Rest in Peace Tanker 42 and crew

I want to pause for a moment to reflect on those we lost on Saturday, April 25 in a crash near Stockton, Utah. Tanker 42, a P2V owned by Neptune Aviation and on route from Montana to New Mexico to help fight a wildfire. Three crew members died in the crash:

Crew
Tom Risk, 66, of Littleton, Colo., Pilot
Mike Flynn, 59, of Alamogordo, N. M., Co-pilot
Brian Buss, 32, of Alberton, Mont., crew cheif

Tanker 42
Lockheed P2V, owned by Neptune Aviation
tail number: 42
serial number: 150283
registration number: N442NA

A picture oftanker 42 may be found on Neptune Aviation's homepage. A video of tanker 42 in action on April 22, 2009 at the O"Brien Creek Fire in Montana may be found here. If you are so inclined, take a moment to read the comments.

Neptune Aviation has a tribute page for tanker 42 that may be found here.

I am saddened to be writing another memorial to a fallen air tanker and her crew. I did not know Tom, Mike and Brian nor did I know tanker 42. Yet, I feel like I knew you through my writing about air tankers. I cried for you as I cried for tanker 09, and I know that you are flying in favorable tail winds.

For my tanker pilot friends, stay safe out there.

My thoughts, prayers and reflections are with the family, friends, Neptune Aviation, Tanker pilots and crew, fire fighters and all those who love Tom, Mike, and Brian.

CDF S-2A

The photo is a picture that TL Stein’s Dad (TW Stein) took of the first S-2 that CDF (predecessor agency to CAL FIRE) took delivery of in February 1972. He says:

My father took this photo within an hour of it arriving from the AMARC facility. As pictured, the original fleet of S-2’s served with VT-27 “Boomers” training squadron out of Corpus Christi, Texas. One thing I remember vividly, is that one of the aircraft ferried in that morning still had a practice torpedo in the bomb bay.

I love knowing something about the history of the aircrafts that I am writing about, that there was a life before it was upgraded and retrofitted to work as an air tanker. History makes things come alive, again and again.

There are two short YouTube videos of a CAL FIRE S-2A here and here.

S-2T: history and specs

In the mid 1970’s CAL Fire’s fleet of air tankers were growing old and needed to be retired. These aging air tankers were replaced by newer Grumman S-2A aircraft (sometimes referred to as the S2-F1) beginning in 1975. These aircraft were used from the from the mid-1950s to the mid to late 1970s by the U.S. Navy for surveillance. The S-2A’s used by CAL FIRE were modified for use as civilian air tankers. The last of CAL FIRE’s S-2A air tankers was retired in 2005.

For a short history of the military service of the aircraft that is also known as the Grumman S2-F, the S-2 Tracker Museum has a webpage on it’s history. When you get to the home page, click on the “history” link at the top of the page.

By the mid-1990’s the fleet of S-2A’s had been in service for about 20 years, CAL FIRE began to prepare to retire the S-2A fleet. A decision was made to replace the S-2A’s with what CAL FIRE calls model S-2E/G series aircraft. Without getting into the complexities of changing model numbers over time, let’s just say that these were later variations of the Grumman S2-F aircraft. CAL FIRE acquired at least 23 S-2E/G aircraft from the Department of Defense. Marsh Aviation made extensive modifications to the S-2E/G aircraft including: adding a 1,200 gallon constant flow retardant tank, new turboprop engines, new avionics, and new electronics. CAL FIRE has 23 of these air tankers that they call S-2T’s. By 2005 the last three S-2T air tankers were delivered. Twenty-two are stationed around the state at CAL FIRE air attack bases and one is used for maintenance relief. CAL FIRE has a fact sheet on the S-2T air tanker that may be found here. The CAL FIRE Pilots Association has a nice map of CAL FIRE’s air attack bases that includes links for more information on each base, it may be found at this location.

Specifications of the S-2T:

length (ft): 65
wing span (ft): 73
turn radius (ft): 45
cruise speed (knots): 250
gross weight (lbs): 29,200
range loaded (st. miles): 1,500
contract operating weight (lbs): 29,200
retardant load (gallons): 1,200

NJ: Follow-up on Red Flag warning

Section B-10 of the NJ Forest Fire Service updates their website frequently with brief notes about fire activity. I just checked their website to see what kind of fire activity is/was going on in NJ today. They wrote about three fires in Division B (central NJ).

1. Barnegat/Stafford border off of Rte. 72 (Section B-4, Ocean County), fire of 1.75 acres. The Air Tractor 602 (Bravo 1) made three drops on the fire. At the time I logged on the the B-10 website, they reported that "at 6PM, sounds contained." There is a short news report with a link to a video here.

2. Jackson (Section B-9, Ocean County), an Ag-Cat (Bravo 3) made one drop on the fire. At approximately 5PM, the fire is under control. Acreage unknown.

3. Multiple fires along railroad tracks in Middlesex County, from Monroe to South Brunswick.

I expect that there were other fires that I don't know about.

Nice work NJ Forest Fire Service. Stay Safe.

Revised April 29, 2009

NJ Fire Season update

Section B-10 of the NJ Forest Fire Service updates their website frequently with brief notes about fire activity. Reporting on yesterday's activity:

1. an early morning fire on April 27 of unknown size in the central portion of the State (Section B-5).

2. Two fires of about one-half each, one in the northern part of the state (Section A4, West Milford) and the second in the central part (Section B-6, Pemberton) of the state. one or both with air support.

3. light to moderate initial attack activity continued state-wide for the third day in a row on April 27.

NJ Statewide fire statistics:

YTD through April 19, 421 fires burning 869 acres.
YTD through April 26, 465 fires burning 897.5 acres.

Regarding today's red flag warning, if I hear of any fire activity today, which I may not, I'll post it here.

NJ, DE, PA: Red Flag Warning

Red Flag Warning
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1034 AM EDT TUE APR 28 2009

DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-
055-060>062-067>071-290000-
/O.NEW.KPHI.FW.W.0003.090428T1600Z-090429T0000Z/
NEW CASTLE-KENT-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-KENT MD-
QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-
SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-
GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-
ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-
COASTAL OCEAN-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-
NORTHAMPTON-CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA-
1034 AM EDT TUE APR 28 2009

..RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING.

TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RISE INTO THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S
THIS AFTERNOON WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITIES EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE
MID 20S. WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED AT AROUND 15 MPH, WITH
GUSTS OF 20 MPH OR HIGHER ARE EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THIS AFTERNOON.

WITH 10 HOUR FUEL MOISTURES LESS THAN 10 PERCENT AND THE CONTINUED
DRY CONDITIONS, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A RED
FLAG WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING.

A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE REGION LATE TONIGHT,
REDUCING THE THREAT FOR FIRES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL

C-130 MAFFS II: 2nd generation MAFFS

Aero Union, under contract with the USDA Forest Service has developed a new, 2nd general MAFFS unit. Called the Airborne Fire Fighting System (AFFS) by the contractor, these eight new units will be referred to as MAFFS-2 after the units have been delivered and are operational, military and Forest Services documents will refer to them as MAFFS2. Two of the new MAFFS2 units were tested in California in 2007, see this Aero Union press release.

Unlike the 1st generation MAFFS units that could only be used on C-130’s E and H models equipped with the US Air Force 463L cargo handling system, MAFFS-2 units can be used on C-130 models E, H, and J without special modification, i.e. no cargo handling systems required. This means that the military has more flexibility in assigning C-130’s for MAFFS duty.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported on January 28, 2009 that the Forest Service has accepted delivery of two new MAFFS units for operation by the Air National Guard (ANG) of Port Hueneme, CA. The ANG has begun training with these units.

The discharge tube of the MAFFS-2 fits through a port in the side “paratrooper” door of the C-130 allowing all doors to be closed and the cabin pressurized. This also makes for a cleaner aircraft inside and out. And the loadmaster does not have a uniform covered with the red goo.

There are three more important upgrades in the MAFFS-2 unit: (1) one retardant tank instead of five, (2) on board air compressor to recharge the pressurized tank, and (3) the tank holds 3,400 gallons of retardant. Like the 1st generation MAFFS, the MAFFS-2 is loaded onto the C-130 through the rear cargo door, and the module includes the loadmaster’s station.

For a short video of a C-130 MAFFS-2, go here. Windows media player is required to view this video, or if you have a Mac you will need a plug-in or media player that will allow you to play windows media files.

There is a nice, easy to follow presentation on the MAFFS-2 unit see this pdf file. I have tried to provide the salient details of the MAFFS-2 unit here, you may want to take a look at this file to learn more about the MAFFS-2.

For those of you who may prefer not to download the pdf file, the Forest Service has a MAFFS-2 webpage that includes several captioned pictures from the pdf file as well as a link to a short video of a MAFFS-2 equipped C-130 making a practice drop (this is the video I referred you to earlier), and a power point version of the pdf file.

New Jersey Fire Season update

The Mt. Holly Office of the National Weather Service provided this fire weather forcast for today, Sunday April 25:

REMARKS...RELATIVE HUMIDITIES LOWERING TO 25 TO 30 PERCENT IN THE AFTERNOON, WINDS GUSTING AT TIMES TO NEAR 20 MILES AN HOUR ESPECIALLY MONDAY, AND LOW FUEL MOISTURE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ENHANCED FIRE SPREAD CONDITIONS TODAY AND MONDAY.

The website maintained by Section B-10 of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported light to moderate initial attack activity for Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26.

I got year to date wildfire numbers from the NJ Forest Fire Service last Monday. Year-to-date through April 19, 2009: 421 wildfires burning 869 acres.

C-130 MAFFS: more information

I was working on my next and final article on the C-130 MAFFS program when I found a nice short article by the National Park Service on the MAFFS program, it may be found here.

Finally, as I was wondering around you tube a little while ago, I found two videos (parts 1 and 2) of the role of MAFFS's in providing aerial support for the 2008 wildfires in California. This was the first time in twenty years that all eight MAFFS outfitted C-130's were deployed to California.

part 1loading, pre-flight, and take-off.

part 2, cockpit shots and shot from rear of a drop.

Tomorrow I will be writing about the 2nd generation MAFFS unit.

Lockheed P2V crash

Another Lockheed P2V Neptune crashed this afternoon in the Oquirrh Mountains between Stockton and Tooele, Toole County, Utah. It was on route from Missoula, Montana to Almogordo, NM when it crashed. All three crew members died in the crash. While I have seen media reports where the names of the deceased are identified, I am going to hold off on the names for awhile out of respect for the families.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, and colleagues of the crew members.

May you fly in favorable tail winds...

C-130 MAFFS: retardant drop

The loadmaster, who sits at the loadmaster station on the MAFFS module in the cargo area in the back of the tanker works with the co-pilot in making the drop. You may recall from my earlier post, that the retardant flows through two discharge tubes that stick out the rear cargo doors of the aircraft. This means that cargo doors are left open and the load master wears a safety harness tethered to the rear of the plane. When it comes time to make the drop, the loadmaster monitors and then arms the system using the master control panel at the loadmaster station. It is the co-pilot, sitting in the cockpit, who pushes “the button” to drop the load.

The C-130 MAFFS works with what is known as a lead plane in making the drop. The lead plane flies as close as 1,000 feet in front of the tanker showing the path and height that the tanker will fly in making the drop. There is a nice article an the CAL FIRE MAFFS webpage about the role of lead planes in MAFFS missions. The article is called “exactly who is leading this mission”, it may be found here. Both civilian air tanker and military MAFFS pilots train with a lead plane every year.

To see a short you tube video on a C-130 MAFFS working with a lead plane go here.

C-130 MAFFS: activation

I believe that there are a total of four reserve/national guard bases, each with two C-130’s capable of being fitted with the MAFFS unit. This makes a total of eight C-130 MAFFS. One base is in North Carolina, and three are are out west. with California, Wyoming, and Colorado having one base each.

Before one or more C-130 MAFFS units are activated for wildfire fighting duty, the request has to go through a certain chain of command, so to speak. The incident commander in charge of a fire contacts his or her superior (department head) requesting type 1 air tankers (type 1 air tankers are the class of air tankers capable of dropping 3,000 gallons of retardant. The department head approves the request for type 1 air tankers and forwards the request to the state or regional forester. If the fire is on either privately owned land or State owned land than the request goes through the state forester. If, on the other hand, the fire is on land under federal control, then the request goes through the regional forester. The state or regional forester approves the request and passes it on to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

The NIFC is responsible for deciding what civilian contracted air tankers to send to the fire. If no civilian air tankers under national contract are available in the region the NIFC will look to see if any civilian air tankers under nationwide contract are available. If all are committed to fires or otherwise unavailable, the NIFC then goes through military channels to contact the U.S. Air Force to request C-130 MAFFS air tankers.

Once the request is approved at the appropriate military level, the closest reserve unit with MAFFS capabilities is order to mobilize and sent to the fire.

C-130 history

I was going through my C-130 data a few minutes ago and found a nice write-up on the history of the C-130 here.

Coming up: more MAFFS and S-2 (CAL Fire)

I thought it might be helpful to some of you to know what I plan to write about next.

I have two more posts planned on the MAFFS: (1) activation, lead planes, and drops; and (2) the new MAFFS II unit.

I will then move on to CAL FIRE's S-2 in a series of what I hope will be five posts:

1. specs, history, location CAL FIRE Air Attack Bases
2. S-2's in action
3. pictures (hopefully)
4. end of season maintenance

NJ Forest Fire Service: aircraft photos

Section B-10 of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service maintains a photo page of NJFFS aircraft that may be found here.

I want to draw your attention to some new photos of one of their contract AgCats (a SEAT) and the new Air Tractor-602, and a very nice photo at the bottom of the page of an AgCat working a fire in the NJ Pine Barrens.

There are also photos of their air attack bases, observation helicopters, more AgCats, etc.

C-130 MAFFS: MAFFS unit

The MAFFS unit was developed for Lockheed C-130 Hercules models E and H equipped with what is known as the US Air Force 463L cargo handling system.

The module, weighing 11,000 pounds, has:

1. five retardant tanks and one compressed air pressurized tank (1,200 psi)
2. loadmaster seat -- works the master control panel for the retardant drop
3. master control panel
4. two discharge tubes
5. electric power to the module is supplied by the aircraft or a 24 volt battery on the control panel

For more information, see this article about the MAFFS program on the USFS website and this wikipedia article. A photo of a C-130 MAFFS may be found here.

The five tanks hold 3,000 gallons of retardant that can be discharged in eight seconds. There is a nice video on you tube showing scenes from the rear of the aircraft as a drop is being made, as well as reloading retardant at the AAB, that may be found here. Reload time is eight minutes.

The pressurized tank on the module is recharged at the Air Attack Base (AAB) by means of a special air compressor module that remains at the base. I believe that every base has an industrial sized air compressor. Once fitted with the right fittings, the compressor can be used to recharge the compressed air tank on the C-130. Under this scenario, the air compressor does not have to travel with the C-130.

Twenty-four hours are required to outfit the C-130 with the MAFFS as well as pulling together the required support systems including the military pilots, some ground crew, supplies and equipment. To get an idea of how the MAFFS unit is loaded onto the aircraft see this you tube video. Base personnel at the host AAB will augment the military ground crew that arrives with the C-130.

The two discharge valves extend out the rear door of the aircraft. This means that once the MAFFS unit is set up that the rear cargo doors are left open during the entire mission, which could last two or more weeks. In an emergency, the crew may need to dump the retardant as a safety measure. The loadmaster wears a safety harness teathered to the aircraft to prevent a fall outside the rear of the plane. The plane is flying at a low enough altitude during the drop so that supplemental oxygen is not required.

New Jersey: update on fire season

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

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

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

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

C-130 MAFFS: history and specs

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

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

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

Update on "Jersey Devil" Fire

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

Nice work NJFFS and Atlantic County Volunteer Fire Departments!

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

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

Will get back to multi-engine air tankers

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