Control Tower at Ramona on FAA list of ATC Towers to be closed

I posted a short article on  March 16 about the then possible closure of the Air Traffic Control Tower at Ramona Air Attack Base linking to a letter that Walt Darran of the Associated Aerial Firefighters wrote to the FAA urging them to keep the Tower at Ramona open for the safety of aerial firefighters and other aviation interests. Well, as I am sure that some of you already know by now, the FAA released a list of 149 Contract ATC Towers to be closed this past Friday.

The tower at Ramona is on the list of towers to be closed, according to a March 21st article from the Ramona Sentinel, the FAA will begin to close these towers starting April 7 over a four week period. The Ramona Sentinel article has a nice quote from San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob giving voice to local concerns about the closure:

This is so critical. We will continue to make the FAA aware it is a wrong-headed decision. …. We want to prevent another mid-air collision, another disaster. Lives are at stake. (Supervisor Jacob, Ramona Sentinal, March 21, 2013).

Added on October 12, 2015. The March 21, 2013 article from the Ramona Sentinal is no longer available on line, I have removed direct links.

I don't know how many towers at Air Attack/Tanker Bases are on the FAA list of closures. I do know that Fox Field (CA) is on the closure list, as is Klamath Falls (OR) are on the list, and I am pretty certain that both are tanker bases. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation posted the list of California towers that are on the closure list, in an article he posted on March 22. One of his commenters remarked that both Ramona and Fox Field are Tanker Bases. NBC San Diego reported on the closure of the tower at Ramona and a tower at Brown Field in San Diego (not a tanker base) in a March 22 report.

Mike Archer of Fire Bombers Publications provided a link to a March 24 article from KPIC on the five ATC Towers in OR due to close, including the tower at Klamath Falls. 

I am not exactly in a position to state with any certainty whether or not other ATC towers at other air attack/tanker bases in the U.S. are on the FAA list of 149 Contract ATC Towers to be closed. If I should become aware of additional ATC towers at air attack/tank bases that are due to close, I'll report back here.

Update on March 26, 2013: Just today I revisited a March 22 article from the AOPA regarding the 149 Towers that the FAA is planning to close starting on April 7. In the course of reading the article from the AOPA I came across a link to an FAA list of 24 FAA Contract Towers that will remain open; it seems that the tower at Klamath Falls OR is included on this list of towers that will remain open. 

NJ Prescribed Burning Season (2013)

A nice video from FlyingPhilsPhotos showing a prescribed burn done by the NJ Forest Fire Service in the Pine Barrens west of Toms River NJ. The video was shot from the air at an altitude of about 3,000 feet.

direct link to video

Go here (courtesy of the wildland fire hotlist) to see the Feb. 28, 2013 press release from Gov. Christie's office announcing the 2013 prescribed burn season in NJ.

Here is a March 4 article and video from mycentralnj of a prescribed burn done in Jamesburg (Middlesex County NJ) in Division B. And here is a March 1 article on another prescribed burn in Burlington County NJ from phillyburbs.

I know that it may be a little late to be posting about this year's prescribed burning season in New Jersey, but I do want to acknowledge the work that the NJFFS does each year doing prescribed burns before the spring fire season, especially this year after so many fallen trees after Super Storm Sandy and the June 29-30, 2012 Derecho.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service contract aircraft start to go on contract in a few days (starting March 29) for the spring fire season. I'll do my best to keep an eye and ear out on wildfire activity during the upcoming spring fire season here in NJ and will report back here.

Flood Safety Awareness Week

Regular readers of my blog know that I sometimes post about flood events in New Jersey and elsewhere in the Northeastern corner of the United States. Some of you also know that I doing various things to learn more about weather, including reading various materials from the National Weather Service (USA). If any of you are regular readers of National Weather Service (NWS) webpages, whether they be national or your local NWS office then you may know that this week (March 18 to 22) is Flood Safety Awareness Week, at least in the U.S., please take a moment to check out this site as the NWS has put together some very good materials on flood safety.

Flood safety is a very big deal to me because the father of one of my high school classmates died  in his automobile in a flooded underpass during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Please don't let this happen to you. Turn around and don't drown. As little as six inches of water can knock you down or cause you to lose control of your car. Two feet of water can cause even a large SUV to be swept off the road.

Sure, I admit that there have been times when I have driven through flooded areas that I had no business being in, I was lucky. Over the last several months being safe has taken on new meanings to me, so I am trying to do all I can to be safe. And that means not playing on the edge of the cliff, even though I've lived to tell about it. So, I no longer drive through any flooded areas. I turn and around and don't drown (TADD).

Please turn around and don't drown. Yeah, if you are living in a remote rural area this might mean driving many miles out of your way. Been there down that in Vermont a couple of times. I arrived late, but I arrived alive.

Please take about 3 minutes to watch this video on the dangers of flash floods and why it is important to turn around and don't drown.


direct link to video

NJ Forest Fire Service 2013 Contract Aircraft Schedule

I am happier than I usually am to see the NJ Forest Fire Service 2013 Contract Aircraft Schedule. As I have driven around my little corner of western New Jersey in the months following Super Storm Sandy, I have seen a lot of fallen trees of all sizes in forested areas near the roads I travel. Many of these fallen trees in forested areas remain where they are after the winds from Super Storm Sandy brought them down. I don't want to forget the wind damage that southern NJ saw from the June 29, 2012 Derecho. I probably can not begin to imagine the tree damage in some of the larger forests in New Jersey.

I have been wondering what the spring fire season will bring to us in New Jersey as we have seen below average snow fall totals over much or all of NJ so far this winter. Some of you might have heard about some pretty substantial snow storms that affected the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S.. I want to speak a little about what our snowfall has been like in New Jersey so far this winter to address possible misconceptions. That is, as far as I know, New Jersey has not seen any one sno storm with the substantial snow accumulations that portions of New England and Long Island have seen (2 to 3 feet+) this winter. Yes, areas of northern New Jersey saw accumulations of 10 to 14 inches during one or two snow storms, but not the 2 or 3 feet that other areas saw. With the possible exception of extreme northern areas of New Jersey, I believe that we have had a below average snow fall so far. As I write this, we are getting another mixed precipitation event in New Jersey. Perhaps 4 to 6 inches of snow up in northern New Jersey with lower amounts in central New Jersey and all rain elsewhere in New Jersey. I am in the 2 to 4 inch forecasted snow band.

Since it is snowing as I write this, it is a little hard to think about fire danger today. Yet we had one day list week with heightened fire danger, and I'm sure that we will get more. All it takes is about ten days (maybe less) of dry weather, the soil will dry out. and we will be ripe for fire danger in northern NJ. In the Pine Barrens and elsewhere in southern NJ, the soil is sandy and can dry out in a far shorter time then up north.

I am very happy that we will have an Ag-Cat here in my corner of NJ (Division A). If I luck out and get to see her, I'll try to get some photos to share here.

Just today, I got notice of the NJ Forest Fire Service's 2013 Contract Aircraft Schedule. I have included the schedule at the end of this article. I want to talk a little about the Ag-Cats. The Ag-Cat marked "400 Ag-Cat" is a turbine Ag-Cat. My friends at Downstown Aero did the turbine conversion over the fall and winter. She carries 400 gallons of water/foam with a 680 hp engine. The piston Ag-Cats carry 300 gallons of water/foam with a 600 hp engine. They have some photos of the conversion on their facebook page (should be publicly available), their photos of the conversion may be found here. Downstown shot a video of her first flight that is also available on their facebook page, go here to see the video.

DIVISION A:

AEROFLEX, (ALPHA-3) 300 AGCAT, MARCH 30 - APRIL 7

AEROFLEX, (ALPHA-2) 400 AGCAT, APRIL 8-29

DIVISION B:

COYLE FIELD,(BRAVO-3) AGCAT 300, APRIL 1- APRIL 7

COYLE FIELD, (BRAVO-1) 602 AIR TRACTOR, APRIL 8- MAY 8

DIVISION C:

DOWNSTOWN, (CHARLIE-3) AGCAT 300, MARCH 29-APRIL 7

DOWNSTOWN (CHARLIE-1) 602 AIR TRACTOR,  APRIL 8-29

DOWNSTOWN, (CHARLIE-2) AGCAT 400, APRIL 30-MAY 12

Control Tower at Ramona Air Attack Base due to close

Ramona Air Attack Base

I have been been aware that many air traffic control towers (ATC) at smaller airports in the U.S. are due to close because of the sequester. For example, at least two towers in northern New Jersey are due to close, see this article on NJ dot com. I was distressed when I read an article on Michael Archer's Firebombers Publications Blog this past Wednesday (March 13) from News 7 in San Diego that the air traffic control tower at CAL Fire's Ramona Air Attack Base. Another article on the pending closure of the Ramona ATC tower may be found here.

I have included a couple of photos that I took at Ramona Air Attack Base when I visited Ramona Air Attack Base early in the Summer of 2012 Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the affected air traffic control tower.

I want all pilots, including pilots flying aerial wildland firefighting aircraft, to be safe. I was very interested to read that Walt Darran, chairman of the Safety Committee and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Associated Aerial Firefighters has submitted a comment to the FAA urging the FAA to take the ATC at Ramona off their closure list and to keep the ATC operational. Walt writes of two mid-air collisions at Ramona, one as recently as 1995. Both mid-airs happened before the ATC was open. Walt says in part:

Maintaining an operational FAA control tower at Ramona is essential not only for the safety of pilots and aircraft, but also to maintain an orderly and efficient flow of aerial firefighting aircraft to protect lives and property subject to wildfires in the surrounding area.

I hope you take a few moments to read Walt's comment to the FAA that may be found here.

Douglas A-26 Invader - Learning about her service as a tanker

As I write this I am still very much in the process of learning about the the Douglas A-26 Invader's long service as a air tanker in the United States and in Canada. I am enjoying the process of learning about her service as an air tanker, a process that I expect to be engaged in over the course of the next 2 to 4 weeks, perhaps a little longer depending on what is happening in the world of aerial wildland firefighting as we enter the spring fire season here in NJ in a few weeks. And of course fire season is already under way in other parts of the country, and I do try to keep an eye out of current wildland fire activity, thanks to my friends at Fire Publications Blog and Wildfire Today and other friends who send me articles of goings on in their part of the world. Oh, and I should not forget the good folk at the Wildland Fire Hotlist.

Anyway, I have learned something about the A-26 from reading Allan MacNutt's book, Altimeter Rising (2000) , where he writes about flying A-26 tankers for Conair and Air Spray. I know that Air Spray was still using the A-26 as a tanker in 1992 when Allan celebrated 50 years in aviation (Altimeter Rising, pp. 238-242). 

And of course, there is Linc Alexander's book, Fire Bombers into Hell (2010), some of you may recall that I interviewed Linc in November 2010 go here and you will need to scroll down to the bottom the bottom of the page to read the first article. Linc had some time in the A-26 and he also writes about in his book. 

I have learned from reading a book (with a video) called Fire Bombers in Action by Frederick A. Johnsen (2010) that the A-26 was first used as a tanker in the U.S. in the 1960s, but by the 1980s, there were not that many in service in the U.S (p.48).  Johnsen also has a listing of tanker call signs and registrations in his Appendix A (pp. 123-133).

Thanks to a friend who pointed me to a History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service (in three parts), go to this webpage of the BC Forest Service - Centenary Society for more information and links to download this three part series. Part 2 is on Air Tankers. I learned from reading Part 2 of the History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service that Conair first flew the A-26 as an air tanker in 1970 (p.12), in 1978 Conair had ten A-26 tankers (16), and Conair retired their A-26 tankers from fire bombing after the 1985 season (17).

As I said, I am still learning about this magnificent historic air tanker, and I have some old and new friends who are helping me as I continue to learn. I am having a blast! I'm not quite sure where this process will take me, but I promise that I will share the results in a series of articles in what I hope will about 4 to 6 weeks down the road. 

Thank-you so much for your patience. 

Douglas A-26 Invader: firebombing tankers

The Douglas A-26 Invader saw long service as a tanker flying wildfires in the U.S. and Canada. I'm not yet ready to write about her service as I am currently doing some more research on her service as a tanker. It is possible that I'll write more article on the A-26 as a tanker before taking a time out to finish my research and write a follow-up series focusing on her service as a tanker.

In the meantime, I had originally shared a nice video of what I believe are a group of A-26 tankers from Air Spray in Canada. I'm not quite sure of the date, but I believe that this falls into the classification of historical tankers as I believe that it is been several years since the A-26 retired from service as a tanker in Canada. To the best of my knowledge, Douglas A-26 Invaders have not been used as a tanker in the U.S. since the late 70s or early 80s. More on these details in a later post.

The video is a little over 14 minutes long. I believe, but am not certain that the Arnie Schreder that you hear on the radio communications in the video is the same Arnie Schreder who was the Chief Pilot for Buffalo Air (Ice Pilots NWT); Arnie of Buffalo Air died in May of 2012 (go here to see an article).

Added on October 16, 2016: Unfortunately the video that I originally shared here is no longer available, so I have removed the link.

Douglas A-26 Invader in flight

Edited on October 21, 2016. Unfortunately the nice video that I had originally shared here showing the Douglas A-26 Invader is no longer available. 

Douglas A-26 Invader: First flight of restored A-26

direct link to video

This is a nice video focusing on the first flight of a Douglas A-26 Invader, serial number 44-34104. The restoration is being done by volunteers from the Historical Aircraft Squadron in Lancaster, Ohio. In the video, you will see a short flight of this A-26 followed by some pictures. For more information visit the Historical Aircraft Squadron Webpage

Coming attractions:

March 8: A-26 in flight

March 11: A-26 tankers (still being developed)

Douglas A-26 Invader: A-26A Counter Invader

direct link to video

I found this video a little while ago of a Douglas A-26A Counter Invader that was used in the Vietnam War. In this 8+ minute video you will see her start her engines and taxi. Then you will go on a short tour of this A-26A Counter Invader starting with the cockpit. You should go to the about page for this video on youtube and click on show more to read a little more about her.

I'm adjusting the timeline for the articles in this series about the Douglas A-26 Invader. I'll be posting a new schedule, probably in a couple of days.

Next up on March 6: Restoring a Douglas A-26 and her first flight after restoration.

Flying the Douglas A-26 Invader

direct link to video

I'd like to thank a friend of mine from Canada who used to fly the A-26 as a tanker for sharing this video with me. He said that he agrees with the techniques presented here and wanted me to share this video with you.

Douglas A-26 Invader: Military History and Specifications

direct link to video

I have great respect for an airplane that has such a long history. The Douglas A-26 Invader saw service in the last year or so of World War II, the Korean War, and the War in Vietnam. She saw a couple changes in her designation. As I understand it, she started out as the Douglas A-26 Invader in World War II, where the "A" stands for "attack. In 1948 the B-26 Marauder was deactivated, and the Douglas A-26 Invader was redesigned the B-26. She kept that designation until sometime around 1962 when she was again redesignated as the A-26.

For more about the military history with specifications of the A-26 check out the MilitaryFactory's page on the Douglas A-26/B-26 Invader. If you are interested of her WW II history, you might want to check out World-War-2-Planes page on the Douglas A-26 Invader. The Warbirds Registry maintains a listing of Douglas A-26 Aircraft by named aircraft and by serial numbers on this webpage with links for more information. Finally, wikipedia's article on the Douglas A-26 Invader may be found here.

Douglas A-26 Invader -- Introduction

I am not quite sure when I was first introduced to the Douglas A-26 Invader, so to speak. It may have been through reading Linc Alexander's Firebombers into Hell, or perhaps through a couple of books about tankers that I have. Or it could have been through watching the movie Always, where Richard Dreyfuss' character (Pete Sandiich) flys an A-26 tanker. After meeting a retired tanker pilot friend who used to fly an A-26 tanker (among others he flew) for Conair, I began to get this magnificent airplane a little better. So, I am writing a series of articles on the Douglas A-26 Invader. 

My timeline for posting these articles follows. I am still working on articles in this series, which will include embedded videos as I write this. So, I will be adding to the outline of articles in this series over the next couple of weeks.

Feb. 27: military history and specs

March 1: flying the A-26

March 4: restoring an A-26

March 6: A-26 in flight

March 8: intro to the A-26 as a tanker

What is coming up -- About the Douglas A-26 Invader

direct link to video

direct link to video. I think that you are seeing the A-26 serial # 41-39359 in this video. If I am correct in my identification you can get more information about her on this warbirds registry page.

These videos are a sneak peak about the next historical airtanker that I will be writing about, the Douglas A-26 Invader. I'll be starting writing about this airplane starting this Monday (February 25) and continuing through to about March 6 or 8.  I'll be back on Feb. 25 with an introduction to these articles on the A-26 along with a tentative outline. Stay tuned

News about tankers in 2013

I don't know about you, but I've been waiting for word on the status of the contracts for the P-2V tankers, the DC-10 tankers, and the next generation tankers. As I understand the existing contracts, e.g. for the P-2V tankers and the DC-10 tankers, expired at the end of 2012.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported in an Feb. 20 article:

Since the U.S. Forest Service has not awarded any new contracts for next-generation, legacy, or very large air tankers and all existing contracts expired December 31, 2012, this left none available as the wildland fire season began in the southwest United States.

In order to mitigate this self-inflicted crisis, the USFS just extended Neptune’s 2012 expired contract through March 5 and Minden’s contract through April 22, according to information from Jennifer Jones of the agency’s office in Boise. The contract for the DC-10 has also been extended (Bill's complete Feb. 20 article may be found here.)  

Michael Archer of Firebombers Publications included a link to an article from the Almogordo News reporting that Neptune Aviation are in the process of conducting training and proficiency flights in and near Almamogordo NM starting on Feb. 20 through Feb. 22.

I'll continue to be on the watch for more news of the availability of the P2-V, DC-10 and the next generation tankers and will post updates of any related news that I run across.

SEATs: view from cockpit

direct link to video

I was spending some time yesterday going through videos of airtankers in action when I came across this video. As I have been in holiday mode the last couple of days, I thought this would might be a good time to share this video with you. Enjoy!

Power of Nature: Wildfires

In 1997 Discovery Channel broadcast a series known as Raging Planet focusing on the power of nature. Season two was broadcast in 2008, see this Wikipedia stub on Raging Planet. The Discovery Channel has a webpage where you may access video clips from different episodes. You may purchase the Raging Planet DVD from the Discovery Store. 

I'd like to thank a friend for point to some clips from the Raging Planet episode focusing on fires. I thought that some of you might be interested in these clips, so I am sharing them here. These clips have certainly wetted my appetite to see the full episode as well as other episodes from Raging Planet.

Clip 1: Three Types of Fires

direct link to Three Types of Fires

Clip 2: Air Support

direct link to Air Support

Clip 3: Ground Forces

direct link to Ground Forces

Clip 4: How a fire storm forms

direct link to How a Fire Storm Forms

Senator Mark Udall meets with Fire Chiefs

direct link to video

I found this video report from CBS in Denver Colorado interesting and I hope you do as well. 

Avialsa Air Tractor's: 802 and Fireboss

direct link to video on youtube, one of a series of airtanker videos recently made available on the new Associated Aerial Firefighters youtube channel

This is a video of an Avialsa AT-802 and a Fire Boss. Avialsa Air Tractor's fly fires. I don't know about you, but I love watching Air Tractors. Air Tractors hold a special place in my heart because I have met the AT-802's little brother, the AT-602 up close and personal thanks to my friends at Downstown Aero. I could spend all day watch Air Tractors fly. I would love to see a Fire Boss up close and personal, never have. Perhaps one day.

Iron 44 Crash - Sikorsky S-61N (August 5, 2008)

direct link to video

On August 5, 2008 a Carson Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N then under contract with the U.S. Forest Service crashed on take-off, nine of thirteen on board were killed. The accident helicopter was working a fire near the Iron Complex in a remote area of the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest northwest of Redding CA. She had already made two trips transporting wildland firefighting crews to safe locations. At about 7:30 PM, the S-61N helo had picked up a third load of firefighters and was on her  initial takeoff climb after departure when the main rotor assembly lost power and crashed. 

The nine who died that day are:

Jim Ramage, 64, from Redding, CA -- USFS Inspector Pilot, Shasta Trinity National Forest

Roark Schwanenberg, 54, from Lostine, Oregon -- Pilot, Carson Helicopters

From Grayback Forestry (7 employees)

Shawn Blazer, 30, from Medford, Oregon

Scott Charlson, 25, from Phoenix, Oregon

Edrik Gomez, 19, from Ashland, Oregon

Matt Hammer, 23, from Grants Pass, Oregon

Steven Caleb Renno, 21, from Cave Junction, Oregon

Bryan Rich, 29, from Medford, Oregon

David Steele, 19, from Ashland, Oregon

After the crash the USFS cancelled its contract with Carson Helicopters. 

In the latest of a series of legal actions resulting from the Iron 44 crash, two former employees of Carson Helicopters were indicted on Feb. 4, 2013 of criminal charges stemming from an alleged conspiracy to defraud the US Forest Service. These charges carry up to 20 years in prison. According to a Feb. 4 article from Oregon Live (Feb. 4th Oregon Live article) the men are accused of

"falsifying the weight and takeoff power of the helicopter that crash and other helicopters that were a part of a 'call-when-needed' contract worth up to $20 million to Carson Helicopters."

According to the indictment, these falsified weight and takeoff power charts were then included in the charts used by flight crews and pilots in aerial firefighting missions. The Feb. 4th Oregon Live article includes a brief synopsis of prior legal actions stemming from the Iron 44 crash. You might also want to check out a report from KVAL (with photos and a video clip) on the indictment along with a brief review of the crash and prior legal actions.

Other sources of information

Always Remember on Iron 44 Sikorsky S-61N crash that including but not limited to links to the NTSB reports and dockets, memorials of those who died in the crash, maps of the crash scene, and links to some media coverage.

Oregon Live articles on the Iron 44 crash.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has covered the Iron 44 crash and recently wrote about the indictment of the former Carson employees here.

New Associated Aerial Firefighters website

The Associated Aerial Firefighters (AAF) has recently redesigned their website. You might want to check it out. They have a nice set of news articles available on the entry page of their site. I am especially interested in their nice set of links featuring aerial firefighting, some of which are still being developed, including a page on fixed wing specifications and rotor specifications,  fire chemicals, history (including a piece by my friend Tom Janney) and terminology.

I noted with interest an article on the AAF site with information about the new AAFAirtankerVideos channel on youtube , go here to see the brief news article from the AAF announcing their new youtube channel.

There is more to the AAF site than I have discussed here. I am proud to be a member of the AAF.

Pine Island Cranberry Bog (NJ) in the winter

Some of you know that I spent a day last October with my friends from Downstown Aero in Chatsworth NJ watching them load their AgCats and the AT-602 for aerial applications on some near by cranberry bogs. I watched them make a couple of aerial application runs and then visited two bogs, Pine Island Cranberry and Lee Brothers. 

Oct 26 - aerial applications on cranberry bogs - AgCats

Oct. 29 - aerial applications on cranberry bogs - AgCat

Oct. 31 - Pine Island Cranberry 1 of 2

Nov 2 - Pine Island Cranberry 2 of 2

I had hoped to be able to get back to the Chatsworth in late October to watch Downstown make their final aerial applications of the season on the bogs. Unfortunately, my power outage couplesd with a gasoline shortage as a result of SS Sandy conspired against this. I found myself thinking about the cranberry bogs recently. Fortunately, Pine Island Cranberry maintains a wonderful blog called the Pine Island Scoop. I had been wondering what they do after the harvest is over in November, their blog provided an answer. Most blog entries are accompanied by pictures so you really do get an up close and personal point of view in reading their blog.

Three of the many things that Pine Island does in the winter jumped out at me. First comes fall planting using rooted cuttings for the first time. During the winter "dormancy period", the cranberry buds mature. A severe winter can hurt and even kill the cranberry vines. In order to protect their cranberry crop, growers flood the bogs during the winters. The Pine Island blogger writes about the winter flooding of the bogs. After the bogs are flooded for the winter, one-fifth of the bogs are sanded. Sanding is important for cranberry yield and growth. Of course, winter is a good time for facilities maintenance.

I will visit the Pine Island Scoop from time to time and I hope that you do as well. I don't know when I'll get to go and see Downstown do aerial applications in the bogs again. Perhaps sometime in the upcoming season.  When I do, I'll write about here.

RIP Allan MacNutt

Dear Allan,

A good friend of yours sent me a copy of your book, Altimeter Rising, a while back. I read it over the summer. When I told your friend how much I loved your book, wondering how I might contact you, he gave me your contact info. My plan was to look over your book again and then write you. Summer turned to fall and fall turned to winter. Two days ago, I got an e-mail from our mutual friend saying that you had passed away. 

I lost my chance to write and tell you how much I loved your book. So, I write now. You do not know that I am do not have a pilot's certificate, and it is unlikely that I will get one. Yet, I love aviation and I love flying. I go on scenic airplane rides as I can so I can experience flight. Over the last three years I have learned that there are other ways that I can fly. One of the ways that I fly is through reading the words of pilots such as yourself.

But your book was special. It was as if I was in the plane with you through out your 50 year career in the air. Almost as if I was flying the plane too. For indeed through your words, I was flying. 

A couple things stand out to me from your book without having to go in and reread the book. One is the picture of your wife, Irene and your Aeronca Champ in 1947, with the caption "writers only two assets in 1947." I loved the stories from the early period of your marriage which you called the flying school era. 

Fast forward to when you were flying P-38's and Mosquitoes doing aerial photographic surveys. Having seen a few photos from similar aerial surveys over the past few years, I can say that I had no idea at that time how precise that type of flying is.

Finally, you flew firebombers for twenty years, is that right? You can be sure that I'll be re-reading what you wrote about your experience flying tankers. 

I am skipping over much of your career in this short letter. As I write this, I understand that Altimeter Rising is available on Amazon and elsewhere. I hope that others will read your book and enjoy it as I have. I have a couple of projects that I have on the burner at the moment that will eventually end up on this blog. Writing about Ag-Cats and the A-26 (which you flew as a firebomber) are but two projects. I'll be adding a third project, rereading your book.

In closing, you given me the gift of flying through your words. Thank-you. It is my loss that I never got to say this to you before now. I hope that doesn't matter. I know you are flying in favorable tail winds. And be assured of my thoughts and prayers for your family, friends, colleagues, and all those who love you.

Air Tankers in Santa Barbara (1987)

I got involved with doing some background reading on ice formation in rivers so that I can be in a better position to make informed ice observations for my local NWS office. Interesting that in spite of temperatures over freezing for over 48 hours, there is still some ice on my river. I am learning that there are different types of ice, which is what I have been reading about.

But I digress, I thought that this would be a good time to share this video with you that I found shot by Brian Lockett in 1987 at Santa Barbara. You will see the following historic tankers:  Douglas C-54 Skymasters, Lockheed P2V Neptunes (I think one is from Aero Union), Consolidated P4Y-2 Privateer, and a Fairchild C-123 Provider.

direct link to video

Memories of the NJ Shore

I was not intending to write an article on life after Super Storm in NJ, and the ongoing recovery. But I went to the online edition of the Star Ledger on NJ.com this morning and found a video -- a mini-documentary called Splinters and Sand: Rebuilding our memories. Rebuilding the New Jersey Shore by Brian Donahue -- that I want to share with you. Among other things, Brian shares how SS Sandy impacted some of his favorite places on the Jersey Shore. After you watch the video, read on and I'll share how SS Sandy impacted one of my favorite places on the Jersey Shore.

The embed code that I had originally posted for Splinters and Sand is no longer available, but you may you use the direct link to Splinters and Sand, a Special Star Ledger Report by Brian Donohue  on NJ dot com to watch the video (updated on July 18, 2013).

Brain talks about his memories in this video. One of my favorite places is the area around Tuckerton NJ and the the Mystic Islands just north of Atlantic City, NJ. Tuckerton was hit badly by SS Sandy Tuckerton and the adjacent Mystic Islands are quiet communities without the notoriety of areas such as the Seaside Heights (whose destroyed piers many of you have seen on the national media). I saw an article recently from NJ dot com on Tuckerton's damage from SS Sandy, go here to see the article. 

I drove through Tuckerton, and the Mystic Islands earlier this month. It seemed disrespectful to take pictures. I saw boarded up houses with varying degrees of damage, and a few severely damaged marinas. I knew from spending some time at the Mystic Islands during summers in years past how important the boating industry is to the Tuckerton and Mystic Island area. Many damaged boats had no doubt been removed, but the damage to the piers and docks was clear. I saw a news report a day or so after I went to the Mystic Islands (sorry I can no longer find the article), discussing the financial hardships faced by many marina owners. 

New Jersey's maritime industry has been hit hard, see this article from the Sunday Star Ledger (1/27/13), and here's an article about the problems from  USA Today about problems facing NJ's fishing industry post SS Sandy.

Here is a short video from the Press of Atlantic City about the plight of marina owners in southern Ocean County NJ post SS Sandy (Tuckerton and the Mystic Islands are in southern Ocean County NJ). I hope they can get the help they need so that they come back.

direct link to video

On a lighter note -- cat up a pole

I got wind of this story of a Colorado fire department rescuing a cat who had been perched atop a utility pole for three days from Mike Archer's Firebombers Publications Blog for Jan. 24, 3013. The story of this feline was aired by Fox31, KDVR, in Denver, the report with some photos and the video may be found here.

Reflections on Firecats

We have never met, that doesn't really matter. I have one of your patches on a denim jacket I wear in the warmer weather and I have gotten many compliments on your patch. I also have a Conair Firecat medallion that I carry on my key chain. Both were gifts from a friend who used to be one of your pilots. So in some way, you are always with me.

I have known a couple of pilots who have flown you while you were in service with Conair in British Columbia. So, I know you through them. You and your cousins have flown fires around Canada, in Europe and in the United States (CAL FIRE).

You loved flying fires. Some of you and your kin bought the farm, but those of you who survived continued to fly fires, doing what you do best. 

Those of you who flew for Conair are now retired from firefighting service with Conair. Your service will not be forgotten. Not by those who flew you,  served as your ground crew and  your bird dog pilots; not by all those in and around the communities where you flew fires, and not by me.

May you always fly in favorable tail winds.

DeHavilland Grumman CP-121 Tracker

I finish up what turned out to be a series of four articles on Conair's Firecats and their military history with this short piece about their military use in Canada and some pictures. Grumman first began building the Trackers in 1950 under a contract with the United States Navy. The Canadian version of Grumman's Tracker was built by DeHavilland first entering service in the Canadian Armed Forces in the mid 1950s for use in anti-submarine warfare. Known as the De Havilland Grumman CP-121 Tracker, these aircraft were in service in the Canadian Armed Forces through 1989.

A short history of the CP-121 Tracker may be found on this page from Canadian Wings. The Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum has a CP-121 Tracker, with a webpage devoted to their CP-121 Tracker and more history of the aircraft's use by the Canadian Military. 

Finally, I found some photographs of the CP-121 Tracker. I have yet to find any historic videos showing the CP-121 Tracker, if and when I do, I'll do a follow-up post. Here are the links to some photographs:

• Royal Canadian Air Force, pictures and a little more history
• Two pictures from Jetphotos dot net
• A photo on Airliners dot net

Prior articles in this series

• Monday, Jan 14, 2013 -- Conair Firecats in action
• Wednesday, Jan 16, 2013 -- Conair Firecat T564 to Museum
• Friday, Jan 18, 2013 -- Grumman Tracker

Grumman Tracker

Writing about the Conair's Firecats recently got me thinking about their military use. If I'm not mistaken, prior to their service as Firecats for Conair, these airplanes, known as DeHavilland Grumman S-2 Trackers, flew with the Canadian Military doing anti-submarine work. I believe that Grumman had an arrangement with DeHavilland to make the S-2 Tracker for the Canadian military.

I wanted to try to find some videos that I could embed for you showing a DeHavilland Grumman S-2 Tracker in her military configuration in active military service. I was not successful.

I did however, find a couple of videos of their cousins, the  Grumman S-2 Tracker while in service for the U.S. Navy. I believe that some of the Grumman S-2 Trackers were later rebuilt for use by CAL FIRE as tankers, see this CAL FIRE aviation program webpage for more information. 

direct link to video

direct link to video

direct link to slideshow video

Conair Firecat T-564 to Canadian Museum of Flight

direct link to video

I'd like to thank a good friend who sent me a link to this video of the final flight of Firecat T-564 from Abbostford Tanker Base at Kamloops BC to the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, BC. The video is a little over 17 minutes. 

As I understand it, the first of Conair's Firecats saw service as a tanker flying fires in 1978. Conair retired the last two Firecats in August 2012. Shortly thereafter, T-564 flew to her new nome at the Canadian Museum of Flight,

I know that T-564 will be loved by many at her new home. Perhaps one day I'll visit British Columbia and get to meet her in person. 

Kamloops Daily News bids farewell to Firecats

Langley Times on the arrival of T-564 with video 

In celebration of their 100th anniversary, Gord Bell (spent 35 years with the BC Forest Service, 25 years in aviation programs) wrote a 3 part History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service, Links to this three part series may be found here. You can read more about Mr. Bell in the appendix of any the three documents. Part 2 of the History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service covers Air Tanker Operations and may be found here, you can read about Conair's Firecats on pp. 16 to 19 of that document.

Conair Firecats in action

Conair in Abbotsford British Columbia (BC), Canada retired their last two Firecats in August 2012, I'll be writing about that in my post on January 16. In the meantime, I wanted to you to see the Firecats in action.

Takeoff 

direct link to video

Firecats in action

direct link to video

Firecat Tankdoor cockpit controls

direct link to video

Firecats reloading (retardant) at Kamloops Airtanker Base (Abbotsford BC)

direct link to video

Wildfires in Australia still burning

The wildfires in Australia continue to burn.

direct link to video

Report on wildfires in SE Australia from Australian Broadcast Co (1/12/13) (with video and links)

More videos and a photo gallery

BBC (1/8/13) on wildfires in New South Wales AU (Air Crane footage)

BBC (1/8/13) on Australian wildfires and high temps (helo with bucket)

CNN photo gallery including picture of some of 10,000 sheep that have died

Wildfires continue in Australia, serious threat remains

Over the last couple of days I have frequently found my thoughts turning to the numerous wildfires currently burning all over eastern Australia. At the time I wrote this article there was a video report on ABC News in Australia that while the wildfire situation has eased up a bit in New South Wales, uncontained fires continue and the wildfire threat is far from over, unfortunately the video is expired.

In a report on ABC Australia that I believe was issued yesterday (Australia time), authorities say that somewhat cooler weather returned with a return to hot weather expected to return later this week; firefighters as well as affected residents talk about their experiences. 

I don't know specifics about tankers and helicopters used to fight these wildfires in Australia, but I have seen images of helicopters and perhaps a SEAT or two in the reports I cited above and possibly elsewhere in my recent wonderings about the internet. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation wrote an article on the Australian wildfire season about a month ago with a listing of aerial wildland fire support assets used in Australia. Mike Archer of the Fire Publications Blog included a nice article from the Southland Times about a Bell 214 Helicopter pilot working the wildfires in Tasmania in his posting for January 7, 2013. that you might want to check out.

In the meantime Mike Archer continues of the Fire Publications Blog continues to cover the ongoing wildland fire situation in Australia on January 8 and January 9. Bill Gabbert has written about the Australian wildfire season on January 8 and January 9 (check out the videos.

Last but by no means least at the time I wrote this article the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) has a nice webpage with links to stories, videos, and other information about the current wildfire situation in Australia. 

Revised on October 12, 2015 to remove a dead link.

Wildfires in Tasmania (Australia)

Video that I originally embedded here is no longer available and the link is removed (8/2/15)

Yesterday as I was driving I heard a report on the radio about wildfires burning in Tasmania (Australia) so I decided to try to find some more information for you. As you may know, it is summer down under and wildfire season. At the time I write this, this is what I know about the wildfires in Tasmania:

• Wildfires started on Thursday, Jan. 3. 
• At least 20,000 hectares (49,422 acres) have burned and this figure may be understated. 
• At least 100 homes and other buildings have been destroyed. 
• Approximately one hundred people are missing.
• Wildfires burning in other States in Australia.

For more information:
Wildfire Today on Tasmania wildfires
Tales of survival and photo gallery from ABC Australia. I don't know any details about air support for the Tasmania wildfires, but I did see one photo of a helo with a bucket working one of the Tasmania wildfires in the photos from ABC Australia.
Wildfires in Tasmania from the Guardian
CBC on wildfires in Tasmania
More on Fires in Tasmania and fire danger elsewhere in Australia from the Guardian
Photo gallery from BBC

Wildland Firefighters: Deployment via Heli-rappelling

Specially trained wildland firefighters are deployed to wildfires in remote and difficult to access areas via rappelling from a hovering helicopter.

Demonstration

direct link to video

Edited on May 16, 2016: removed link to youtube video that is no longer available

wildland firefighters: smokejumpers in action

Smokejumpers in action working a wildfire in Alaska during the 2012 season



direct link to video

Wildland Firefighters: About Smokejumping

I embedded a short video about smokejumping in Alaska last Friday  and want to spend a little more time on the important role that smokejumpers play in fighting wildland fires. Rather than reinvent the wheel so to speak, I am going to embed two videos about smokejumping that I first embedded over three years ago (July 2009) in a series on smokejumpers.

direct link to video, that I first shared on July 17, 2009. Note, you will see some footage of the DC-3 used in Missoula for smokejumping. One DC-3 smokejumping aircraft was retired this past October, see this article on Wildfire Today for more info. I believe that the DC-3 smokejumping aircraft based in Missoula will be flying again this coming season.

direct link to video, that I first shared on July 20, 2009.

Wildland Firefighting: smokejumper training in AK

direct link to video

Wildland Firefighters: Crews battle 2007 fire near Prescott, AZ

direct link to video Click on the about link when you get to youtube for more information on the wildfire that you see in the video. This fire that burned on June 28, 2007 came very near to some houses before being stopped by the wildfire crews. 

Remember that the airtankers and helicopters do what they do to support the crews on the ground. I am going to continue posting about the wildland fire crews on the ground over the next week to 10 days, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone.

The Shepard

direct link to video on youtube, click on about for links to more information about The Shepard and Alan Maitland

A good friend of mine first told me about The Shepard about three years ago now. I love this story. Some of you may already be familiar with this story, others of you may be hearing this for the first time. Enjoy!

Stay safe!

Happy holidays everyone!

Wildland firefighters: Slide Mt. Hand Crew (2007)

direct link to video

Wildland firefighters: hotshot crews (2 of 2)

And continuing with hotshot crews, this video is about  a 2008 hotshot crew from Idaho City.

direct link to video

Wildland Firefighters: Hotshot Crews 1 of 2

In the next few articles, I'll be using some videos to let you into the world of wildland firefighters on the ground. This video is about the Dela Rosa Hotshots, the oldest hotshot crew in the U.S. You will also see some footage of air tankers and helos working in support of the crews on the ground. For a description of the different type of wildland firefighting ground crews (U.S. Federal Government), including type 1 interagency hotshot crews, see this webpage.

direct link to video

Esperanza Fire (2006, CA) Entrapment

This copyrighted video from Photo1Productions is about the 2006 Esperanza Fire where five USFS Firefighters lost their lives in a wind driven burn over. May we always remember: Pablo Cerda, Mark Loutzenhiser, Jason McKay, Jess McLean and Daniel Najera.

  direct link to video, please read the info about the video

To read more about the Esperanza Fire you will want to read the Oct. 26, 2012 article from CAL FIRE News. In addition, the WLF Always Remember Website has a page devoted to the 2006 Esperanza Entrapment.

Wildland Firefighters: staying safe - fire shelters

Aerial wildland firefighters do what they do in order to help and support the wildland firefighters on the ground (aka ground pounders) contain and control the wildfire. They do this by putting the retardant or water/foam where the ground pounders need it most. From time to time I want to remind myself and those of you who find your way to this blog about the important work that wildland firefighters on the ground do to keep us safe. My intent in this article is to talk a little about what I have learned about one specific piece of safety equipment that wildland firefighters carry, the fire shelter.

After I first got interested in wildland firefighting in the Fall of 2008, it did not take me long to learn about fire shelters that wildland firefighters carry, these shelters are only deployed as a last resort. I wrote and article on this blog about fire shelters on Aug. 10, 2009, I urge you to take a few moments and review some of the information in that article. I believe that much of the information in that article is still applicable and you might want to take a look at the video of the Santiago Fire Shelter Deployment (with a happy ending).

A few months later, in May 2010, I posted an article here, with a video showing some of the training that wildland firefighters do with their shelters. I understand that the video makes it look a lot easier than it is.

I'm not sure that there is much more about fire shelters that I can say at this time, except to stress that a wildland fire fighter's fire shelter may be the most important piece of equipment that they carry. I did find a nice, but albeit long video (25 minutes plus) about the new generation fire shelter. I think the video is meant to be a training video, however I learned a lot from watching this video. I thought that some of you might enjoy watching this 25 minute video. 

Direct link to video.

Wildland Firefighters: Staying Safe - Personal Protective Equipment

Aerial wildland firefighters do what they do in order to help and support the wildland firefighters on the ground (aka ground pounders) contain and control the wildfire. They do this by putting the retardant or water/foam where the ground pounders need it most. From time to time I want to remind myself and those of you who find your way to this blog about the important work that wildland firefighters on the ground do to keep us safe. My intent in this article is to talk a little about what I have learned about one specific aspect of what the ground pounders do, in this case personal protective equipment.

An important aspect of how wildland firefighters on the ground (aka ground pounders) stay safe is because of the type of clothing, helmets, gloves, boots, etc. that they wear. A few years ago, NOVA did an episode called the Fire Wars, the website that went with the program is still up and they have a page devoted to what wildland fighters wear and carry in their packs, for those of you who have a flash plug-in for your browser, there is a flash version. You will see that wildland firefighters also carry a fire shelter, which I'll get to in a later post.

The clothing, boots, gloves, helmets, boots, etc that wildland firefighters wear are also known as personal protective equipment or PPE. PPE must be worn properly, the video below goes into some detail about what happens when PPE is not worn or used properly. I believe that the intended audience for the video is probably wildland firefighters. However, I learned something from watching the video and I thought that some of you might enjoy the video.

direct link to video on youtube from the National Interagency Fire Center.

Note:

If you are interested in a federal wildland firefighting job, you might want to go to the jobs page of wildland fire dot com.  A brief discussion of what is involved in applying for federal and/or state/local wildland fire crews, may be found on this webpage from the National Wildfire Coordinatiing Group . Most states have state wildland firefighting agencies, a partial listing of (U.S.) State Wildland Fire Agencies by the folk at Wildland Fire dot cam may be found here.

Wildland Firefighters (ground pounders) 10 and 18

It was not all that long after I I first wrote about wildland firefighting in the summer of 2008 that I first heard about the 10 Standard Fire Orders and the 18 Watch Out Situations (go here to read this article). Before I began focusing first on wildland firefighting and then on aerial wildland firefighting I had a vague idea that safety is of the utmost importance to any emergency responder. A while back, one of my friends was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New Jersey. If memory serves, she told me once that they were trained not to put their own lives in jeopardy when responding to a call. 

As I began to learn more about wildland firefighting both on the ground and in the air, I the importance that wildland firefighters put on staying safe had an increasingly profound impact on me. As I read various remarks, comments and forum posts by wildland firefighters (ground pounders) and those engaged in aerial wildland firefighting I observed that they would often their remarks with "stay safe."

When I thought about how to start this series of posts about wildland firefighting I knew that I had to begin by writing about the tools that wildland firefighters  (aka groundpounders) use to stay safe. And one of these "tools", if you will, are words in the form of the 10 Standard Fire Orders and 18 Watch Out Situations.

direct link to video

This is another nice short video from the National Interagency Fire Center on the 10 Standard Fire Orders that all wildland firefighters follow. In addition there are list of 18 situations that all wildland firefighters watch out for, aka the 18 Watch Out Situations:

1. Fire not scouted and sized up.
2. In country not seen in daylight.
3. Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
4. Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior
5. Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
6. Instructions and assignments not clear.
7. No communication link between crewmembers and supervisors.
8. Constructing line without safe anchor point.
9. Building line downhill with fire below.
10. Attempting frontal assault on fire.
11. Unburned fuel between you and the fire.
12. Cannot see main fire, not in contact with anyone who can.
13. On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
14. Weather gets hotter and drier.
15. Wind increases and/or changes direction.
16. Getting frequent spot fires across line.
17. Terrain or fuels make escape to safety zones

18. Feel like taking a nap near fire line

(obtained from http://www.nifc.gov/safety/safety_10ord_18sit.html on Dec. 5, 2012)

Over the last four years that I have writing the blog on aerial wildland firefighting, I have often referred to what is commonly known as the "Red Book" (revised annually) outlining standards for wildland firefighting here in the U.S. Chapter 7 of the Red Book is on safety, a link may be found here. For a listing of each chapter in the Red Book, as well as a link to a single PDF file for the latest Red Book, go here.

Aerial Wildland Firefighters fly to support the groundpounders.

Wildland Firefighters love what they do

Direct link to video

I want to spend sometime over the next few posts revisiting what wildland firefighting crews on the ground do. I am still thinking through how to go about this without rehashing what I have already done. I found the video this video in a group of videos from the National Interagency Fire Center on youtube. I expect that I'll be using some of these videos in the coming days as appropriate. In the meantime enjoy the video.

A Tribute to all wildland firefighters in the air and on the groud

Direct Link to Video

This video by 664 Freedom was done in 2008 and expresses in photos my heartfelt gratitude for all that you in the wildland firefighting community do to keep us safe. You will see groundpounders, smokejumpers, helos, and airtankers of various sizes. Remember that the airtankers and helos work to support the firefighters on the ground by putting the retardant or the water where it is needed.

About wildland firefighting airspace

Here is a nice video about wildland firefighting airspace from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. I'd like to thank my friends from Section B-10 of the NJ Forest Fire Service for bringing this to my attention. I enjoyed the video and hope that you do as well. A direct link to the video may be found here.