Cal Fire C-130s

Here’s more from Ryan Grothe:


Last week I was up in Sacramento attending the Aerial Firefighting Conference, and I took a tour of Cal Fire aviation headquarters at McClellan Airtanker Base. The main topic of discussion was the C-130 tankers, and here is an update.

According to Cal Fire officials, One of the C-130s should be ready to go sometime this year, and the first one will be based at McClellan. The other six C-130s will be tanked soon. Fresno and Ramona have been confirmed for C-130s.

Cal Fire's new C-130s
Cal Fire’s new C-130s at McClellan — photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Cal Fire’s new C-130s at McClellan — photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Cal Fire’s new C-130s at McClellan — photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Cal Fire C-130s
Cal Fire’s new C-130s at McClellan — photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Cal Fire’s new C-130s at McClellan — photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe

And here’s a note Bill Gabbert wrote two years ago:

C-130s Bill Gabbert
AND the editorial Gabbert wrote a year before that:  Congress should hold hearing on C-130s 

 

 

Aerial Firefighting Conference at McClellan

We weren’t able to attend the Aerial Firefighting Conference at Sacramento last week, but Ryan Grothe was there, and he sent us some notes and photos.



Britt Coulson
This photo of Britt Coulson with one of the company’s Black Hawks was taken five years ago by Bill Gabbert when the two of them met up at HAI Heli-Expo in 2019.

Coulson Aviation president Britt Coulson spoke at the event; he said this summer Coulson plans to take delivery of a 737-700 series aircraft from Southwest Airlines.

The 737 will have multiple cabin configurations, including head of state, business class, and standard seating. Leveraging off the already successful 737-300 platform, the prototype 737-700 will begin its modification this summer  with an expected certification date by the end of 2025.

This will be the first 5000-gallon Large Air Tanker ( LAT ) to enter service. It will be equipped with the RADS-XXL tanking system.

The RADS – XXL systems have also been selected for the tanking of the CAL FIRE C-130s. Coulson has also added more C-130s to its fleet, along with two Citation 500 aircraft for intel and lead operations and a Bombardier Challenger.

The California National Guard operates aerial firefighting helicopters that can be activated from 5 bases:

      • Los Alamitos: UH-60 Black Hawks
      • Fresno: CH-47 Chinooks / UH-60M Black Hawks.
      • Stockton: Uh-60M Black Hawks / UH72A Lakotas
      • Mather: UH-60M Black Hawks
      • Moffett: HH-60G Pave Hawks

 ~ Ryan Grothe

Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe
Aerial Fire Conference McClellan. Photo ©2024 Ryan Grothe

Uncovered documents reveal first USFS airtanker trials for eastern wildland firefighting

A group of foresters, district rangers, and air operators assembled in Atlanta during the summer of 1962. There they laid the groundwork for the Appalachian Airtanker Project, which helped pave the way for the service to be the most frequent user of airtankers in the country.

The history of airtanker wildland firefighting in the Eastern United States has largely been lost to time, with most documents focusing on Western wildland fires. The first time an airtanker was used to fight wildfires is attributed to California’s Willows Flying Service at the request of the Mendocino National Forest’s FCO in 1955. Four years later, the California Division of Forestry would produce the first in-depth study on the efficacy of airtankers on forest fires. The study found airtanker effectiveness depended on fast dispatching action, reaching the fire while it was small, and good communication between ground and air forces.

Apart from a single-sentence mention of the Appalachian Airtanker Project on the NPS Wildland Fire Timeline, there is no mention of the project online. The only related documents that remain are newspaper clippings and letters found in the Cherokee National Forest and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park’s archives.

“This year, the Park Service and the Forest Service have a weapon new to this area — a firefighting airplane,” a 1962 archived clipping from the Knoxville News-Sentinel said. “The value of air attack on forest fires has been proved in the West. This spring, the U.S. Forest Service is conducting tests in this area.”

The project was the first use of airtankers for fire suppression in the nation’s Eastern states, according to USFS documents.

1966 TBM on the Beaverhead National ForestThe project was created to lay the groundwork and study the feasibility of using a converted Navy TBM in fighting wildfires in the Appalachian mountain area.

The plane was based out of the McGhee-Tyson Air Force Base in Knoxville and cost $159 per flying hour, a pilot’s salary of $4.07 per hour, and around $50 per load of retardant. The project was managed by a fire control aide and regional air officer, and was staffed by a pilot and two laborers who were tasked with mixing and loading the retardants.

Specific guidelines were required to be met for every retardant drop. The TBM could not be used on the head of a hot, rolling brush or timber fire, or when winds exceeded 30 mph, or when visibility was less than one mile. Initial attack was authorized for fires that would cost over $700 to suppress or mop up without airtanker usage or in heavy-fuel fires with a medium to high rate of spread.

TBM airtanker photo © Bill Gabbert
TBM airtanker photo © Bill Gabbert

The project began on January 25, 1962 and continued through May 17 of the same year. Within that window, the Chestnut Ridge Fire ignited and burned in an extremely inaccessible area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Airtanker usage was credited for stopping the fire at only a third of its potential burned acreage. Park Superintendent Fred Overly would use the fire as a specific example for the project’s continuation and future airtanker usage in the Eastern U.S.

“Having seen what the airtanker can do in reducing burned areas to a minimum, we consider the continuation of this project amply justified,” Overly said in a letter to USFS Southern Region Fire Control Chief John Spring. “Without the three extremely effective drops made by Pilot Art Murray, this fire which finally burned 71.5 acres would most likely have burned 200 or more acres. The fire was contained very well by the air drops, and the use of the tanker was well justified.”

A number of related documents on the Appalachian Airtanker Project are posted on our DOCUMENTS page, and for a look at related studies in California, check out the 1959 Fighting Forest Fires with Airtankers report by H.P.Reinecker and C.B.Phillips  Heads up — that one is a 154-page 109MB PDF file.

NOTE: for a serious treasure trove of TBM and other aircraft of this vintage, check out Geoff Goodall’s aviation site.

The 1986 CELEBRATION: the 50th Anniversary of the DC-3

These images were all shot at Abbotsford Airport in British Columbia during the Celebration Flight of the 50th Anniversary of the DC-3 over the Expo Canada grounds in Vancouver, B.C. in the summer of 1986.
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey took almost all of these photos except for a couple that were captured by a friend of his.

NOTE:  These are just the first few of the photos;
he sent a boatload of images. Stay tuned for more!

“I was working for the Museum of Flight in Seattle,” says Bailey, “and I used a few friends’ contacts to get ride passes for my best friend and  ‘Brother from another Mother’ W.R. (Bill) Downing and his son Garrett. The three of us were assigned to N3FY owned by Salair, along with a couple other airplanes in the group.”
There were 23 planes involved, says Bailey. “There were supposed to be 24, but the last one (another Salair airplane) was held up waiting for freight; it is shown making a flyby among the last few images after we had landed. There is also the Canadian aircraft ‘Odyssey 86’ that was heading out on the start of a successful around-the-world flight.”
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
“After we were driven out to the flight line from the terminal area we had some time to wander about and shoot photos of the various airplanes before an assembly call to mount up on our assigned airplanes. After start-up and then sitting for a few minutes, we waddled out in line and took off in a line astern formation with a 30-second separation. They had applied for a formation flight weeks before, but Transport Canada said NO WAY!
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
We could barely see each other in the cloudy/foggy sky. After takeoff we flew around for a few minutes to get everybody in line and then headed over to the EXPO site and did the flyover, then from there it was over Vancouver Island, then a left turn to the San Juan Islands and descend to minimum altitude and we buzzed Ernie Gann’s house. I couldn’t see him, but the guys in the cockpit could and they said he was jumping up and down and waving like crazy.”
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey
DC-3 anniversary photo by Bill Bailey

“From there another left turn over to Bellingham, then inland and another left to head north back to Abbotsford. After landing it was all grins, backslapping, and ‘Man, that was fun, let’s do it again,’ until it started to rain, so then the party was over. Most of us got soaked getting back to the terminal area since our transportation was the same as it had been going out — in the back of an open pickup truck.”


This post and photos are from Bill Bailey, who describes himself as a “hardcore certified airplane nut.” He says his specialty is seaplanes and flying boats, “but if it has wings, I’m interested. My computer/backup hard drives have over 500,000 images of aircraft including firebombers. My dad was a pilot starting in the early 1930s, building time, flying for a number of small outfits, and he got his seaplane rating in a Gulf Oil Co. Grumman Goose in 1939. On December 1, 1941 he started flying for Pan American Airways during WWII as an instructor training Army and Navy pilots on flying boats in the Sikorsky S-40s and S-42s and then later he switched over to the DC-3 / C-47, still training military pilots — and later still the DC-4 as a Check Airman for PAA, giving check rides to PAA line pilots. Before PAA he had been a corporate pilot with a company in New Orleans, and after leaving PAA in January 1949, he returned to the same company  and started flying Grumman Widgeons, which is where I got my interest in them. I’m now known as ‘Mr. Widgeon,’ a handle my wife first gave me when I was looking for my first email name, but has since grown to be a lot more.”

“I have a pretty large collection of Widgeon images, over 220 of the 317 Grumman and SCAN-30 (a French-built Widgeon) airframes. I have ridden on over 14 different Widgeons, flown eight of those, and helped rebuild two of them. I also helped two authors with their books with Widgeon information. I’ve ridden in all of the other Grumman Amphibians except the Duck (Goose, Mallard and Albatross), so if anyone has a Duck and gets near the Twin Falls, Idaho area, please let me know — I’d like to check that last box!”

Thanks ever so much to Bill Bailey for the photos and history!! 

 

New Bells in southern California

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department this week acquired Bell 412EPX helicopters, adding to their airborne resources for emergency response.  Three SUBARU Bell 412EPX helicopters were delivered, two to San Bernardino County and one to San Diego.

The Bell 412EPX has an internal weight of 12,200 lbs., external weight of 13,000 lbs., and the ability to carry 5,000 lbs. with its cargo hook.

In San Diego, the Sheriff’s aviation unit, Aerial Support to Regional Enforcement Agencies (ASTREA), completes nearly 6,000 public safety missions each year with its all-Bell fleet of emergency response helicopters, including four Bell 407GXis, three Bell 205s, and its newest addition of a SUBARU Bell 412EPX. ASTREA plans to use its new ship in conjunction with Cal Fire responding to wildfires in the region.

“We are working hard to have crews trained and ready for the upcoming fire season,” said Deputy Gary Kneeshaw, a pilot with San Diego County. “We have found the SUBARU Bell 412 EPX to be a very capable aircraft that is delivering on its promises.”

San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States — over 20,000 square miles — and its Sheriff’s Department will use its two Bell 412EPX helicopters for law enforcement and emergency response including wildfires and search-and-rescue ops. Over 50 years ago, the Sheriff’s Aviation Unit began operations with two Bell 47Gs; the fleet now includes  17 aircraft.

“Our Air Rescue program is a critical component to providing safety to the residents of San Bernardino County,” said Lieutenant Brian Chambers with the Sheriff’s Department.

San Diego Sheriff Bell 412EPX photo by Lloyd Horgan
San Diego Sheriff Bell 412EPX photo by Lloyd Horgan

The “Red Tails” Tuskegee Airmen

Famously known as the Red Tails, the first Black military pilots in the U.S. first flew  over the skies of Tuskegee, Alabama when U.S. military officials selected the Tuskegee Institute to train pilots, in part because of its commitment to aeronautical training. Tuskegee in the early 1940s had the facilities, the engineering and technical instructors, and a climate at the time for year-round flying for flight training.

The first Civilian Pilot Training Program students completed instruction in May of 1940 — and the Tuskegee Airmen were initiated into the U.S. Armed Forces on February 19, 1942.

The program soon expanded into the center for Black aviators during World War II, and the Tuskegee Airmen quickly overcame their barriers of segregation and prejudice, conclusively proving themselves as a highly respected fighter group of World War II.
The “Tuskegee Airmen” name applies to not just the pilots but also the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses — and even the cooks and other support personnel. Despite the fantastical myths, the outstanding performance and professionalism of the 15,000+ men and women who shared the “Tuskegee Experience” from 1942 to 1946  are documented and commemorated at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama.
There’s a list online from Tuskegee University of over 1000 pilot graduates [HERE], preserving a little-known but renowned chapter of fire aviation history in the country.
Below:  Members of the 332nd Fighter Group, Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945 photo by Toni Frissell
Tuskegee Airmen
Image: Members of the 332nd Fighter Group attending a briefing in Ramitelli, Italy, March, 1945 (Frissell, Toni, photographer), LOC
More from the NPS here: nps.gov/tuai/learn/historyculture/

South Carolina National Guard helps out with Colombia fires

The South Carolina National Guard is providing assistance to Colombia, its State Partnership Program partner, as it faces dozens of wildfires. With as many as 30 active fires in and around Bogota in late January, the SC  National Guard has loaned Colombia multiple helicopter buckets, according to a report by Vertical Magazine.

“We are sorry our friends and state partners are experiencing significant fires this year impacting cities like Bogota,” said Maj. Gen. Van McCarty, adjutant general for the state. “The South Carolina National Guard stands committed to assist Colombia with helicopter buckets, which are an invaluable fire-retardant tool.”

South Carolina National Guard photo
South Carolina National Guard photo

The buckets on loan to the Republic of Colombia carry 700 gallons. The  partnership between the South Carolina National Guard and Colombia began in 2012. South Carolina ANG Lt. Col. Daniel Linkroum directs the state partnership program with Colombia.

“It was satisfying to get a call to support an immediate need and be able to respond with resources in short order,” he said. “It reaffirms the South Carolina National Guard’s commitment to our partner nation.”

South Carolina National Guard This effort has been years in the making, supported and sourced by the Civil Affairs and Humanitarian Assistance Directorate at U.S. Southern Command.

The Department of Defense State Partnership Program is a cooperative military-to-military exchange administered by the National Guard Bureau. It enables cooperation between U.S. National Guard units and foreign allies. The national program began in 1993 and has grown to include 100 different countries.

Colombia

 

More on ED’s AIRPARK from Mike and Iain!

MORE FROM IAIN: 
…..   “The P-2 was in Marana, Pinal Air Park and the other two at Gila River Memorial.”
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie

Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie

… and a bonus chart from Mike:

You’ll like this. I found this 1979 Sectional Aeronautical Chart. The current Sectional charts don’t show Ed’s Airpark and haven’t for over 25 years or so. In fact, they don’t show anything where Ed’s used to be, northwest of Picacho Army Heliport. However, on this 1979 chart excerpt, you can see the “X” of a closed airfield where Picacho Heliport is now, and just west of it is  Ed’s Airpark, with an elevation of 1644 feet, a longest runway length of 5100 feet, and the field frequency of 122.8. Who knew that some random middle-of-nowhere dirt strip airfield in Arizona, would become a big hit 34 years later?

Ed's Airpark
On this 1979 chart excerpt, you can see the “X” of a closed airfield where Picacho Heliport is now, and just west of it, Ed’s Airpark; click to embiggen.   ~image courtesy Mike Daftarian
A few more 1990 images from Iain … the two C-54s were at Avra Valley and the other two were at Gila River Memorial. I am sure I went into a compound at Mesa Falcon Field and shot more Hudsons but I can’t find the slides. I’m missing some from Davis Monthan and also LUKE AFB that I definitely remember having. I hope i will find them in a box in the future!
T-105
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Iain Mackenzie airtanker photos
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie
Desert airtanker photos in Arizona, ©1990 Iain Mackenzie

 

and more from Iain,