A-26 Tankers that started service in the U.S. and went to Canada (2 of 2)

I continue where I left off on August 5 by writing about A-26 tankers that started out flying in the U.S before going to Canada in the early to mid 1970s. 

Thomas W. Hammon (contractor and pilot) to Kenting

Sometime in 1970 a private contractor and pilot from Arizona, Thomas W. Hammon acquired two A-26 Invaders from Donaire Inc. (also from Arizona): serial # 44-35752, registration N8627E and serial # 44-34136, registration N8017E. While owned by Donaire, N8017E flew as tanker # C32. Based on the information in the page devoted to Thomas W. Hammon from the napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site it seems that Hammon had these Invaders for a couple of seasons. I don’t know how Hammon used these Invaders. Did he fly one as a tanker on contract somewhere in the U.S., perhaps N8017E as Donaire had flown her as tanker # C32 from 1966 to 1969? 

Kenting Aviation acquired both of these Invaders from Hammon in late spring/summer of 1972. From what I can gather, Kenting had these two Invaders for two seasons (1972 and 1973), flying at least one as a tanker before selling both of them to Conair after the 1973 season. 

Warbirds Registry for serial # 44-35752

Warbirds Registry for serial # 44-34136

George H. Stell (Arizona) to O. Huitikka (Ontario) to Air Spray

Air Spray had a number of A-26 Invaders that they flew as air tankers. In a few days, I’ll write an article or two on Air Spray’s A-26 fire bombing operations with more information including links. Stay tuned.

Serial # 44-35661, U.S registration N9996Z. Invader N9996Z interests me because I first saw a record of her in a listing of tankers in “Forest Fire Air Attack System” by William T. Larkins, American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) Journal (Vol. 9#3, Fall 1964). Specifically, she was on a list of tankers that flew on contract for the U.S. Forest Service in Arizona and New Mexico (then known as region 3) in 1963 (170).  

Knowing from Larkins’ listing that she was flying for Donaire in 1963, I started by going to the Donaire Page on the napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site. This listing confirms Larkin’s information, noting that she started her service as a tanker in the U.S. with Donaire (Arizona) in 1963 flying as tanker # C11. It appears that Donaire flew her as a tanker for one more year, 1964. There is no indication of what she was doing in 1965. In 1966, she was acquired by George H. Stell (Arizona) who flew her as tanker # C11 from 1966 through 1972. Sometime in 1972, Stell sold her to O. Huitikka of Ontario Canada where she was reregisterd as CF-CBK. I can’t tell from this listing how Huitikka used her. Finally in 1979, she was acquired by Air Spray where she reregistered as C-FCBK in 1985. She was flown as Air Spray tanker # 11 until she was listed as destroyed in a landing accident with no fatalities in 2004.

Warbirds Registry for serial # 44-35661

Nine lost on Iron 44 Helo crash five years ago . . .

Five years ago today we lost nine in a helo crash on the Iron 44 incident

Roark Schwanenberg
Jim Ramage
Scott Charlson
Shawn Blazer
Matthew Hammer
David Steele
Edrik Gomez
Steven Renno
Bryan Rich


direct link to video

Always Remember page on Iron 44

I won't forget you. . .

A-26 Tankers that started service in the U.S. and went to Canada (1 of 2)

As I transition to writing about the A-26 Invaders long service as a tanker in Canada, I thought that it might be interesting to look some examples of individual A-26 Invaders that were owned by U.S. Companies who had tanker contracts that were later sold to Canadian companies in the early to mid 1970s.  

I will start today by writing about A-26 tankers that started service in the U.S. before going to Conair Aviation of Abbotsford, British Columbia. On August 7, I will finish up by writing about U.S. A-26 tankers that eventually went to Kenting (Ontario Canada) and Air Spray (Red Deer, Alberta).

Aero Union leases A-26 Invader to Conair

If you check out the napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site has a page devoted to Aero Union you will see that Aero Union sold a number of A-26 Invaders to Conair in the 1970s. With one exception that I’ll go into soon, I don’t know how Aero Union used most of these Invaders so I am not including them here. 

Serial # 44-35323, U.S. registration N8026E. Aero Union acquired N8026E from Aeroflight sometime in 1969, converted her for use as a tanker where she flew as T-55. Conair leased her from Aero Union for the 1970 season where she flew as T-55 under Canadian registration CF-CDD. In September 1970, the lease with Conair was up, Aero Union reregistered as N8026E where she flew as T-(C)55 through 1972. Dempsey acquired her in 1977 flying her as tanker # 55 for one or perhaps two seasons.The napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site has a page devoted to Aero Union where information on T-55 is given in the first aircraft listing. Warbird Registry on # 44-35323

Butler to Conair

Butler Aviation had two A-26 Invaders that were flown as tankers, both of which were later sold to Conair sometime in 1975.

Butler acquired the first A-26 Invader (serial # 44-3413, U.S. registration N5457V) used as a tanker (see First A-26 Tanker in the U.S.) in 1966, flying her first as tanker # A20 and later as tanker #16 for several seasons Butler last flew her as a tanker in 1974 or 1975. In 1975, she was acquired by Conair where she flew as tanker # 23 until 1988. At the time I write this article, the last information I have is that she is currently owned by Black Crow Aviation, go here for more information on her history.

Butler’s second A-26 tanker was serial # 43-22673, U.S. registration N9159Z acquired in 1966 apparently from Hillcrest Aviation (Oregon). Butler flew her first as tanker # F18 and later as tanker # 18 until she was acquired by Conair in 1975 (Canadian registration C-GLHM) Conair tanker # 24). Sadly, she crashed in July 1975 (listed as destroyed)  while flying a wildfire. 

The napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site has a page devoted to Butler where there is information for both Invaders. However, that listing for serial # 44-3413 does not reflect her ownership by Black Crow Aviation. Warbird Registry on #44-3413 (does not reflect ownership by Black Crow).and Black Crow has a page with her latest history see Black Crow history of #44-3413.

First A-26 Tanker in the U.S. - N5457V

The first A-26 to serve as a tanker in the U.S. (N5457V, serial # 44-3413), is now owned by Black Crow Aviation who is restoring it to U.S. military configuration. Black Crow has a publicly available Facebook page here, as I write this the last update was in March 2013  Black Crow has a page with her history here (note that she is or was up for sale). Prior to being owned by Black Crow she was owned by David Lane, a former Air Spray tanker pilot who flew her at air shows and the like until the costs got to be prohibitive. 

The napoleon130 A26 invader tanker site has a nice page with her history up to the time of David’s ownership along with some great photos of her at various times over her long life. The photos are great and I hope that you will take a few moments to look at these pictures. The Warbird's Registry also a page on her history, also up and including David Lane's ownership here. If I am not mistaken the individual aircraft history pages on both of these sites rely heavily on information from: 

Chapman, John and; Goodall, Geoff, Edited by Paul Coggan - Warbirds Directory, Warbirds Worldwide Ltd., Mansfield, England, 1989. Goodall, Geoff - Warbirds Directory-4th Edition, 2003

I tried and was unable to borrow a copy of the 1989 and/or the 2003 edition through my local library.

A-26 Tankers in the United States

The first A-26 to fly was registration number N5457V, converted by Aero Atlas to tanker configuration in 1959. I believe that she first flew as a tanker in 1960 (see the entry page to the napoleon130 A26 invader tanker page). Her tank had a total capacity of 1,200 gallons (AAHS, 163; F. Johnsen Fire Bombers in Action, p.48). Stay tuned, I’ll write a little more about this tanker in the next article. In 1962 one A-26 tanker was used in the southern region of the U.S, and two were used in the northeastern region in 1963 (AAHS 166). A-26 tankers were also used in Oregon, Washington, Arizona and New Mexico in 1963 (AAHS, tables 5 and 6, p. 170). By my count of the A-26 tankers that F. Johnsen lists in Appendix A (Tanker Call Signs and Registrations) of Fire Bombers in Action (p.24), there were 30 A-26 Invaders that flew as tankers in the U.S. flying for quite a few different aviation services. 

For reasons that are not quite clear to me, the A-26 did not have a lengthy service as a tanker in the U.S. with the number of A-26 tankers flying in the U.S. beginning to dwindle in the mid-1970s. According to F. Johnsen (p. 48) most were no longer flying as tankers in the U.S. by 1980.

AAHS: American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) Journal (Vol. 9#3, Fall 1964), “Forest Fire Air Attack System” by William T. Larkins

A-26 Tanker Series -- Acknowledgements

Before I go any further in writing about the Douglas A-26’s service as a tanker, I want to thank the fellow who put together what I’ll call the napoleon130 A-26 Invader website, with a section on the A-26’s service as a tanker. After I begun reading up on the A-26 Invader a few months ago, it did not take long before a few of my friends in the tanker business, both in the U.S. and Canada sent me the link to this site. I have spent hours on this site at various times over the last few months and I found this site to be a treasure trove of information on the A-26 Invader’s service as a tanker. I can’t possibly due this site justice here, so I encourage those of you who are interested to check out napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site. I will be linking to selected pages from this site, as appropriate later in this series. 

The fellow who put together the napoleon130 A-26 invader website also has sites for the Grumman F7F Tigercat, Consolidated PBY Catalina, and the North American B-25 Mitchell, and the Northrop P-61 Black Widow.

I got my first taste of the A-26’s service as a tanker in Canada from Linc Alexander’s Fire Bomber into Hell, he flew A-26 tankers first for Kenting Air and later for Conair. Allan MacNutt wrote a book called Altimeter Rising about his 50 years as a pilot, including working at both Conair and Air Spray in Canada flying tankers. Allan flew the A-26 for both Conair and Air Spray.

For a historical point of view, Frederick A. Johnsen put together a videobook (book and video DVD) called Fire Bombers in Action. Frederick provides a history of the history of fire bomber aircraft including an appendix with tanker call signs and registrations by aircraft type. Finally, about three years ago, a friend sent me a copy of an article from the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) Journal (Vol. 9#3, Fall 1964) called “Forest Fire Air Attack System” by William T. Larkins. Larkins wrote a great piece on firebombing and air attack of the period and is a great history of the early days of firebombing in the U.S. 

Finally, saving the best for last, I need to acknowledge the help of some new friends who flew the A-26 tanker in Canada, without them, these articles would not be possible. Aviation Historian Tom Janney has also been very helpful.

Flying the A-26

direct link to video
I have now heard from two former A-26 tanker pilots who agree with the techniques presented in this video. I am reposting the video that I originally shared on March 1. It takes just under 17 minutes to watch the video. Enjoy!

Intro to A-26 Tanker Series

Some of you will recall that I wrote about the Douglas A-26 Invader in a series of articles earlier this year (from February 23 to March 13). At that time I promised that I would write about her service as a firefighting tanker in the U.S. and in Canada. I am still developing this series as I write this, but I can provide the following time line to start things off.

July 26: Revisiting flying the A-26, historic training video on flying the A-26

July 29: A-26 Tanker Series -- Acknowledgements

July 31: A-26 Tankers in the United States

Aug 2: First A-26 Tanker in the U.S. - N5457V

Aug 5: A sample of A-26 Tankers that started service in the U.S. and went to Canada

I am still working on the articles focusing on her service in Canada, those articles will start posting on or about August 7.

Martin Mars in action

direct link to video

I love the Martin Mars, and when I saw this video last week on Bill Gabbert's Fire Aviation Blog I knew that I had to share it with you. You will see some a SEAT and some helos working the fire.

Mountain Fire (CA) update 2

Following up on the article I wrote a couple of days ago on the Mountain Fire in or near San Bernadino National Forest in southern CA. As I write this, according to the latest update from CAL FIRE (incident information no longer available), the fire has burned 24,818 acres and is at 15% containment.

I am out and about the next several days so it is unlikely that I'll be able to write about the Mountain Fire, however Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today is doing is usual great job covering wildfires. So I am more than happy to refer you to his website. He has an article with some videos of the Mountain Fire, including a 39 minute video that he posted yesterday. I haven't looked a all of these videos yet, but will do so when I am done here. He also has an article that he updates frequently reporting on the Mountain Fire itself that may be found here.

Finally Mike Archer of Firebomber Publications has several articles over the last few days on the Mountain Fire (15 July and continuing through July 19th).

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

Mountain Fire (CA)

The Mountain Fire, currently burning in or near San Bernardino National Forest, has burned 14,200 acres and having destroyed a few residences and mobile homes along with some commercial buildings and out buildings. Evacuations are in place. The fire is at 10 percent containment. Here are links to incident information from:

CAL FIRE
Inciweb

A wildland fire hotlist thread on the Mountain Fire may be found here.

Update on the fire from NBC Los Angeles (6 PM on July 16):

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

direct link to video report, article, and links to other information

And two videos from  the Enveonomator1 ( Scorched Sky Productions )


direct link to video


direct link to video

10-Tanker Carrier is not moving to Wyoming

A couple of months ago, I wrote that 10-Tanker Carrier was planning a move to Wyoming. Just yesterday, Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation reported that 10-Tanker Carrier is canceling their move to Wyoming, you will want to read Bill's article for more information.

Northern Quebec wildfire activity

Here are two videos that I found on this page on Canada.com, dated 5 July. The map at the bottom of that article shows where the fires were burning on 5 July. The two videos were recording on or about 3 July near Nemiscau Quebec.


direct link to video


direct link to video

I'm not quite sure about the status of these particular fires shown in the above videos. However, I saw an article over the weekend, dated 10 July that Massachusetts sent a 15 member type 2 crew to Quebec to help with fight wildfires. Maine is sending a crew of six to Quebec. Go here to read the Masslive article, which also discusses the wildland firefighting compact between the New England States, portions of New England and the eastern Canadian Provinces. In addition Wildfire Today reported on the New England Firefighters being sent to Quebec on 14 July.

I found some satellite photos of the fires in Quebec taken on 8 July showing a smoke plume and a burn area from some wildfires burning in Quebec. Go here to see these photos.

The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System has a nice set of maps as well as links to other information about wildland fires in Canada. I found a webpage in both French and English from Quebec's wildland fire fighting agency, go here. I should warn you that I was having a little trouble with the website, perhaps something to do with translating the site into English. But if you want a little more detail on the wildland fire situation in Quebec, this site should help you out.

Raw video of train explosion in Quebec

I think that by now, most of you know about the deadly train explosion that occurred In Quebec last weekend. I just found this video on posted on the Burlington (VT) Free Press website.



direct link to video

Here is a link to an update from CBCNews, 28 have been found with 22 still missing.

My thoughts and prayers are with all who mourn this tragedy.

Updated July 15, 2013: The New York Times reports here that the Canadians are launching a criminal investigation into the train wreck.

Brushfire (7/8/13, wheat field) in Upper Freehold Twsp. NJ

Upper Freehold Township (Allentown) New Jersey 7/8/2013 Wheat Field Fire w/3 County Responce from Dennis Symons on Vimeo.

direct link to video

This past Monday, July 8, NJ Forest Fire Service Sections B10 and B17 assisted Section B9 in fighting a five to eight acre fire in a wheat field in Upper Freehold Township (Monmouth County) NJ. Firefighters from Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties also fought this fire. A piece of farm equipment known as a combine was destroyed.

Note, I'm not sure if the embed code that was provided works in all browsers (sorry). It seems to work in Firefox and Safari on my Mac but not in Chrome. So, if you don't see the embedded vide, please click on the direct link to video to watch a 3 to 4 minute of the NJFFS working the fire. A great video!

Where to go for info on Granite MT Hotshot Memorials

I was not able to be present in Prescott Arizona for Sunday's escort or for today's memorial service, but Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been on scene. For example, he posted on Sunday with some photos he took of the escort, behind the scenes preparations yesterday for the memorial. This morning he posted some photos from the arena where the memorial was held including a link for the program from the memorial. I expect that he will be writing later today about the memorial service.

Other places where you might find coverage would be The Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial on Facebook (public) and In Memory of Prescott Firefighters Lost 6/30/2013.

Update July 9, 6:25 PM Just found a link from the CSPAN archives with an archive of what is supposed to be the entire 3 hour memorial service, go to this page.

Former Wildland Firefighter speaks on the deaths of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots

Updated July 9, 5:20 PM EDT

As I paused this afternoon to watch some of the livestream of today's memorial service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots (2 PM EDT, 11 AM MST) I am remembering what my friend Tom Janney said about the loss of his brother wildland firefighters as he was interviewed by Boise ID media the other day. I thought it fitting to share a link to this video here.

Unfortunately, I am not able to embed the video here, but I encourage you to take a few minutes and go to this direct link to video from KIVI TV in Boise ID to watch the video report. In addition to hearing Tom's moving share, KIVI TV reports on the Wildland Firefighting Foundation sending a statue of a firefighter to Prescott where it is probably already placed outside the arena in Prescott.

YarnellFallenFireFighters had a link to the live stream of the memorial service (since ended). While the memorial service was being streamed live I had embedded some code from one of the Phoenix TV stations, the service is over so I have deleted that link and article to avoid confusion.

Elegance in Action: Tankers over Nevada Widlfires

And now for something beautiful and elegant, airtankers in action. In this video from airailimages you will see one of Neptunes BAe-146 tankers, some seats, and a Neptune P-2V dropping on a fire near Winnemucca NV on July 3, 2013. The videographer is Frederick Johnsen.

I recently saw this video on Fire Aviation, loved it and am sharing it with you.



direct link to video

19 fallen Granite MT Hotshots arrive home in Prescott AZ

I spent most of the afternoon watching live stream of the procession, a very moving experience. After the procession had left station 7, home base of the Granite MT Hotshots, a USFS DC-3 dropped 19 purple streamers. I did not see the streamers. But I saw a couple of minutes of the USFS DC-3 shot from one of the news helos.

video report from azcentral (12 minutes) of procession from Phoenix to Prescott

Video of procession--escort of 19 Granite MT Hotshots to Prescott

Here is a direct link to video report from azcentral as the procession of the 19 Granite MT hotshots arrives in Yarnell on the way to Prescott

As I post this video, the procession has reached Prescott. The families have requested privacy and no TV cameras as the procession passes the Granite MT Hotshot home station 7 in Prescott.

Granite MT Hotshot Procession: Phoenix to Prescott on July 7

The caskets holding the 19 Granite MT Hotshots will process from Phoenix to Prescott with motorcycle escorts for each hearse starting Sunday, July 7 at 11:15 AM MST. (As I understand it Phoenix does have daylight savings time so I think Phoenix is three hours behind EDT). An honor guard will accompany each fallen firefighter. AZ residents may find the escort route with locations for public viewing information from this article on the YarnellFallenFirefightersSite. For those that are interested, I think that this will be streamed on various Phoenix Media, for example 12NBC and CBS5 KPHO in Phoenix. Info on live stream from KPHO may be found here, and their stream may be accessed at http://www.cbs5az.com/live. I heard that 12NewsNBC will also have a live stream, but have no specific info on how to access their stream other then directing you to http://www.azcentral.com/12news/. If I have my time zones figured out correctly this translates to 2:15 PM EDT. There are other news outlets in Phoenix, I've only followed those two. Perhaps the national news outlets will pick up on this as well?

I came across the following tribute to wildland firefighters by Patrick Karnahan today and thought that I'd share it with you as we reflect on the loss of the nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshots. You will not be forgotten.


direct link to video

Memorial for 19 Granite MT Hotshots on July 9

Here is a direct link to a video from azcentral reporting on plans for the memorial service for the 19 Granite MT hotshots

Update July 5, 10:20 AM EDT I ran across a website called YarnellFallenFireFighters on a couple of sources on the web, including the  In Memory of Prescott Firefighters Lost 6/30/2013 Facebook Page (a public page when I accessed on 7/5/2013). The YarnellFallenFireFighters page has information on the planning for the memorial services for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died on June 30, and is being updated periodically with new information so be sure to check that site for the latest information about the memorial service and related information.

Update July 5, 8 PM EDT ABC News is reporting that V.P. Biden will attend the memorial service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots on Tuesday July 9th from  11 AM to 1 PM in Prescott.

Hotshots driving through Prescott AZ

direct link to video

Tribute to 19 Firefighters

direct link to tribute from myfoxphoenix.com

Memorial in Prescott for Granite MT hotshots

Some photos of the memorial to the Granite Mountain Hotshots in Prescott, sent to me by a family member.

Tragic loss of 19 wildland firefighters while fighting the Yarnell Fire (Prescott AZ)

I woke up this morning to the very tragic news about the death of 19 wildland firefighters while fighting the Yarnell Fire near Prescott AZ on Sunday, June 30, 2013. I'm not sure if all 19 were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew, but I believe that most of the were. As I understand it, the Granite Mountain Hotshots are also members of the Prescott AZ fire department, I'd like to take the opportunity to express my grief over this tragedy. I offer my thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, and colleagues of those who died.

For more info, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today covered the death of the firefighters fighting the Yarnell Fire here, and provides an historical perspective of multiple deaths of wildland firefighters here.

The Arizona Daily Daily Sun out of Flagstaff AZ reports on the Yarnell tragedy in an update just before midnight local time. The Daily Courier out of Prescott AZ reports on the tragedy here. In addition, I suspect that many of you may have already seen reports on major national media outlets.

Gary Varvel a cartoonist for the Indystar drew a tear jerking cartoon in tribute to the nineteen fallen firefighters, it may be found here.

Always Remember! on the Yarnell Hill tragedy
Facebook page in memory of Prescott Firefighters lost on June 30
Wildland Fire hotlist Yarnell Fire Fatalities condolence thread
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation works with families of fallen firefighters

Out of respect for this tragic loss of life at the Yarnell Fire, I have removed the article that I posted early in the evening on June 30 that included a video report from a Colorado TV station with an inside look at how wildland firefighting crews fight fires.

Revised  at 12:50 and 5:55 PM PM on July 1, 2013

RIP Jane Wicker and Charlie Shwenker

direct link to video

I want to pause and offer my thoughts and prayers for the families and friends of Jane Wicker and Charlie Shwenker. As many of you know, they both died as the result of a crash at an airshow in Dayton last weekend. Jane was a wing walker and Charlie was the pilot.

May you fly and perform in favorable tailwinds.

West Fork Complex (CO)

I just came across this footage of the West Fork Complex (CO) wildfires from Hon Schlapfer on Vimeo. The description below the video is from Hon Schalpfer. If you have trouble viewing the video in your browser (e.g Chrome for one), click on the link below that says West Fork Complex and you will be taken to the Vimeo page.

West Fork Complex from Hon schlapfer on Vimeo.
One for the record books! June 13-24 2013
Started as ICT3 20 acres in the Wiminuche wilderness San Juan National Forest.Fire ran to 5,000 acres called NIMO Team. west Fork Jumped the continental divide, closed HWY 160,evacuated the town of South Fork,Got the call to get over to the Papoose fire,Evacuated town, found missing Boy Scout troop, and thanks to some solid folks we saved every house...

Update on (civilian) air tankers in the United States.

It is past time for me to write about the situation with the 2013 Federal Tanker Contracts, I do so now.   

Legacy Tankers

You may recall that the United States Forest Service (USFS) awarded the Legacy Airtankers contracts earlier this year. With the announcement of the Legacy Airtanker contract awards there were:

one P2-V on contract from Minden Air,

six P2-V's on contract from Neptune Aviation, and

one BAe-146 on contract from Neptune Aviation

for a total of eight air tankers on national contract.

On May 13th of this year. the USFS entered into a short-term contract for Neptune Aviation's T-41 (a second BAe-146 tanker). So that made nine air tankers on national contract, see the 2013 Airtanker List dated May 23, 2013:

T-48, P-2V, Minden

T-44, P-2V, Neptune

T-07, P-2V, Neptune

T-05. P-2V, Neptune

T-06, P-2V, Neptune

T-43, P-2V, Neptune

T-45, P-2V Neptune

T-41, BAe-146, Neptune

T-40. BAe-146, Neptune

Next Generation Tankers

Let's see, now we get into the Next Generation Tanker Contract awards. On May 6th, the USFS issued a notice of intent to award Next Generation Airtanker Contracts to:

Minden Air Corp (Minden, NV) -- 1 BAe-146

Aero Air LLC (Hillsboro, OR) -- 2 MD87s

Aero Flite, Inc (Kingman, AZ) -- 2 Avro RJ85s

Coulson Aircrane USA -- 1 C130Q

10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC -- 1 DC-10 (only aircraft certified to fly as a tanker as of 6/26/13)

To quickly bring us up to date on the evolution of these Next Gen Tanker contracts, Neptune Aviation did not receive a notice of intent to award a Next Gen Tanker contract from the USFS and filed a protest  several days after the USFS announced the intended recipients of the Next Gen Tanker Contracts. On May 31, the USFS awarded Next Gen Contracts to Minden, Coulson, and 10 Tanker Air Carrier (these lines were not under protest), and one of the DC-10 tankers went on contract shortly there after. Neptune Aviation withdrew their protest on June 7, and the USFS announced their final awards under the Next Gen Tanker Contract adding Aero Air LLC and Aero Flite.  The contractors have between 60 and 90 days to get the remaining six aircraft awarded Next Gen Contracts certified, meaning that the all seven Next Gen Tankers should be certified to fly fires sometime in August, if not sooner.

So with the addition of the one DC-10 tanker (the only one of the seven with all of her certifications) under the exclusive-use Next Gen Tanker Contract we had ten tankers on national contract on or about June 7.

Very Large Airtanker Call-When-Needed Contracts

On June 14th, the USFS awarded a Call When Needed (CWN) Contract  to 10 Tanker Air Carriers second DC-10 as well as to Evergreen's 747 tanker (20,000 gallon capacity). This is the first time in three years that Evergreen has had a CWN contract. Bill Gabbert broke the news here and reported on the activation of 10 Tanker Air Carriers second DC-10 on June 14. I'm not sure when one of Evergreen's 747 tankers will be ready to be activated.

The finally tally of civilian tankers on contract to date

is eleven: seven P2-Vs, two BAe-146 tankers from Neptune, and two DC-10 tankers (one under the Next Gen Contract and the second under the CWN contract).

I am not certain when the Evergreen 747 will be ready to be activated under the CWN contract, so I'm not yet linking her with an activation date.

The six remaining Next Gen Tankers still have to certified and should (hopefully) be flying fires sometime in August if not sooner. 

More information

Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation has covered the various national tanker contracts (Legacy, Next-Generation, and VLAT Call-When Needed) in some detail, you might want to check out his Fire Aviation site or his Wild Fire Today site. Mr. Gabbert has written a number articles going back to 2011, a good starting point is the article that he wrote on June 17, 2013.

Mike Archer of the Fire Publications Blog has reported on these contracts over the last year plus.

American Helicopter Services and Aerial Firefighting Association

Associatied Aerial Firefighters

Neptune Aviation looking for international contracts

In today's Firebomber Publications article, Mike Archer lead off with a press release from the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association announcing that Neptune Aviation is pursuing international contracts for their BAe-146 tankers.

The press release says in part:

According to Ronald Hooper, Chief Executive Officer of the Missoula, Montana-based company, Neptune Aviation Services submitted a formal bid last January to provide one BAe 146 to the Australian National Fire Agency. If the bid is successful, the tanker would be deployed to Australia to assist in firefighting activity, along with a pilot, copilot, two mechanics, and a corporate liaison who would function as the interface between the company and the fire agency. The contract, said Hooper, would coincide with the length of Australia’s fire season, which runs from November through January. 'We expect to find out in August or September, if our bid is successful,' he noted.

Hooper also reported that over the past few months, the company has fielded inquiries from the national firefighting agencies of Spain and Brazil.

More wildfires in Colorado

direct link to video and a news report from ABC7 News - The Denver Channel

Knowing that there are a number of large wildfires burning in Colorado, I went to ABC7 News - The Denver Channel to look at their coverage. As I write this, they have a "fire alert news page" with maps, videos, pictures, etc. of the wildfires currently burning in Colorado. I was especially intrigued by the video that I embedded because of an interesting interview with Craig Heule of the Rocky Mountain Management Team where Mr. Heule discusses some of the difficulties and attendant safety concerns with aerial attack on these fires.  Wildfire Today has been reporting on the Colorado Fires here. 

Finally, Paul Filmer (photographer - skippyscage) just wrote an article with some spectacular photos of aerial assets that worked some of the earlier June wildfires in Colorado. Paul's article may be found on Global Aviation Resource. He has some great photos of a SEAT, CH-47 and UH-60 helos and buckets, MAFFS, P-2V tankers, and a DC-10 tanker.

Reflections on a special flying boat, the Hawaii Mars (aka the Martin Mars)

Yesterday I saw an article from Canadian Skies reporting that this summer (2013) may be the last summer that Coulson's Martin Mars (known as the Hawaii Mars) may be on contract with the British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS). That is, it seems that this may the last summer that the Hawaii Mars is on what is known as a direct-award contract with the BCFS. Unfortunately, the Canadian Skies article is no longer available online (revised on Oct. 12, 2015) I found another article, this one from the Times Colonist (dated May 10, 2013) reporting that 2013 is the last summer that the Hawaii Mars will be awarded a direct-award contract from the BCFS. Finally, I found reference to another report this one from the Alberni Valley times (5/10/2013) Coulson's Martin Mars webpage, but was unable to access the Alberni Valley Times article. 

I don't wish to engage in speculation about the future of the Hawaii Mars, nor am I exactly in the position to have knowledge of how the BCFS contracts for aircraft used in wildland firefighting operations. I love the Hawaii Mars and you holds a special place in my heart. I have never seen you in person, I have a couple of videos showing you working fires at home. And I had the opportunity to watch a live stream of you firebombing run over Mt. Wilson on the Station Fire. The Mt. Wilson Observatory is a historic place that is near and dear to me, and Hawaii Mars you were but one of the aerial players working in support of the firefighters on the ground on the Station Fire. Together, all of you helped to save that special place. And other special places that I don't know about.

Hawaii Mars and crew, I love you. I know that all of you at Coulson who are a part of your team love you and take care of you to keep you in flying shape. You worked well on the wildfires in Mexico a year or so, I saw you in action in Mexico on Mighty Planes on cable. You have done good work in British Columbia in past years. And of course there is your work in the U.S.

I don't exactly know what to say. As I said, I won't engage in speculation. I want what is best for you and your crew.

Enjoy these two videos of the Martin Mars known as the Hawaii Mars doing what she does best. Allow about ten minutes to watch both videos.

Martin Mars taking off from Lake Elsinore in Southern CA (Nov 2007)

direct link to video on youtube from LakeElsinoreCAM

Martin Mars making drop on Mt. Wilson during aerial firebombing operations during the Station Fire, late Aug 2009 (Video is from ABC 7 in Los Angeles CA)

direct link to video on youtube

Revised on October 12, 2015

DC-10 tanker working Doce Fire (Prescott AZ)

CBS 5 - KPHO
direct link to video from KPHO-CBS5

A nice 4 minute video of one of the DC-10 tankers dropping on the Doce Fire (link to inciweb, may be slow loading) that is currently burning near Prescott Arizona. There is some very nice audio to go along with the video. Stay safe everyone!

T-06 taking off at KPRC (Prescott AZ)

direct link to video by MongoLikeCandy01

Gotta love the sound of those engines! :-) Perhaps going to drop on on the Doce Fire (link to inciweb, may be slow loading) currently burning near Prescott AZ?

Aerial Agricultural Operations

As some regular readers of this blog know, I got interested in aerial agricultural operations last year and with the help from my friends at Downstown Aero, I have begun to learn more about the world of aerial agricultural operations. Last year I subscribed to Ag Air Update, a publication of the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA). I encourage any of you who are interested in learning about agricultural aviation to check out either site. Ag Air Update has a weekly Ag Air e-mailed news update that I subscribed to a while back, if you are interested, you may subscribe on the Ag Air Update homepage.

I'll be writing about ag aviation from time to time, including but not limited to what my friends at Downstown Aero are up to. At present Downstown is in their busy spraying season, spraying blueberries and cranberries. Rains and winds have meant that they have to do catch up work in order to keep on track. I hope to go down to the Pine Barrens in the next week or so to get a first hand view of what they are doing and to get some pictures. 

You may recall that Downstown has a contract with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service to provide SEATs during the spring fire season. When Downstown's SEAT's are finished with the spring fire season, they are used for aerial spraying operations.

I learned about the two videos that I am embedding below from this weekly Ag News weekly news update. They are trailers for an Australian documentary on aerial agriculture called Seasons. There is some great footage of aerial agricultural operations that I thought you might enjoy. 

Watch this one first:

direct link to video

Then watch this video:

direct link to video

Reflections on following wildfires on the radio

I was out of town for a few days last week and away from easy access to the internet access. So, I lost the ease of access to the internet to follow news in the business of aerial wildland firefighting. However, I did have a radio. I believe it was last Wednesday when I first heard about the Black Forest Fire (north of Colorado Springs CO) on an hourly news report on National Public Radio. What did I know from these reports? I knew that there were many evacuations and some residences had been destroyed. I knew that there were fires burning in four states, including Colorado. As the week wore on, the number of residences destroyed increased and I knew that large numbers of people were under mandatory evacuation. 

Finally, on Friday evening I made a point to listen to a longer news show on NPR and heard a slightly longer report that explicitly referred to air tankers working the fire. By this time, I knew from news reports that there were two deaths and that large numbers of folk remained under mandatory evacuations.

However, while my first hand knowledge of this fire was limited I knew that the Black Forest Fire was a major fire with a large number of destroyed buildings and at least two deaths. I figured that airtankers and hells were working the fire, and it turns out that my suspicions were correct. I found my thoughts turning to all of the ground crews, tanker and help pilots and supporting crews who were working the fire. I knew that the deaths saddened all concerned. I knew that no ground or aerial wildland firefighter likes to lose houses. 

And while I was reliant, for the most part, on NPR for news, I thought back to the summer of 2008 when I was again away from the internet and reliant on NPR for news. I had finished writing in my blog about my trip to Malawi and was struggling a bit about what to write about next. I heard many news reports on NPR about a fire that was burring in southern California not far from where a couple of friends of mine lived. I started writing about that fire and about my process of learning about the world of wildland firefighting. A few months later, I began writing about aerial wildland firefighting. And here I am five years later. Only this time, when I heard reports about the Black Forest Fire, I had an idea based on what I was hearing on the radio, about what all of you wonderful ground and aerial wildland firefighters were doing. 

And just as important, even though the other wildfires that were then burning were not "named", I knew that there were other ground crews and other tankers and helos working other wildfires in other states.

Stay safe out there.

I am sharing a video that Mike Archer of the Fire Bomber Publications Blog shared last Thursday, June 13th. You will see some video of last Wednesday's (June 12) air attack operations on the Black Forest Fire. I'm not sure if the embed code works so you may not see the video below, if not here is a direct link to video and report from kdvr.

About the CL-415

Enjoy this video on how the CL-415 water scooping firebomber works.

 
direct link to video

On contract in California


direct link to video

About the C-130 MAFFS

There are eight Air National Guard/Air Force Reserve C-130s spread arose four military installations that can be equipped with a modular airborne fire fighting system (MAFFS). These C-130 MAFFS are used for aerial firefighting when all commercial air tankers are already committed or are not available. Up through June 7, 2013, I am not aware of any C-130 MAFFS that have been called up for aerial firefighting duty. You may download a fact sheet describing the MAFFS from this NIFC link (a MS Word docx file. The Air Force Reserve Command (302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, CO) has their own fact sheet describing the MAFFS that you may find here. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation wrote a very informative article on Ten Things to Know About MAFFS, I certainly learned something from his article.

The 302nd Airlift Wing provides two C-130s that can be equipped with MAFFS units. The remaining three military units providing two C-130s each are: the 153^rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne; the 145^th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, Charlotte; and the 146^th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, Port Hueneme.

Loading the modular airborne fire fighting system (MAFFS) onto an Air National Guard C-130

direct link to video

C-130 MAFFS in action

direct link to video

C-130 MAFFS in action

direct link to video

British Columbia Forest Service: History of Aviation

As promised, I am following up on the article I posted on June 7, 2013

where I shared a link to a video history of the British Columbia Forest Service (BCFS). Today I will share links to information about the history of aviation in the British Columiba Forest Service.

Over a year ago a friend from British Columbia and retired tanker pilot told me about a three-part history of aviation in the BCFS that is available from the folk at the BC Forest Service Centenary Society. I have read most of this three part history which is chock full of some really great photographs. Here is the three part history (links to pdf files):

• History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service: -- Part 1: Transport, Supply and Reconnaissance
• History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service: -- Part 2: Air Tanker Operations
• History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service: -- Part 3: Helicopters

I share another historical video from BCFS100ca from the mid 1980s on fire management techniques In British Columbia, called On the Fire Line. This is the description from the video's about page:

Date produced: 1986
Description: An historical look at wildfire management techniques and technology at use in the mid 1980s. A perspective following the devastating 1985 fire season.

The video shows all aspects of fighting wildfires in British Columbia in 1985 including but not limited  to how Conair's tankers helped slow the spread of the wildfire in support of the firefighters on the ground. When I say all aspects, I mean just that from deploying ground resources, to behind the scenes fire management, to aerial resources, to how wildfires are fought and contained. to the role of the public, to a discussion of large fires, and more. While historic in nature with some great footage of Conair's airtanker fleet from the mid 1980s (DC-6 and Firecats), the message is timely. The 30 minutes that you will spend watching the video is well worth it. 

History of the British Columbia Forest Service

As some of you know, I have been spending some time learning more about aerial firefighting in Canada. I have always been a bit of a history buff, so I like to spend some time learning more about the history of the provincial forest services in Canada and their history.

I have a couple of friends from British Columbia, so I have naturally been interested in learning more about British Columbia.

One of my friends turned me on to a website celebrating the 100th anniversary of the British Columbia Forest Service, the British Columbia Forest Service's Centenary (BCFS) Website. I have spent some time exploring their site, and could easily spend hours more on this site. One of my friends from western Canada told me that they had some videos, so I went to this page on the BCFS Centenary Website and found a link to a 26 minute video where I learned about the history of the BC Forest Service. Embedding has been disabled by the folk from BCFS Centenary. You can go to youtube and watch this video (1988?) -- A Proud Past: the 75th Anniversary of the BC Forest Service.

On Monday June 9, I'll share some information from the BCFS Centenary Website on the history of aerial firefighting in British Columbia, so stay tuned.

Updates: New Mexico wildfires and Powerhouse Fire (CA)

An update on the Thompson Ridge and Tres Lagunas Fires still burning in New Mexico.

NM wildfire update and fire forecast

The Thompson Ridge Fire is at 10 percent containment, having burned 14,430 acres. According to the latest news update on inciweb (June 7, 2013), three air tankers and four helicopters are available to provide to help the ground crews fight the fire. Meanwhile the Tres Lagunas Fire has burned 10,040 acres and is 34 percent contained. Seven helicopters are working the fire. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today wrote an article about these two fires today that you might want to check out for more information on the fires, some photos and maps.

Following up on the Powerhouse Fire (Southern CA), acreage burned has been downgraded to 30,274 acres. Current containment is at 84 percent. All evacuation orders have been lifted. A total of 24 residences were destroyed.

revised on June 7, 2013 at 8:50 PM EDT

Powerhouse Fire: Ground and Air Attack

direct link to video

Funny how things happen. I have spent some time the last couple of days looking for a short video showing tankers and helos working a fire AND firefighters on the ground for a project I am working on. I came upon the video I share above which has all the elements that I was looking for plus some fire footage. It is a tad long for the project in question. But that won't stop me from sharing this here. It is a great video by Firegroundaction, footage from day 3 (June 2) of the Powerhouse Fire. Allow a little under eight minutes to watch the video.

As I write this, the Powerhouse Fire has burned 32,032 acres and is at 70 percent containment.

DC-10 Tanker 911 to AZ and wildfires in New Mexico

Some of you may have already seen the video (below) from ABC15 in Phoenix Arizona that was previously reported by Michael Archer in today's Fire Publications Blog, or perhaps you saw this same video on Bill Gabbert's Fire Aviation Site. I thought that some of you who have not seen this video might be interested. Tanker 911 (DC-10 tanker) left California yesterday where she had worked the Powerhouse Fire (65% contained, burned 32,032 acres) for Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona where she was deployed to work on the Thompson Ridge Fire in New Mexico. She carries 11,600 gallons of retardant.

direct link to video and news report

Fires currently burning in New Mexico include the Tres Lagunas Fire (15% containment, 9,000 acres burned and the Thompson Ridge Fire (5 % containment; 9.394 acres burned. The Los Alamos Daily Post has an article (dated 6/4/13) and some photos of the Thompson Ridge Fire that may be found here. Here is a report from the Los Alamos Monitor (updated on June 5 with videos of news conferences about the fire) on the Thompson Ridge Fire and T-911's work on that fire.

Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation reports on more details on T-911's arrival at Phoenix, her work on the Powerhouse Fire in CA and her work on the Thompson Ridge Fire here, thanks for your reporting Bill. Thanks to Michael Archer's Fire Publications Blog for leading me to some of the articles about the fires in New Mexico.

NASA has posted a satellite image of the Tres Lagunas and the Thompson Ridge Fires that may be found here.

T-11, I will not forget you

I want to pause and remember T-11 and her crew who crashed on June 3, 2012 while working the White Rock Fire near Hamblin Valley Utah. There were no survivors

Pilot: Todd Neal Tompkins
Co-Pilot: Ron Edwin Chambless

I will never forget you. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. I know that you are flying in favorable tail winds.

Edited on October 24, 2017, I had originally shared a CNN video report where T-11 was one of the tankers making a drop. This was meant to be a tribute to T-11 and her crew. Gone but not forgotten. May you continue to flew in favorable tail winds.

I offer my loving intentions to Ron and Todd's family, their colleagues, and all who loved them.

Powerhouse Fire (Southern CA) - update #4

I've been spending a lot of time continuing to look around to find footage of tankers and helos working the Powerhouse Fire for you. Earlier today I was reading about the Powerhouse Fire somewhere on the internet and saw a reference to a nice video of T-911, one of the DC-10 tankers, dropping on the Powerhouse Fire. So, I went on some TV news sites from Los Angeles and found this video with some footage of T-911 from KABC in Los Angeles (from a late night broadcast on Sunday June 2).

I've been having some trouble with the embed code from KABC, it works in chrome and safari on my Mac but not in firefox. The direct link worked at the time I posted this article.

direct link to video and associated report

According to the latest inciweb update for this fire (this page is updated periodically so you may find different information) the fire has burned 29,584 acres and is at 40% containment.

Southern California Public Radio (89.3 KPPC) has a couple of nice pages of photos, from a report on Sunday, June 2 and more photos from their most recent report earlier today (Monday, June 3). Last night I watched about 30 to 45 minutes of live stream from a news helo over the Powerhouse Fire. Some of the tankers were a little hard to identify with certainty because of the distance, but I think I saw some of CAL FIRE's S-2T tankers. I took the photo below last year when I visited Ramona AAB

CAL FIRE S2-T, T-70 at Ramona AAB

And I did see a really nice close-up of one of Neptune Aviation's  P2-V airtankers. I believe it was  T-07, but even if I got the wrong tanker it was one of Neptunes P2-V's.

I wrote earlier articles on the Powerhouse Fire on

Friday, May 31
Sunday, June 2 (12:50 PM EDT)
Sunday, June 2 (6 PM EDT)  {videos include some footage of tankers and helos working the fire}

Powerhouse Fire (Southern CA): update #3

Some footage of the Powerhouse Fire. You will see T-41 and a helo (working at night) in the first video. In the second video (from KABC), you will see one of the destroyed houses, a Sikorsky S-64 making a drop and some aerial footage from a news helo. Containment is now at 20% with 19,500 acres burned, see the latest report from Inciweb.




direct link to video

Powerhouse Fire (Southern CA) - update #2

I just accessed a report on the Powerhouse Fire from Inciweb, reporting that the fire has burned 19,500 acres in steep terrain with 20 percent containment. Inciweb also reports that eight airtankers including one of the DC-10 tankers and eight helicopters have been working the fire. Evacuations have been ordered and an evacuation center has been set up.

I believe that the video embedded below from KCBS is dated late Saturday night, June 1 and the details reported may have changed. I include it because they had some nice footage of the fire.

direct link to video from CBS Los Angeles

LA Times article on Powerhouse Fire (June 2 at 8:53 AM PDT)

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today continues to provide updates on the Power House Fire here. I had heard on my local radio this morning that some structures have been destroyed by the Power House Fire. Thanks to Bill's reporting, I found a link to a story from KABC in Los Angeles reporting on that some structures have been lost, the story may be found here and KABC has a photo gallery of the fire.