire dot com for more information. Start looking at posts dated today (Feb. 11, 2009).

More videos of AT-802F in action

Here are links to two youtube videos showing the AT-802F in action:

1. phoscheck retardant drop. Phoscheck is a type of retardant (note the red tint in the retardant drop in this short video.

2. Croatia.

About AT-802F: Part 1

The single engine AT-802F, manufactured by Air Tractor, is widely used both in the United States and globally for wildland fire fighting for retardant and water/foam drops. The 802F is Air Tractor’s fire fighting model, equipped with special equipment adapted for wildland fire fighting, I’ll get to that a little later. There is also an 802, without this special fire fighting equipment, that is used primarily for agricultural use such as crop dusting. Go here for Air Tractor’s page on the AT-802. The “A” suffix added to the end, e.g. AT-802FA or AT-802A means that it is a single seat cockpit. There is an 802 and 802F that come equipped with amphibious gear for landing on water. These models are known as the AT-802 Fire Boss and the AT-802F Fire Boss.

Air Tractor has a web page on the AT-802F . I posted a link to the later page a couple of days ago, so if you have not checked out, check it out now. If for no other reason than to see some spectacular pictures of the 802F and the 802F Fire Boss in action.

I will be writing about the AT-802F (either the single-seat cockpit version or the two-seat cockpit version) as well as the AT-802F “Fire Boss”. These Air Tractor models have what is known as the Air Tractor Fire Retardant Delivery System (FRDS). I refer you to this link for more information on the AT-FRDS II system. I think it is self explanatory. What is notable about the FRDS system (aka the FRDS air tanker door system) is that it is the only SEAT door system that is approved for use by the Interagency Airtanker Board (IAB). All aircraft contracted for use for wildland fire fighting by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other cooperating federal must meet IAB standards. TL Stein, aviation historian, tells me that

there are other systems available, including home-made systems in use that are not USFS or BLM approved. These other systems may be used by State aircraft or other 802’s not available for a nationwide tanker contract. Generally, the after-market and home made conversions are done on older aircraft where the installation of a FRDS system is not economically feasible or needed.

For a very good and short video of an 802F in action, including shots of the FRDS, check out this youtube video.

updated information (as of January 28, 2010). At the time that I wrote the above, I only knew about one approved SEAT door system approved by the IAB, the FRDS I system. Sometime in the last few months a newer model of the FRDS SEAT door system -- FRDS II -- was put on the market. At the time I wrote the original article, there was information available on the web through Air Tractor (I believe) on the FRDS I gate system that I linked to in February 2009. That link has since expired. With the advent of the FRDS II system I have not been able to find any obvious information on the net about the FRDS I system that is still being used in many AT-802F's (e.g. Queen Bee's). Moreover, I recently found out that there is another computerized SEAT gate system that has preliminary approval by the IAB, known as the Hatfield Gate. I expect to writing about the Hatfield Gate system in early February 2010, so stay tuned.

Australian Wildfires

If you are interested about reading about the wildfire storms in Victoria, Australia (Melbourne area), Bill Gebbert (we follow each others blogs), maintains a very good website called wildfire today with news relating to wildfires. He has written two posts recently about these fires. You may go here and here.

He has links to maps, some pictures, along with a short video clip from local media.

I found this link with information from CFA in Victoria on all the incidents in Victoria on and another link from CFS in South Australia. I obtained these links from this discussion thread on wildlandfire.com.

For my friend in the Melburne area, not a firefighter, we are praying for all of you. Please evacuate early if you need to evacuate.

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By the way, I should have a section on who is following this blog. Bill Gebbert is the guy in the hard hat, just click on the picture and you will go to Bill's blog.

Air Tractor AT-802

I am going to be writing about a SEAT known as the AT-802F, manufactured by Air Tractor. The AT-802F is widely used in wildland firefighting both in America and internationally. I plan on making at least two and possibly more posts on this aircraft. I think that I have finished my research on the aircraft, but I have to plan out my entries before I write my first entry sometime this weekend.

In the meantime, to learn a little about this aircraft, go here to the manufacturer's website to see some pictures and look at some of their specs.

And for a video of an AT-802 in action, go here.

For more on helicopter firefighting

Early on in my research on the role of aviation in wildland firefighting, TL Stien sent me this link to a site with a whole assortment of links about aerial fire fighting and aviation operated by Thomas Eggleston. Included in the links, as an article by Thomas Eggleston on Helicopter Firefighting, focusing on the use of the bambi bucket. I found it very interesting and have added to my growing file collection. It may be found here (you will need adobe reader or another pdf viewer to read the file).

bambi buckets

Along the vane of a picture or a short video is worth a thousand words, here are three videos of helos (aka helicopters) with bambi buckets.

1. firefighting helicopter in El Dorado Hills

2. bambi bucket

3. bucket cam

With a special thank-you to TL Stein for sending these really awesome videos to me. Check them out. All of them.

prescribed fire or burns

Yesterday, I made reference to the fact (through supplied links as well as my text) to the role of helicopters in prescribed fire or burns without making reference to exactly what prescribed burns are. So, I offer three links, two State Forest Fire Agencies (NJ and Florida) and to the Everglades National Park where prescribed burns have been in place for quite a few years. I think that by reading this information you will get an idea of how prescribed burns are used, and what is involved in planning for prescribed burns.

1. New Jersey Forest Fire Service on prescribed burns (there is a link to video, I could not play the video when I checked the link, perhaps you will have better luck. I did watch this video several weeks ago and it is good.

2. Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry, Wildland Fire on prescribed burns.

3. Everglades National Park on prescribed burns.

This is not to imply that these are the only agencies doing prescribed burns, these are just the links that I had handy.