(Updated October 4, 2018)
We are catching up on some photos sent in by our readers. The image above is by Austin Catlin — an Avro RJ85 working on a fire in Eastern Idaho.
Below are shots of DC-10s at Sacramento McClellan Airport by Sergio Mara.
Thanks guys!
Earlier this week a family wanted to thank a helicopter pilot who was helping to suppress the Black Mountain Fire in Colorado by dropping water. There was apparently no way they could make a billboard-sized sign, so they arranged their bodies, spelling out “THANKS”.
The photo was taken by Joseph Mutchler of Billings Flying Service and posted on Twitter by Air Attack pilot Ron Hauck.
Flew on the Black Mountain Fire in Colorado Monday. As the helicopter was dipping water a family came out to the pond laid down on the ground to spell “Thanks” to the crew. pic.twitter.com/PPEyk5jsMy
— ron hauck (@hauck_ron) September 27, 2018
Here is an enlarged version of the family’s message:
The Black Mountain fire is 14 air miles southwest of Kremmling, Colorado in the southeast corner of Routt County. We can’t find it listed on any official government lists of wildfires, but it created a small heat signature on September 25 during a 3 a.m. satellite overflight.
And here is another great way to thank firefighters!
The creativity of the thank you cards never ceases to amaze us! A group of young women delivered these crafty posters tonight to the #BaldMountainFire camp.The meaning was heartfelt, and the laughter was sincere 😂 Thanks to all the communities for their support. pic.twitter.com/0JDnQdTHXa
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) September 27, 2018
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wing2 Comments on Scooping water under a bridge on the Esla RiverFire in Abejera(Zamora), firefighter plane load wather over Esla river. pic.twitter.com/awNNNEyYPl
— EA3HMJ (@ea3hmj) September 22, 2018
The video shows a CL-215 or -415 air tanker scooping water under a bridge on the Esla River in northwest Spain.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Isaac.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Drone/UAV/UAS, Fixed wing3 Comments on Another proposal for unmanned air tankerIn 2009 we first started hearing about concepts for unmanned air tankers when John A. Hoffman applied for a patent for UAVs that would be transported by a mother ship and released near the fire. They would fly to the fire and drop retardant, and then intentionally crash, or in another variant, fly to an airport and land.
In 2013 Nitrofirex developed the idea further by producing a video. Their UAVs would also be transported in a large mother ship and released through the rear cargo door. The folded wings would deploy and the aircraft would glide autonomously to the target then “automatically and with great precision” release the water or retardant. The small engine which had been idling would power the ship back to the tanker base where it would be reloaded and inserted back into a mother ship.
But we have not heard of anything real being built or flown.
Next up: Faradair. They have advanced the concept of an unmanned air tanker by producing a photoshopped image of a tri-wing UAV dropping water on a vegetation fire (at the top of this article). The website says it would carry up to 2,200 gallons and would have a hybrid propulsion system, electric and an internal combustion engine. This would be a variant of a model they are considering that is intended to carry six to 10 passengers in a quiet aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability.
Faradair’s main goal apparently is to produce an inexpensive small passenger aircraft for commuters or quick flights that could takeoff and land from short runways and be quiet enough to operate in areas with noise restrictions — hence, the electric motor option. It would takeoff with the electric motor then switch to the internal combustion engine. The air tanker variant is derived from the goal of the basic design to be multi-role.
Here is an excerpt from their website:
“To date, former WWII era bombers and converted civilian jets have been used to deliver large scale firefighting capability, but that scale increases costs and pilot risk. The 11 meter wingspan BEHA M1-AT with a 10 tonne payload capability offers the operator an opportunity to acquire a fleet of aircraft, for a fraction of the acquisition and operational costs of helicopters, flying in rotation to combat the smaller fires and to prevent them becoming larger fires.
“The aircraft’s unique ‘triple box-wing’ configuration allows extremely short take-off and landing capability whilst also allowing the aircraft to lift large payloads with hybrid flight capability if required. BEHA can operate from any surface, in confined spaces with protection of the propeller in the rear duct, lessening the risk of Foreign Object Damage (FOD) during payload delivery runs. The all carbon composite airframe is lightweight and extremely strong, allowing for larger payloads to be carried, making it perfect for anti-fire operations.
“ ‘We have always said that our new BEHA aircraft platform is focused more on multi-role functionality than specific focus in one class of flight (Urban Air Mobility) and this firefighting drone configuration really highlights that capability. Obviously the ability to carry retardant also opens the opportunity for refuelling in the military environment, possibly negating the need for resupply fuel tracks or even low cost air to air refuelling option for the F35B from carriers without ‘cats n traps’. It is a genuinely exciting aircraft and we are now tweaking the design of the airframe to ensure the most volume can be achieved from the payload capability’, Managing Director of Faradair® Neil Cloughley said.”
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wing, Helicopters3 Comments on Germany looks at acquiring more firefighting aircraftAbove: German Army Sikorsky CH-53G Super Stallion (reg. 84+99, sn V65-97) at ILA Berlin Air Show 2016. By Julian Herzog.
There is discussion underway in Germany about the need for additional aircraft for battling vegetation fires. Their military presently has access to numerous CH-53G Sea Stallion helicopters after having purchased 110 in the early 1970s. The huge aircraft can carry water in an external bucket but not all of the military pilots are trained in dropping water on wildfires.
Below are excerpts from a very rough automatic computer translation of an article at the Cockpit website in Germany.
“…According to the European Commission, in 2016 it burned 777 times in Greece, 608 times in Germany. Portugal had 13,261 fires in most European fires, with 8,717 fires behind Spain. According to the German Fire Brigade Association (DFV) was a situation, such as in Greece, but hardly possible. This is because of the different type of vegetation and the preventive measures such as fire cutting. In international comparison, Germany also has a very strong fire brigade with over one million firefighters. There are also more access roads and hydrants in the forest than in Greece, for example. That’s right. But Harald Ebner, Greens Bundestag spokesman for forest policy, nevertheless pleads for extinguishing aircraft, although they may not be needed as often as in other states. “For the possible case of large forest fires it needs sufficient specialists and good equipment, for example with airplanes,” he said.
“Harald Ebner is pushing for a speedy deployment of a squadron with multiple surface aircraft, not only to protect German forests and agricultural areas, but also to provide other countries with the necessary support if needed. Experts even assume that countries like Sweden and Poland could share the costs of a permanent task force with Germany. A service water airport in Brandenburg or Mecklenburg-Vorpommern seems to be the most suitable. The only current handicap: amphibious aircraft may only take off and land in a few German waters. Here, the legislature would first be obliged to make special arrangements, even if it is a matter for the Länder.
“Soon CL-515 in use?
“An airfield in British Columbia is home to eleven used but under-used CL-215 aircraft, which will now receive new Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines and new avionics. The first so-called CL-415EAF Enhanced Aerial Firefighter is to be delivered before the forest fire season 2020 to Bridger Aerospace in US state of Montana. The aviation service provider Viking Air, which specializes in fighting forest fires, has ordered six aircraft. But since most of the CL-415’s, which have been in operation for a long time, are also used in the Mediterranean countries, Viking Air now wants to decide on possibly introducing a new edition of the Canadair firefighting aircraft at the end of this year to be named CL-515.”
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wing2 Comments on In-cockpit video of air tanker drop on Boone Draw FireJim Watson shot this video from the cockpit of Air Tanker 850, a single engine air tanker, as it made a retardant drop on the Boone Draw Fire in the northwest corner of Colorado, September 14, 2018.
Thanks Jim!
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wing3 Comments on Green Sheet report released on fatality following retardant dropThe report concluded that a low drop by the 747 Supertanker uprooted and broke off trees and limbs
(Originally published at 4:15 MDT September 14, 2018, and updated at 7:43 MDT September 14, 2018)
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has released what they call a “Green Sheet” report about the fatality and injuries that were caused by falling tree debris resulting from an air tanker’s retardant drop. The accident occurred on the Ranch Fire which was part of the Mendocino Complex of Fires east of Ukiah, California. The report was uploaded to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center on September 13, 2018 exactly one month after the August 13 accident.
A firefighter from Utah, Draper City Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, was killed when a low drop uprooted an 87-foot tall tree that fell on him. Three other firefighters had different assortments of injuries from sheered-off trees and limbs, including broken ribs, deep muscle contusions, ligament damage to extremities, scratches, and abrasions.
Standard procedure is for firefighters to leave an area before an air tanker drops. The report said the personnel on that Division were told twice that day to not be under drops — once in a morning Division break-out briefing, and again on the radio before the fatal drop and three others from large air tankers were made in the area. It was not confirmed that all supervisors heard the order on the radio to evacuate the drop area.
One of the “Incidental Issues / Lessons Learned” in the report mentioned that some firefighters like to record video of air tanker drops:
Fireline personnel have used their cell phones to video the aerial retardant drops. The focus on recording the retardant drops on video may distract firefighters. This activity may impair their ability to recognize the hazards and take appropriate evasive action possibly reducing or eliminating injuries.
The air tanker that made the drop was T-944, a 747-400 that can carry up to 19,200 gallons. Instead of a more conventional gravity-powered retardant delivery system, the aircraft has pressurized equipment that forces the retardant out of the tanks using compressed air. This is similar to the MAFFS air tankers. When a drop is made from the recommended height the retardant hits the ground as a mist, falling vertically, rather than the larger droplets you see with a gravity tank.
In this case, according to the report, the drop was made from approximately 100 feet above the tree tops. The report stated:
The Aerial Supervision Module (ASM) identified the drop path to the VLAT by use of a smoke trail. The VLAT initiated the retardant drop as identified by the smoke trail. Obscured by heavy vegetation and unknown to the VLAT pilot, a rise in elevation occurred along the flight path. This rise in elevation resulted in the retardant drop only being approximately 100 feet above the treetops at the accident site.
When a drop is made from a very low altitude with any air tanker, the retardant is still moving forward almost as fast as the aircraft, as seen in this drop. If it is still moving forward there will be “shadows” that are free of retardant on the back side of vegetation, reducing the effectiveness of the drop. From a proper height retardant will gradually slow from air resistance, move in an arc and ideally will be falling gently straight down before it hits the ground. Another example of a low drop was on the Liberty Fire in Southern California in 2017 that dislodged dozens of ceramic roofing tiles on a residence and blew out several windows allowing a great deal of retardant to enter the home.
We reached out with some questions to Global Supertanker, the company that operates the 747 Supertanker, and they gave us this statement:
We’re heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of Chief Burchett and the other brave firefighters who were injured during their recent work on the Mendocino Complex Fire. As proud members of the wildland firefighting community, we, too, have lost a brother.
On August 13, 2018, Global SuperTanker Services, LLC acted within procedural and operational parameters. The subject drop was initiated at the location requested by the Aerial Supervision Module (ASM) after Global SuperTanker Services, LLC was advised that the line was clear.
The former President and CEO of the company, Jim Wheeler, no longer works there as of September 1, 2018. The company is owned by Alterna Capital Partners LLC, of Wilton, Conn.
(Updated at 7:43 MDT September 14, 2018 to include the statement from Global Supertanker that we received at 7:35 p.m. MDT September 14, 2018)
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Helicopters2 Comments on San Diego Gas & Electric makes their Air-Crane available year-roundPreviously it was on contract for four months each year
Since 2009 San Diego Gas and Electric has made an Erickson Air-Crane helicopter available to assist wildland firefighters in San Diego County for four months each year, July through October. The company just announced that they are modifying the contract they have with Erickson and will now have it stationed year-round at Gillespie Field near El Cajon, California. The 2,650-gallon helicopter is flown by Erickson pilots under the direction of Cal Fire.
This change, according to SGE&E officials, is in response to “what is now the year-round threat of wildfires”.
It is a unique financial arrangement that shares the cost with the County of San Diego. SDG&E, via its ratepayers, has been picking up the $1.75 million annual tab for four months of availability each season as well as the first two hours of flight time when used on a fire. San Diego County pays for hours three and four. If it is needed for more than four hours it would most likely be on a large fire and the additional cost could be paid by another agency such as the state or federal government, if they needed the aircraft.
