Tankers don't always carry full loads

I want to briefly mention something that I will spend more time writing about later after I have had a chance to do some research as well as talking to my aviator friends. That is, more often than not, tankers and helos will not carry a full load of retardant or water in their tanks due to aeronautical concerns. So, when the reports are saying that the Martin Mars can carry 7,200 gallons of water/gel mixture or that the Evergreen 747 supertanker can carry 20,500 gallons of retardant, they will carry these loads under "ideal" circumstances. The word "ideal" may be a misnomer, but it will have to suffice for now.

So, the Martin Mars was, as Bill Gabbert pointed out the other day, was carrying a smaller load of water (about 4,600 to 5,500 gallons). Chances are the Evergreen 747 supertanker was carrying a smaller load of retardant. Those of you who are aviators, or firefighters more familiar with aeronautics than I will know that one of the main reasons that tankers (and I assume helos) carry a lower load is because of something called density altitude. I will be writing some articles later about density altitude. I had begun discussions with some of my fire aviator friends several weeks ago about points such as density altitude and retardant coverage levels. I am beginning to revisit these issues.

One final point, while I am on the subject. When the Fox newscasters were covering the other day about the Evergreen 747 supertanker's retardant drops, one of them said that the supertanker could lay down a retardant line 3 miles long. This was also under "ideal" conditions and when the load is dropped in one run. I will add here that they were reading from specifications and other data on the supertanker, as they should. Having read specs myself, what I have to remember is to read words like "maximum" or the data sheet might say something like "the supertanker can drop a retardant line up to three miles long." Point being that I have to remember to think about these words as I listen to newscasts or read articles online.

Returning back to retardant line laid by the Evergreen 747 supertanker, the supertanker split the load into two runs, as all tankers are able to do. Likewise, at full capacity and under ideal conditions, the Martin Mars can cover 4 acres with its water/gel mix. If I understand things correctly, each water/gel load dropped by the Martin Mars covered less than 4 acres. Again, in later articles, I will try to write more about this issue.

I will also be writing about other aerodynamic issues relating to retardant and water drops. In some sense this planned series of articles will be a continuation of the short series of articles I wrote several weeks ago on wing stalls as relates to retardant drops. I won't link to this here, but if you look at the labels on the lower left side of this page, you will see a label that says "aerodynamics." If you click on that label you will get all my posts on aerodynamics to date, including posts on wing stalls.

Look for this series down the road a bit.

More on Martin Mars

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has recently made this post of two videos of the Hawaii Mars in action. I am embedding one video here, with thanks to Bill for sharing this on his site. According to Bill, this video is shot from cameras on the lead helicopter and from cameras on board the aircraft. I like this video for its unique perspective as I am especially intrigued by footage taken from inside the cockpit of a tanker or a helo. Bill also provides some information about the history of the Martin Mars, those of you with an interest in aviation history will want to check this out. You will also want to check out Bill's post to see the second video that I did not embed here, a longer video (almost six minutes) of Monday's drop on Mt. Wilson where they talk a little about the aircraft itself and its capabilities.

For those of you who keep track of these things, this post updates and replaces one that I made late last night and have since deleted.

September 8, 2014: dead links removed.

So. CA wildfires: photography

I offer two links for you to two very different photography collections of the Station Fire that has burned over 140,000 acres outside of Los Angeles California. The first collection is posted on the website of the Boston Globe in an easy to view format where you can scroll down the page to view the photos. These photos and other photo collections like this on other media outlets on the web reminds me that there are a large number of firefighters working to contain the fire. It helps me to put a face on those of you are or were fighting the fires. Other images remind me that fire destroys. And still other images show that the fire is being fought on the ground with the support of aviation resources in the air. You may go here to view these photos.

September 8, 2014: Dead links removed.

dc-10 working So. CA fires

I believe that this is the DC-10 tanker known as tanker 911. This video was uploaded to youtube on August 31. I believe that T-911 is working the Station Fire.

And here is a link to another you tube video uploaded on August 31. Here you will see T-911 making two consecutive drops on the Station Fire. Embedding is disabled on this video

Mt. Wilson Observatory Redux

This is the last webcam picture taken from the Mt.Wilson observatory webcam website at 1:49 PM PDT on Sept. 1. The note on the webcam says:

Note: The Mount Wilson webserver has gone down, most likely due to a backfire infiltration of a pull box containing telephone lines that bring us our T1 internet service. The will be no more updates from the Towercam, the last one being upoaded at 13:49:06. ... Solar observer comment posted on September 1, 2009 at 10:32 P.D.T.: Current weather conditions: smokey

For news on the status of the fires on Mt. Wilson, go here.

Martin Mars makes drop on Mt. Wilson

direct link to video

After eating dinner I decided to come in and watch some more live video streams out of southern California. I lucked out and saw the Martin "Hawaii" Mars circling over Mt. Wilson. What a magnificent airplane, literally two of a kind. After about five to ten minutes of watching the video, with some nice closeups of the Martin Mars, it came in for its dropping, dropping water (with foam) near the transmission towers.

Remember the capacity of the Martin Mars is 7,200 gallons and it has a 600 gallon foam tank. For more information on the Martin Mars, go here.

In the meantime I am watching streams of helitankers working the fires, loading and making drops.

update:8:10PM EDT
I would like to thank Huufs for pointing me to myfoxla video that I just embedded as well as the video from abc on youtube. Thank-you Huufs

updated on Sept 6, 2013
It seems that the myfoxla video may no longer be available, so I am, hopefully, including a video from youtube of the Martin Mars making a drop on Mt. Wilson

Early thoughts on the wildfires in So. CA

I have spent several hours over the last three days watching live video streams from CBS2/KCAL9 or MyFoxLA of the Station fire burning in and near the Angeles National Forest outside Los Angeles. I want to say from the outset that there is absolutely no way that my watching the live video streams (or you tube videos or any other video of wildfire fighting) is equal to the experiences of fighting these fires either on the ground or from the air. It does not and can not replace being there. But from my vantage point and given my age, this is the closest that I am going to come. I am profoundly moved by what I have watched. This is real stuff folks. This is not the type of video where I can sit on my couch eating popcorn watching a movie on cable or on DVD.

On Sunday, I started out by watching retardant drops by tankers and water drops by helos. Any excitement I felt by watching the aerial attack was replaced by horror as I saw the live feed of the news helo showing live footage of the accident site where two fine firefighters died. I will never forget those images and the words of the helo reporter. I hope I never do forgot. Two people died the other night. A few months ago I was watching live footage of a house being engulfed in flames. This was someone's house. I watched backburning operations this afternoon. And interspersed with these shots are shots of the fire itself, impressive flame heights of I don't know how high. And as I have watched this footage over the last three days, I understand that much of the fire is in extremely inaccessible terrain.

But I have also seen with my own eyes that this inaccessible terrain is sometimes inaccessible to the tankers that can help because the smoke makes it too dangerous to fly. For example on Sunday afternoon, I saw a P-3 make a drop on on side of Mt. Wilson (more on that in a later post) but there was smoke on the other side of the Mountain. One of tanker pilot friends told me yesterday as I was watching yet another video stream of the wildfires that a tanker pilot could see to approach the drop, would barely be able to see while making the drop, and has zero visibility leaving the drop because of the smoke. These conditions, he pointed out, made it unsafe for the tankers to fly.

I am only now beginning to absorb what I have seen, and I am not sure that my words can adequately convey the very profound impact that watching these live video streams has meant to me. I will share more reflections in a day or so.

On aerial firefighting strategy

Just before I originally wrote this article I was on the CBS2/KCAL9 website to get an update on what is happening on the wildfires burning in southern California. Always on the lookout for how aerial resources are being used, I watched an informative video (no longer available) where an LA County Fire Captain (Mark Wayland (sp?) is being interviewed. A portion of the interview, the first part, is focused on the use of aerial resources. In particular, the reporter asks why the two CL 415 super scoopers that arrived in southern California have not yet been used. As I understand it, the answer in brief, is that the super scoopers are more appropriate for initial attack (new fires) and are not appropriate for wildfires such as the station fire and other wildfires currently burning because the water they drop can conflict with the retardant lines. Listen to the video for the Fire Captain's responses.

Edited on September 8, 2014 to remove dead links/

Evergreen 747 supertanker drop

Bill Gabbert has some pictures of the Evergreen 747 supertanker's earlier drops this fire season.

There was  a 12 minute video from myfoxla that is no longer available. As you will see on the video, the Evergreen 747 is known as tanker 979 (the number on the tail). The first drop in this run is about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the video. Tanker 979 split this load into two drops of 10,000 gallons each that Fox captured in this video. Think about it, she dropped 20,000 gallons of retardant without having to return to her base at McClellan for reloading. For those of you who are interested, the first of these drops occurs at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the video

Updated on September 8, 2014: The wonderful 12 minute video that I embedded here when I first wrote this article is no longer available. At least I couldn't find it. 

Updated on August 3, 2015: According to Bill Gabbert's May 2nd (2014) article on Fire Aviation it seems that Evergreen has declared bankruptcy.
 

super scoopers in So. CA

At the time I originally wrote this article, there was a video (no longer available from CBS2/KCAL on the arrival of two CL-415 "super scoopers" from Canada to assist in working the fires in southern CA. The reporter mentions that a "super scooper" based at Lake Elsinore, that is the Martin "Hawaii" Mars is also available to assist in these efforts.

I have been checking various live video streams, shot from news helicopters, of the wildfires. Some awesome flames. The stream that I am watching know from CBS2/KCAL9 is showing a fire buring near residential neighborhood, just saw a helitanker fly by.

Edited on September 8, 2014 to remove dead links.

Mt. Wilson Observatory

Wildfires continue to burn near the historic Mt. Wilson, observatory. Wildfires were expected to overrun the observatory and the nearby communications towers last night. The LA Times reports that brush clearance by ground crews last night along with retardant drops may have helped, at least in the short term. However, the danger to Mt. Wilson is fair from over.

The observatory dates back to 1904 and is of historical significance, it is where Edwin Hubble worked, to learn a little about the observatory, go here. From what I understand, Observatory personnel were evacuated yesterday.

Death of two LA County Firefighters

It is with deep sadness that I write of the death of two LA County Firefighters who died an vehicle crash while working the Station fire in the Mt. Gleason area near Acton CA.

On September 8, 2014 I deleted links that are no longer available. But I did find this link to a Sept 1, 2009 story written by Bill Gabbert.

I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of these two fine men.

Station Fire: 6 PM EDT

Of course, this assumes that feed that I am still watching is of the Station Fire. Anyway, I am getting ready to sign off but before I do I want to give you an approximate count of the tankers and helos that I have seen since my earlier (5;15 PM) post.

1. three water/foam drops by an Air Crane (helitanker).
2. three water/foam drops by a smaller fixed tank helicopter.
3. at least two drops by what appears to be an Aero Union P-3. The qualification here is because I lost the stream for a couple of minutes while a P-3 may have been making a retardant drop.

Station Fire 5:15 PM EDT

I am watching live video feed from the CBS affliate in LA CBS2/KCAL9. I have been watching this stream for about 45 minutes and have seen a couple of helos and a couple of CAL Fire Tankers working the fire. And some pretty impressive flames. The image is from the webcam on the Wilson Observatory.

A friend who used to fly tankers in southern California told me in an e-mail this afternoon:

This ones going to burn like hell for a few more days. I've had the opportunity to fly this area in years past. You can't put groundpounders in most of those areas due to the terrain. Most canyons are at 45 degrees or steeper. This fire will be an airshow for the most part. Current wind direction is only allowing aircraft to be used on the North and Northwestern side of the fire. Heavy smoke is obscuring the other flanks of the fire. Never fly where you can't see. This includes the helo's as well.

The streaming from this site can be sporadic. So, if you go to the above link and don't get anything, try back later. That is what I did, and I finally got a stream. Remember the news helo has to refuel, change crews, and the like.

Station Fire

I understand from a knowledgeable friend that one the DC-10 tankers was deployed to the Station Fire yesterday, currently burning the Angeles National Forest outside LA. I spent awhile watching videos from a local news outlet. And my friend has told me that he has seen footage of the DC-10 tanker working the fire.

When I am able to find some video footage of the DC-10 tanker working one of these fires, I will post the link here.

September 8, 2014: invalid links have been deleted

DC-10 making drops on Gloria Fire

One of the DC-10 tankers made three retardant drops this past Friday and one drop on Thursday afternoon working the Gloria Fire near Soledad CA.

Sept 8, 2014: link to local video of DC-10 Tanker drop was deleted because the link is no longer valid.

Air drop on La Brea fire

And here is some very awesome footage of an AeroUnion P-3 (tanker 27?) making a drop on the La Brea Fire.

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). 

La Brea Fire

You may recall that I wrote about the La Brea fire that was burning in Southern California a couple of weeks ago. This is an eight minute video of the fire with some footage of tankers and helicopters flying to or from the fire. The latest update on this from from inciweb, the national incident reporting system may be found here.

More fires burning in Southern California

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today News is currently reporting on the wildfires burning in Southern California. For those of you checking here after the fact, go back on his website to about August 25, and start from there.

While there, I noted that Bill had embeded the above video from motherlode.com on a fire burning in Yosemite. This fire, Big Meadows, is an escaped presribed burn. Bill reports on this in more detail here. You may also go to this post by Capt. Mike on the firefighter blog for information on the Big Meadows fire in Yosemite.

Thanks Bill and Capt. Mike.

SEAT crash in Greece

It is with great sorrow that I write to pay my respects to the family, friends, colleagues, and the people of Greece as they mourn the death of Colonel Stergios Kotoulas. Col. Kotoulas, who had thousands of hours of flight experience, died on Aug. 27 when the SEAT he was flying crashed Ionian Sea close to the Greek island of Kefalonia while he was flying fires in Greece. I believe that he was flying a Dromader M-18.

For more information may be found here.

Capt. Mike wrote about the fires in Greece on his firefighter blog here.

RIP Col. Kotoulas. May you and your plane always fly in favorable winds.

A visit from a smokejumper

I get e-mail alerts when someone comments on my blog. The other day, I was delighted to hear from Bjorn, a smokejumper who jumped for the BLM in Alaska this year after four years a jumper for the Forest Service. Bjorn commented on a post I made here on July 20, part 2 of 2 on about smokejumping. Note his comment. He knew Scott Wickland of the four minute video that I posted. Scott, or Wicky gave a four minute video tour of smokejumping out of the Northern Cascades Smokejumping Base in Winthrop WA.

Bjorn has a blog that may be found here. He started the blog this year, and he is able to do something that I can not. He writes about his experience as a smokejumper this season. Please check it out. He writes about the three-week training he went through and has some awesome photos.

SEAT crash: 6 PM update

The Sierra Interagency Dispatch Center has released the name of the pilot. The BLM identifed the pilot as Dave Jamsa of Missoula Montana. He leaves a wife and four chidren. Here is the article that I wrote about earlier where you can go for more information.

Dave, rest in peace and may you experience favorable winds. My tears, thoughts, and prayers are with Dave's wife and children, the rest of his family, Minuteman Aviation, his friend and colleagues.

SEAT crash (Hoyt Fire): update

I ran across a newspaper article reporting the name of the pilot that was killed in yesterday's SEAT. However, out of respect for the pilot's family, I am going to hold off on linking to this article.

However, I also run across this press release from the BLM about the SEAT crash.

Evergreen 747 demo drop in Spain

I want to thank Carlos, who was flying an AT-802 on the same fire in Spain where the Evergreen 747 did a demo drop last month. He did not see the drop, but reports that a forestry technician told him that the drop was no good. Going on to say that it was a tough day with very strong winds. To read his comment and my response, see the comments on this post.

Updated on August 3, 2015: According to Bill Gabbert's May 2nd (2014) article on Fire Aviation it seems that Evergreen has declared bankruptcy.

SEAT crash on Hoyt Fire in NV

It saddens me to write of the crash of an Air Tractor AT-802A in the mountains in Churchill County Nevada while fighting the Hoyt Fire. The pilot was airlifted to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. See this article for more information.

The aircraft was owned by Minuteman aviation

I offer my condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and those at Minuteman Aviation for your loss.

May you fly in favorable winds and be at peace.

Forest History Society Archives and Mann Gulch

I was in the land of no internet access on August 5, the 60th anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire where 13 firefighters died, 12 of whom were smokejumpers. Some of you may recall that my introduction to wildland fire books was Norman Maclean’s “Young Men and Fire”, where he tells the story of the Mann Gulch fire, and his own investigations over the course of 40 years.

As fate would have it, Carl A. made a comment on my entry on smokejumper history dated August 5. In his comment, that some of you may have read, he said:

Great post! You should also check out some of the Smokejumping history resources at the Forest History Society. A recent post on their blog about Mann Gulch links to some of their online sources on the: August 5, 1949: Mann Gulch Tragedy .

I was intrigued by the Forest History Society, so I followed Carl’s lead and have spent a little time checking out some of the resources available. I have to say that the forty-five minutes or so that I spent on this website does not do it justice.

Martin Mars working the La Brea Fire in CA

The Martin Mars is (or was over the weekend) working the La Brea Fire that is burning in California. It is based at Lake Cachuma. For more information go here and here.

La Brea fire

If you want to see some awesome photos of the La Brea fire that is still burning in California, including some shots of tankers working the fire, check out Wildfire Today News on August 13 to August 15. Bill has posted some good pictures, including some screen shots from live video feed.

Martin Mars training runs in So CA

I was looking around to see if there were any recent youtube videos of the Martin Mars. I found this video, thanks to Bill Gabbert of Wildland Today News who made apost last weekof this video of the Martin Mars doing training runs and re-currency runs in Southern California. According to Bill some of this video was shot in infrared. It is an amazing video.

great photo of an AirCrane

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today News posted this great photo of an AirCrane. Check it out!

Evergreen 747 tanker: free demo drops

I saw a report on the Associated Airtanker Pilots message board last month (from a Spanish newspaper article translated into English) that Evergreen's 747 supertanker, currently under a call when needed contract (CWN) in California traveled to Spain last month to make a demonstration drop on Poyatos fire that was burning in a mountainous area of Spain. The 747 super tanker then traveled to Alaska where she made a second free demonstration drop on the Railbelt Fire.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported on the 747 supertanker's drops on the Railbelt fire here.

Updated on August 3, 2015: According to Bill Gabbert's May 2nd (2014) article on Fire Aviation it seems that Evergreen has declared bankruptcy. Assoicated Airtanker Pilots is now called Associated Aerial Firefighters, the message board that I had linked to in this article is no longer available.

I'm back

I returned from the land of no easy internet access a couple of days ago. I have a couple of more posts to make on the topic of what wildland fire crews do, both are about books that I have read or am reading. I have a backlog of aerial wildland fire news to catch up on.

I'll be writing a post about Stephen J. Pyne's book, Fire on the Rim: A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon in a couple of hours. I wrote it out in long hand. I don't know about I sometimes still find it comforting to write in long hand. So, I'll be posting again later today

wildland fire crews: fire shelters

From the youtube summary for this video:

Fire shelter deployment from October 22, 2007 by Orange County Fire Authority engine crews. Photos by Karen Tapia Andersen of the Los Angeles Times. A presentation quality video (30 mb) can be downloaded from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned website at this location (but only if you have quicktime pro).

I’ll tell you how the video ends, all fire firefighters in this fire shelter deployment incident survived. The video may be difficult to watch, but it is important. The fire spotted downslop from the twelve firefighters, and took a run up the hill. The fire fighters could not escape to safety (for example to a “black” or already burned area), so as a last resort, they deployed (crawled under) their shelters.

What are fire shelters? Fire shelters, designed to protect the occupant from being burned by flames, are just large enough for a person to crawl under. The firefighter lies face down on the ground, holding the shelter close to the ground, to protect their lungs from the heat of the flames and the smoke.

fire shelter: An aluminized tent offering protection by means of reflecting radiant heat and providing a volume of breathable air in a fire entrapment situation. Fire shelters should only be used in life threatening situations, as a last resort.

fire shelter deployment: The removing of a fire shelter from its case and using it as protection against fire.

[from National Wildfire Coordinating Group Incident Operations Standards Working Team (PMS 205), 2007. Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology.

Here are some resources on fire shelters:

History of the Development of the Fire Shelter

US Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management, fire shelter information. This is a brief page with a couple of photos.

National Interagency Fire Center on fire shelters. There is a lot of information on this site, including, but not limited to the two documents below.

National Interagency Fire Center on fire shelters (as of 12/12/12)

The New Generation Fire Shelter. This is the publication that describes the new generation fire shelter. As I understand all wildland fire crews will be using the new generation fire shelter on or before January 1, 2010 and will be familiar with this document.

Tech Tip: What’s New in the New Generation Fire Shelter

I’d like to thank Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today News for his help in reviewing this article and being a second pair of eyes. Thanks Bill!

wildland fire crews: hotshots

Edited on October 24, 2017

I originally posted a short documentary from the Lone Peak hotshot crew on what it takes to be a member of a hotshot crew. Unfortunately when I was looking at this blog entry on October 24, 2017, I saw that the video that I originally posted is no longer available. Sorry about that, happens sometimes.

I plan to finish up this series on wildland fire crews on Monday with a post on fire shelters. If there are any loose ends to tie up in regards to this series of articles, I will do so after Aug. 10.

Wildland fire crews: on the job

Here is a video showing images of wildland fire crews on the job. Note the air attack (helicopters and air tankers) in support of the wildland fire crews.

wildland fire crews: dozers

From the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire Terms:

Fireline: The part of a containment or control line that is scraped or dug to mineral soil.

As you may know by now, wildland firefighting crews digfirelines, also known as hand lines by hand. They use tools such as the pulaski, mcleod and shovels. Dozers (large tractors) also dig fireline, known as dozer lines, with the blade on the front. I understand that the big dozers, such as the one in the video may come equipped with climate control and the operator wears a respirator.

The video shows LA County dozer teams working the Ranch and Santiago Fires during the Oct. 2007 fires. Enjoy!

wildland fire crews: a tribute

Enjoy, this video is a tribute to wildland firefighters everywhere.

Wildland fire crews: what they may be up against

This is a video called, Firestorm 2007 (California wildfires). I want to thank TL Stein for sending me this link. Please go here to read comments by some who were on ground crews fighting these fires and words of those who lived where these fires raged.

I asked TL Stein, how do you fight that thing. He said very carefully.

Remember that air attack does what they do to support the crews on the ground.

wildland fire crews: safety, equipment and types of crews

The most important thing is safety, and to that end there is an acronym, LCES, that every wildland firefighter is familiar with:

Lookouts
Communications
Escape routes
Safety zone

In addition, every wildland firefighter knows the 10 standard order and the 18 situations that cry watchout. I wrote about this here.

As for the equipment that they carry and the protective clothing that they wear, go to this webpage from what I think was an episode on Nova (PBS in America) called the Fire Wars. Here you will see a picture and a description of each piece of clothing, protective equipment, and some of the equipment that wildland firefighters carry in their packs.

The U.S. government hires men and women to fill different kinds of firejobs. A list of these firejobs, along with a brief description of each may be found here (seasonal), and for information on permanent jobs go here. For more on hand crews including a brief discussion on the five different levels of hand crews, see this webpage. Information about hotshots, also known as type 1 IHC crews may be found here.

Finally, if you are interested in a brief discussion of what is involved in applying for federal and/or state/local wildland fire crews, see this webpage from the National Wildfire Coordinatiing Group . For example, the Idaho Department of Lands, Fire Management Division has a nice webpage that can be found here with a link to a job page, CAL FIRE's career page is here with links to other related pages, and last but by no means least, for information about wildland firefighting jobs with the NJ Forest Fire Service go here.

wildland fire (ground) crews: upcoming

I have finished, at least for the time being, writing about what I call the intersection of aviation resources and ground crews: helitack and smokejumpers. I considered this part 1, and am now ready to move to part 2 where I will be posting on what ground crews do. As was the case in part 1, I consider this upcoming series of posts on what ground crews to be a brief overview at best where I will be relying heavily on resources available on the internet. My overview probably will not cover all aspects of what ground crews do when they fight wildland fires, but I hope that I will provide you with a basic idea of what is involved.

You may recall my recent post on what air attack does where I wrote:

aerial fire fighting resources and the people who fly them as well as those who provide support operations do what they do to support the crews on the ground who work to contain, control, and mop-up wildland fires. Or to put it another way, air attack (air tankers and helicopters) supplements ground crews and slows the fire until the ground crews can get to it. In what is known as extended attack on a fire, you will have both ground crews and air attack working a fire.

RIP Thomas "TJ" Marovich

Thomas "TJ" Marovich, 20, from Hayward CA died on July 21in a routine heli-rappell training exercise while he was assigned to the Backbone Fire.

For more information go here and here.

TJ was an employee of the Modoc National Forest, they issued a press release, which may be found here.

My condolences go out to TJ's family, crew, friends, and the rest of the wildland fire fighting community.

upcoming posts

I will only have intermittent, if any, access to the internet over the next couple of weeks. But I have already written articles on wildland (ground) fire crews scheduled to post approximately every other day or so. So stay tuned.

A day in the life of a smokejumper

This video, Jump This, shows the day in the life of McCall smokejumper, starting with loading parachutes to jumping out of the aircraft to fighting the fire.

With this video, I end the series on smokejumping.

Stay tuned for a series on wildland fire (ground) crews starting tomorrow.

helitack and rappellers redux

My last post on smokejumpers will post tomorrow. In the meantime, I ran across two articles today that I want to pass on to you.

The first an article reporting the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Black Hills Interagency Helitack (South Dakota).

The second article, on rappelling may be found here. The author discusses the history and some details on training and the like. Check it out!

Erickson Air-Crane Elvis going to EAA airventure

Just heard from Kenny Chapman that an Erickson AirCrane is going to the EAA airventure airshow in Wisconsin from July 27 through Aug. 2. So I checked the Erickson website, and found a link to this article reporting that the AirCrane known as Elvis will be at the show. I was also interested in the article for the short history of Elvis. Take a couple of minutes to read the article to learn a little more about Elvis

Sounds like a lot of fun, and if I was going to be any where near the vicinity I would go. But I will be no where near Wisconsin. Darn.

But airventure will have a presence on the web, so those of you who are so inclined may want to go here. Alas, I will be away from reliable internet access next week and the week after, so I will probably not be able to post any updates about Elvis' presence at airventure here.

But I do have articles scheduled to post while I am in the blackhole so stay tuned.

Smokejumpers: history

I don’t know about you, but history fascinates me. I have come across some resources on the web relating to the history of smokejumping, and I am passing these links on to you. The embedded video above is from the National Archives DVD, Smoke Jumper Training for Airborne Fire Fighting in Missoula, Montana in 1949.

The National Smokejumper Association has an excellent website with a variety of wondeful information about smokejumping. Check it out.

If you are interested in the history behind some of the individual smokejumper bases, check out these sites:

• Grangeville
• McCall
• Missoula where the Missoula history page includes a link where you can go for more information about the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire.
• Redmond.

Old, outdate links removed (8/2/15), sorry. I'll work on an updated article on the history of smokejumpers with (hopefully) more current information and links.

About smokejumping: part 2 of 2

This is good short news piece (about 2 minutes) on the Redmond smokejumpers. If you want to know more about the Redmond smokejumpers go here.

For more information about what the life of a smokejumper is like, see this four minute video by Scott Wickland of the North Cascades Smokejumper base in Wintrop,WA.

Finally, a short profile, written in 2004, of two smokejumpers -- a thirty year veteran and a women with 15 years experience may be found here.

About smokejumping: part 1 of 2

I want to move on from the introduction to smokejumping to the first of two posts about smokejumping. The focus of these two posts are two videos that I found on youtube. In this video, Missoula Smokejumper 2005, you will hear smokejumper Skodt Jones talk about what smokejumpers do, the aircraft used to transport smokejumpers, and the equipment that they carry, and additional cargo carried by the jump aircraft.

More information on the Missoula Smokejumpers may be found here.

In my next post on July 20, I will embed another video, a short news piece about the smokejumpers in Redmond Oregon. On July 22, I will post an article with some information about the history of smokejumping. I will end this series on smokejumping with a final post, content to be determined, on July 24.

Smokejumpers: Intro

Smokejumpers parachute into remote regions that are often not easily accessible by ground or helicopter access to provide initial attack on wildland fires. Once all the jumpers have parachuted near the fire, the equipment and tools along with food and water are dropped by parachute. If necessary, the jumpers can be completely self-sufficient for the two days on the fire. See this webpage for more information.

Some 270 smokejumpers are based at seven US Forest Service bases and two Bureau of Land Management bases around the country. They are known as national resources, meaning that they are available to fight fires around the country, including Alaska. Since 1981 when the first women smokejumper completed her training in Boise Idaho, the smoke jumping corp is made up of both men and women. The nine bases (with links for more information) are:

US Forest Service
McCall, Idaho
Grangeville, Idaho
Redding, California
West Yellowstone, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Winthrop, Washington
Redmond, Oregon

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Boise, Idaho
Fairbanks, Alaska [note smoke jumpers in Alaska are a branch of the Alaska Fire Service and the BLM]

Information about some of the smokejumper aircraft may be found here.

I will be writing more articles about smokejumpers, so stay tuned.

heli-rappelling

Direct link to video

Some helitack crews do what is known as heli-rappelling. Heli-rappelling, according to the Interagency Helicopter Rappel Guide (IHRG) is

the deployment of personnel from a hovering helicopter by means of an approved rope, descent device and supplementary equipment. Rappelling is comprised of a smooth, controlled expeditious descent to the ground.

Among other things, the IHRG, discusses required qualifications and training, equipment, rappel operations, and cargo letdown operations. There is also a section with definitions. I spent a little time this morning skimming this document to get an idea of federal helicopter rappel operations.

May 16, 2016. The video that I originally embedded here is no longer available on youtube, so I have replaced it with a video of the Salmon River Helirapplers 2009 season

Martin Mars landed at Lake Elsinore

Just checking the Press_Enterprise, the Martin Mars has landed at Lake Elsinore. See this article.

Martin Mars set to arrive at Lake Elsinore

The Martin Mars is due to arrive at Lake Elsinore, CA around 4 or 5 PM PDT after an eight hour flight from British Columbia. It will be based at Lake Elsinore where it will be available to the US Forest Service to drop up to 7,200 gallons of a water/gel mixture on fires. See this Press-Enterprise article for more details.

This is an excellent short "documentary" by the Nevada (State) Division of Forestry's Air Operations based in Minden, Nevada. Here you will hear personnel such as the air operations supervisor, the helicopter manager and others talk about the role of helitack in initial attack. They also talk about their helicopters. Sit back and enjoy the show.

Update: Evergreen 747 and Martin Mars

I am interrupting my series on helitack with an update on the status of the Evergreen 747 super tanker and the Martin Mars.

When I wrote about the Evergreen 747 super tanker here, this very large air tanker had received interim certification from the Interagency Air Tanker Board, but was not yet under contract with a public fire fighting agency.

According to a July 9 article in the Press-Enterprise CAL FIRE signed a contract with Evergreen International Aviation for use in fighting wildfires. Recall that the Evergreen 747 carries up to 20,000 gallons of water or retardant. This is almost seven times the capacity of the Lockheed P-3 tankers capable of carrying up to 3,000 gallons of retardand. For a point of comparison, the DC-10 tankers carry 12,000 gallons of retardant while the Martin Mars can carry 7,200 gallons of water/foam.

Speaking of the Martin Mars, according to the Press-Enterprise, there is no word on if or when the Martin Mars will arrive at Lake Elsinore where the plan would be based under the agreement between Coulson Tankers, owners of the two Martin Mars tankers, and the US Forest Service. The Press_Enterprise article on the Martin Mars may be found here, and my earlier articles, including this one, on the Martin Mars can be found here.

Updated on August 3, 2015: Links to Press Enterprise articles left in article, but they no longer work. I did access these articles at the time I wrote this article in July, 2009. According to Bill Gabbert's May 2nd (2014) article on Fire Aviation it seems that  has Evergreen declared bankruptcy.

CAL FIRE helitack

CAL FIRE has helitack operations around the State. This is a short video highlighting Ramona helitack's 2007 wildfire season. Ramona helitack is based in southern California in the San Diego area. Enjoy the video.

Ryan helitack (based at Ryan Air Attack Base in Riverside County, CA) has a very good webpage, with links, describing their helitack operations. Remember that CAL FIRE helitack is all risk, meaning they do nonfire activities, such as rescues. You might wabt to spend some time exploring this webpage.

No PSOB for contract pilots and crew

Up until fairly recently, I only had a vague notion that the families of police officers, fireman, and other public safety officers who died in the line of duty received death benefits. Further after receiving the lump sum death benefits under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program (PSOB) (current benefit is $303,064), spouses and children are eligible for educational assistance under the Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance Program. Finally public safety officers’ who receive injuries in the line of duty that result in permanent and total disability are eligible for disability benefits under the PSOB program.

The PSOB program and its benefits, as described in this document, can not take away the pain that comes with the death of a loved one in the line of duty. It can not take away the physical and emotional pain that comes with a permanent disability. But these monetary benefits can take away some of the sting. With these benefits comes acknowledgement as well as financial benefits.

But there is a catch, one group of firefighters who do not receive PSOB benefits: those who work under contract to public firefighting agencies and are not employees of federal, state, or local (public) agencies involved with wildland fire management and suppression. As I understand it, the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the U.S. Department of Justice, the agency that administers the PSOB program, has ruled that air tanker pilots and crew are not eligible for benefits under the PSOB program because they are contractors and are not direct employees of federal, state, and local (public) wildland fire fighting agencies.

In 2007 two U.S. Senators, Enzi (R-WYO) and Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Aerial Firefighter Relief Act of 2007 that would of provided benefits under the PSOB program to aerial firefighters (pilots and crew) working under contract for public agencies and suffer death or disability. Similar legislation was introduced at the same time in the House of Representatives. For more information on this attempted legislation see this newspaper article and Sen. Feinstein’s press release about the legislation. To the best of my knowledge, this legislation was not passed.

For years, organizations involved with aerial firefighters, including but not limited to the California Fire Pilots Association and the Associated Airtanker Pilots have been trying to get PSOB Program benefits for aerial firefighters. To date their efforts have not been successful.

To the best of my knowledge, no aerial fire fighters dying in the line of duty have received Public Safety Officer Benefits. Aerial firefighters and other contract public safety officers deserve the same benefits as policeman, firefighters, and other public safety officers. All I can say is that I think it is wholly unacceptable that aerial fire fighters and other contract public safety officers are not eligible for PSOB Program benefits. As I say this, my words feel wholly inadequate.

What these aerial firefighters, male and female, do is very dangerous, and many have died. To read about the stories of the experiences of the families of a couple of air tanker pilots who died in the line of duty, read this 2002 msnbc report. I point you to this report so that you may read about the experiences of these affected families. The experiences of the families are still relevant, but the various State level politics that msnbc reports on may be dated. See also this 2004 testimony of an air tanker pilot widow before Congress.

I hope that this changes and there may be hope on the horizon. You may recall that I wrote here about the tanker 09 crash killing the pilot and crew. Tanker 09 was flying a CAL FIRE fire when they crashed. The Chief of CAL FIRE, Del Waters, has signed the PSOB applications of the tanker 09 families. Good for him. See this thread on the Associated Airtanker Pilots website for more information. There is hope that this will mean that the Dept. of Justice will approve the tanker 09 PSOB applications. Time will tell. We can only hope.

Nor have I forgotten about the families of tanker 42 that crashed in late April of this year while on a firefighting mission resulting in the death of the pilot and crew. They too deserve PSOB Program benefits.

more helitack posts to come

I have three more posts that I plan to make on helitack.

1. CAL FIRE helitack
2. helitack, State of Nevada
3. heli-rappelling

I plan to continue with these helitack posts tomorrow so stay tuned.

From a 2007 Zion helitack crew member

Women are helitack crew members too!

Helitack crew member training

Wildland firefighting, including helitack, requires a high (or arduous) level of physical fitness. So, prior to the start of crew assignments for the upcoming fire season helitack crew, like other ground fire fighting crew members, have to pass what is known as a pack test (also known as a work capacity test). The specific work capacity test depends on what level of physical conditioning is required for the specific fire fighting job and must be passed annually. The helitack requires an arduous level of physical fitness with the associated required work capacity test being a three mile hike on level ground carrying a 45 pound pack in 45 minutes or less. For more information on the pack test and other work capacity tests see this document.

Physical fitness training does not stop with the pack test, but continues throughout the season as does related firefighting skills training. One example of ongoing firefighting skills and physical fitness training may be found on this webpage of the Coeur d’Alene Helitack Crew (Idaho Department of Lands). Another example of skills training is shown in the above embedded video. Finally, the Zion helitack crew maintains an “unofficial” blog . They write about the two week training period that takes place at the beginning of their season in these blog entries:

May 13, 2009: Week 1 train-up
May 16, 2009: Week 1 photos
May 24, 2009: Week 2 photos

To my friends in America, happy fourth of july!

update on De Luz fire (CA-RRU-De Luz)

The folk at wildlandfire have a new thread with more updates, including a link to a video report on the fire from this morning.

For your convenience, this is the link to the video.

helicopters working fire in CA

This is a link to a short video of a fixed tank helicopter and a helicopter and bucket working a fire (CA-RRU-De Luz)in the De Luz area in Temecula, California.

This fire was first reported on July 2. See this link from the wildlandfire initial attack hotlist forum. And for more recent posts about the fire, here is a post to this same thread, in its entirety.

About helitack

I spent a couple of hours the other day watching a wide assortment of videos about helitack operations, mostly on youtube. I learned a lot about what helitack means through these videos. I will be including some of these videos in this post as well as my upcoming posts.

In composing my upcoming posts on helitack I will rely less on the written word and more on videos, pictures, and other internet resources.

I don't know about you, but I think that one picture or video is worth a thousand words. Enjoy this video, "Craigmont helitack 2007".

Intro to helitack

What is helitack? I looked at a couple of sources, the Interagency Standards for Fire and Aviation Operations Guide aka Red Book (chapter 16 on aviation), the Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide (glossary), to name a couple, to see how helitack was defined. The result is this definition:

Helitack: helicopter attack. The use of helicopters to transport crews, equipment, and fire retardants or suppressants (class A foam) to the fireline during initial attack. The term also refers to the crew that performs helicopter management and attack activities. Helitack crews may also be used in “all risk” activities such as search and rescue, law enforcement and medical transportation.

I have already written about the role helicopters play in initial attack with foam/water drops, either by fixed tank helicopters or helicopters with bambi buckets. The Erickson AirCrane is an example of the role of retardant carrying helitankers in extended attack. I want to spend a little time talking about the role helicopters play in transporting crews (aka helitack crews) and equipment to fires.

Where federal agencies are concerned, helitack crew size varies by agency. The National Park Service and the US Forest Services sets their crew size regionally while the minimum Bureau of Land Management (BLM) crew size for exclusive use contracts is seven (supervisor, assistant, squad leader, and four temporaries).

As for State agencies, I believe that California has nine helitack crews at various locations through out the State -- including one based at Ryan-Hemet Air Attack base -- with ten crew members each (not including the pilot). See this CAL FIRE document for more information. Idaho (Idaho Department of Lands) has a helitack crew with 7 to 9 crew members based in Coeur D’ Alene Air Terminal in Hayden, Idaho.

I am still working out the other posts that I will be making in this series on helitack. But, please stay tuned for more.

Regarding the video that I embedded, it is a two minute highlight reel of the Fort Howes 2005 helitack season. I went searching for Fort Howes helitack on the internet. According to this post, the equipment and crew of this helitack base may have moved to Miles City, MT in 2007.

Note: At the time of this posting, the links that I provided for the Red Book and the Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide, both at nifc.gov, were down. But they did work earlier today.

References:

Redbook (2009) Chapter 16: Aviation Operations, accessed on June 30, 2009 from http://www.nifc.gov/policies/red_book.htm
Interagency Helicopter Operations Guide (2006), Glossary, accessed on June 30 2009 from http://www.nifc.gov/ihog/

What Air Attack does

For the last few months I have been writing different types of air tankers and helicopters in the arsenal of air attack fire fighting resources (aka air attack) used by State and Federal agencies here in America. I have talked about retardants and class A foams used by these air tankers and helicopters to retard or suppress flames. But what is it exactly that air tankers and helicopters do? Yes, they drop retardants and suppressants (water/foam mix). But they do more, aerial fire fighting resources and the people who fly them as well as those who provide support operations do what they do to support the crews on the ground who work to contain, control, and mop-up wildland fires. Or to put it another way, air attack (air tankers and helicopters) supplements ground crews and slows the fire until the ground crews can get to it. In what is known as extended attack on a fire, you will have both ground crews and air attack working a fire.

Tl Stein offers these observations:

In an ideal situation, both entities (air attack and ground crews) work as a team to bring a fire under control. 97% of the fires that aircraft are used on, ARE put out by the crews on the ground.  We just give assistance, that's all.  That is our purpose, that is our focus and that is our goal.  Initial attack is the key to keeping potentially huge fires small, therefore, the quicker we can get retardant in front of the fire, the quicker and more efficient the crews on the ground can do their job.

The other 3% fall into those fires that are most likely lightening caused, 20 miles from the nearest road, inaccessible terrain and no chance of dropping a helitack crew....much less smoke jumpers.  The theory being, surround the active fire with retardant and/or drop massive amounts of water via helitanker, then sit and watch it for a day or two.  One or two more drops of water to kill any rekindle after that.

I am going to write a series of articles in two broad parts. Part 1, if you will, focuses on two aspects of what I call the intersection of aviation resources and ground crews: helitack aka helicopter attack and the smoke jumper program. One aspect of helitack is using helicopters to deliver specially trained fire fighters, often working with other ground crews, to work a wildfire. As their name implies, smoke jumpers parachute in with equipment to help contain a fire.

In part 2, I will write a little about what ground crews do, relying heavily on various resources from the internet.

So stay tuned. In my next article, I will write an introduction to helitack.

header image and other photos

I'd like to thank J. Laval for granting me permission to use his photo in my blog header. The CAL FIRE Pilot's Association has a gallery page with links to a photo gallery, video gallery, as well as specifications for the S2-T air tanker and the OV-10 Bronco air attack/lead (observation) plane.

The image that I am using in my blog header may also be found in the photo gallery page referenced above.

There are some awesome pictures and videos in this gallery, take a few moments to check them out.

Changes to blog layout and other things

Yes, I have made some changes to the appearance of my blog, including changing the title, blog description, my profile, and revisions to the links section to reflect the focus on aerial wildland firefighting.

Last night I spent time teaching myself how to place photos at the top of my blog and in the process of doing so, you may have seen a photo. All photos, including one that was accidently up for a few hours, have been taken down. I am working on getting a photo that I will then put at the top of page (with appropriate attribution). So, while I am working out the details, there will not a photo at the top of my blog.

Thank-you for your patience.

Spartan C-27J

The Spartan C-27 (shown above flying in a 2007 airshow) was on display at the recent Paris Air Show (June 2009), see this video to see what this aircraft can do, with narration (that includes some technical details) in both English and French.

For more information on this aircraft you might want to read this short article.

This aircraft has generated some interest for its great possibilities in aerial firefighting. However, any uses in aerial firefighting probably won't happen anytime soon. As I understand it, the aircraft is currently being produced for military use only.

The military use of these planes may preclude their use for aerial fire fighting. Moreover, the current MAFFS units are designed only for the C-130 so modifications to either the MAFFS unit and/or the airframe would be required for the C-27.

Even if the C-27 was available for non-military use, the price tag of a new plane is too costly for aerial fire fighting budgets. Obviously, I am not in the position to know specifics, but using a 2007 Dept. of Defense contract as a guide, the cost comes in at about $25 million each. I used figures referenced of $2 billion over 5 years for 78 planes referenced here.

Nonetheless, the C-27 puts in an awesome performance in the video from the 2009 Paris Air Show, it is worth looking at.

Erickson AirCrane: retardant and water/faom drops

Fixed-tank helicopters such as the AirCrane use Phos-Check 259F retardant, requiring that a mobile retardant base be set up near the incident. This happens on a regular basis with large fires. The video that I have embedded here shows an AirCrane using a dip tank to fill its fixed tank with retardant.

Being that the AirCrane can be used for retardant drops as well as water/foam drops, I asked Kenny Chapman when AirCrane is used for retardant drops in the U.S.:


Once the Crane is hauling retardant it is utilized the same as an airtanker. (Building retardant line ahead of the fire.) It can also switch back and forth between retardant, water and foam as needed. Retardant is not used in the initial attack role unless the helicopter is sent to a new fire directly from an existing incident that has a retardant plant set up already.

I asked him if there was ever a situation where a mobile retardant base was established where an AirCrane was working an existing fire and a “new” fire popped up near the mobile retardant plant. With a mobile retardant plant already set up near a “new” fire, was the AirCrane used to haul retardant in “initial attack.” He said:

I remember one that I did on a fire out of Santa Ynez around 2003 or so. Someone was smoking in fire camp and started a fire at the camp at exactly the time I was picking up a load. I was able to contain the new start with one load.

AirCranes carrying water/foam are frequently used in initial attack. The AirCrane has a separate foam tank, so after the pilot has filled the main tank with water he can decide whether or not to inject foam into the tank (already filled with water) based on the wants/needs/requirements of the incident commander.

Because the tank on the AirCrane does not have to be rinsed or otherwise cleaned out between retardant and water/foam drops, the AirCrane can go from flying initial attack with water/foam to flying extended attack with retardant once a mobile retardant base is set up near the incident.

How to fly a helicopter

I have what I believe will be one more post to make in my series of posts about the Erickson AirCrane. Today got a little complicated and I am trying to do some fact checking before making that last post. So, stay tuned, it will come, I promise. In the meantime. . .

As a part of my background reading and research on helicopters, I was checking around on the internet for materials on how to fly helicopters. Now, I also happen to now someone who is a helicopter pilot, George. George does not fly firefighting helicopters, and he is a wonderful teacher and mentor. He knows his stuff.

Anyway, George has been helping me learn about helicopter flight performance. In the course of my e-mails with George, I sent him some of the materials that I found on the internet about flying helicopters. I asked him which one was the best of the group of four or five that I sent him. He said that the best is the youtube video that I have embedded below.

Thank-you George!

Erickson AirCrane: firefighting module

If you go to Erickson’s firefighting page, you will notice a “quick specs” link at the top where you will find this information on the AirCrane’s firefighting module:

Our patented ram scoop hydrofoil allows the Helitanker to refill from fresh water and sea water sources in less than 45 seconds.

A flexible hose snorkel features a high pressure impeller and can draw water from any water source 18 inches (45 cm) or deeper as fast as 45 seconds.

The 2,650 gallon (~10,000 litre) tank drops water, retardant, or foam mix. Microprocessor controlled tank doors offer eight individual coverage level options.

accessed on June 17, 2009

The coverage levels referred to above may be selected by the AirCrane pilot. They are:

1 = 1 gallon per 100 square feet
2 = 2 gallons per 100 square feet
3 = 3 gallons per 100 square feet
4 = 4 gallons per 100 square feet
5 = 5 gallons per 100 square feet
6 = 6 gallons per 100 square feet
7 = 7 gallons per 100 square feet
8 = 8 gallons per 100 square feet

Erickson AirCrane: A versitile helicopter

Before writing a little more about the AirCrane's fire fighting abilities in my next post, I thought that this video clip will serve as a nice follow-up to Kenny Chapman's interview. You will some nice footage about some of the other things the AirCrane can do such as construction, rescue, a spray nozzle, etc.


This same video, embedded from YouTube, may also be accessed from Erickson's firefighting webpage through the video link (1st video on the left).

Erickson AirCrane: Kenny Chapman interview with Aero News

This is an interview by Aero News network with Kenny Chapman, Sr. firefighting pilot with Erickson AirCrane. He has been with Erickson since 1979. The best way to learn about the firefighting abilities of the AirCrane is to listen to what Kenny has to say in this 9 minute video. And while you are at it go to the youtube page and read all the commentary (click more info) in the grey box at the top right hand side of the screen.

I need to add that I have been in touch with Kenny Chapman over e-mail. I have learned a lot from Kenny about the AirCrane. Thank-you Kenny!

Stay tuned for more on the AirCrane in my next post.

Erickson Aircrane: intro, history and specs

When I started writing about aerial resources used to fight wildland fires six months ago, it did take me long before I saw pictures and videos of the Erickson Aircrane. The Erickson Aircrane is a type 1 helicopter (gross weight of more than 12,500 pounds, capable of carrying 11 to 16 passengers). The gross weight of the Erickson Air-Crane model S64-E is 42,000 pounds.

To provide a frame of reference, the Super Hueys that I wrote about recently are type 2 helicopters (gross weight up to 12,500 pounds, and/or carrying 8 to 10 passengers). The gross weight of H-301, one of CAL FIRE's super huey's is 10,500 pounds.

The Aircrane, when fitted with a fixed tank, is a helitanker. The Interagency Airtanker Board (IAB) establishes procedures and criteria for air tankers, helitankers, and tanks. According to section V (helitanker requirements)

helitankers shall be a Type 1 helicopter capable of lifting 1000 gallons of water at sea level (STP). Buckets will not be considered.

Erickson Aircrane has a very good web page chock full of information. The you tube video that I embedded above may also be found by clicking on the video link on their firefighting webpage (2nd video from the left).

This is the first of four or five posts that I will make about the Aircrane. Today I focus on history and specifications. In my next post, you will hear an Aero News TV interview with Kenny Chapman of Erickson. Among other things, Kenny describes the development of the Aircrane's fixed tank system and the Aircrane's firefighting capabilities.

Erickson has a web page where they write about the history of the Aircrane, here.

Specifications are shown in the image below for the two Aircrane models (accessed on June 8, 2009 from http://www.ericksonaircrane.com/index.php, design weights and performance page)

underneath H-301

Thanks to TL Stein and a friend from Ryan AAB, I have the following description of what is underneath H-301:

We start at the top of the image. On either side, you can see the floor windows and the observation mirrors that look back at the tank and snorkel, and the PA - Siren speakers.  On the far left, just below the step, is the filler coupling where the tank is refilled on the ground using either a fire truck or a hydrant should there be no water sources to snorkle from.  On the outsides of the tank, just inside the skid supports, are the hydraulic actuators that open and close the tank doors.  Inside the triangle looking fixtures, are where the pivot arms attach to both the actuators and tank door gear box. You'll notice that one tank door is open, this is to keep the inside of the tank dry when not in use.  In the center of the tank, you can see the fittings and snorkel hose as it's folded back under the helicopter. The two smaller black hoses are the hydraulic lines that power the pump on the end of the snorkel. The hydraulic power is provided by a small unit that is mounted inside the crew area, behind the pilot and co-pilot.  The item hanging down (painted red) that looks like it has a golf ball on the end of it, is part of the WSPS (Wire Strike Protection System).  There is a WSPS installed on the top as well.  It's purpose is to cut any power line or cable that the aircraft may accidentally fly into.  Also, you can see a small cable that exits the aircraft and angles down to the tank (starts at the top of the "3".  This is the manual emergency release for the tank, in the event of a hydraulic failure.  All the pilot needs to do in this event, is pull a T-handle on the floor of the cockpit and it open both doors, dropping all the contents of the tank.  Usually, in the event of a failure, the doors can only be closed on the ground so in typical operation, the tank would be removed and a bucket will be used.

For more information about the WSPS go here. This page includes information about the WSPS along with other flight performace issues of helicopters. You will need to do some scrolling to get to the section on the WSPS.

Thanks to my friend at Ryan, I have some clarification on if H-301 can be used for bucket operations. The answer is that if the fixed tank is not operational for some reason, the fixed tank can be removed and a 324 gallon bambi bucket can then be used.

Correction: H-301 tank size

I have a minor correction. The fixed tank on H-301 is 360 gallons, not 325 gallons. I believe that the buckets on CALFIRE helicopters have a capacity of around 325 gallons. I have updateded yesterdays post to reflect the correct fixed tank size on H-301.

Thanks to my friend at Ryan for pointing this out.

CAL FIRE's helitack

I'd like to thank TL Stein for a photo of one of CAL FIRE's helitack helicopters, H-301, based at Hemet-Ryan Helitack Base. CAL FIRE has a fleet of nine helicopters positioned around the state, in addition, I think that they also have a couple that are maintained as emergency aircraft.

I believe that two CAL FIRE helicopters have belly tanks. One of the copters with a belly tank is H-301 and the other is based at Bear Valley. My friend at Ryan tells me that H-301 has a 360 gallon fixed tank on its belly. I don't know if the copter at Bear Valley has a 360 gallon tank. I am pretty certain that both H-301 and the copter at Bear Valley have foam tanks for class A foam.

Go here for a pictorial overview of Ryan's helitack operations, take time to check out the links! I will be writing in some more detail about helitack operations in a couple of weeks.

Note: I revised and corrected this post. I had misidentified H-301 as a helitanker. It is not a helitanker. Helitankers are heavy, large helicopters such as the Erickson Aircrane that I will be writing about next week.

San Diego County CA Copter 12

A while back, I found the above video on youtube, shot from the cockpit of San Diego County's Copter 12. It is an awesome video, with some great fire shots. hwyted posted the video and he has several others posted on youtube. If you are interested in shots from firefighting helicopters, check out his other videos. For some more information on copter 12, a Bell Huey 205 A1++, go this webpage where there is brief description of all aircraft used by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

These aircraft are ASTREA (Aerial Support to Regional Enforcement Agencies) aircraft. ASTREA has a nice photo gallery with photos of copter 12 and other helicopters. Copter 12 can be identified by the "12" on its front end.

Another photo gallery of ASTREA helicopters may be found here, on the webpage of the Aerial Law Enforcement Association.

Copter 12 and it's sister, copter 10 have 375 gallon fixed tanks on their bellies and are also known as helitankers. Helitankers fill up their belly tanks by hovering over a body water, using a long tube, called a snorkle that takes water into the tank. If you watch the video above, you will see some footage of another helitanker refilling its tanks. Look at the pictures on the photo galleries and you will see some pictures of copter 12 flying with its snorkle tube hanging from its belly.

If you are so inclined, you may find aircraft certification for copter 12 (N107BZ) here.

helicopters with buckets

I have a great deal of respect for the work that helicopters with bambi buckets do in working wildland fires, initial and extended attack. Many state fire agencies, including my own state, have helos with buckets that are used in wildland fire fighting. For all of you firefighting helicopter pilots, thank-you for all you do.



I like the video (embedded above) because you can see the operations of a helicopter with a bucket, as could be used for firefighting operations, up close and personal, so to speak. I believe that this is a military helicopter, and that the video is showing bucket training operations.

I found this youtube video a few days ago, shot during the 2008 Humboldt fire near Chico CA. There is some awesome footage of a helicopter and bucket working the fire as well as a shot of tanker 910 (DC-10).

Here is a link to some of my earlier posts on helicopters.