Two new CAL FIRE Sikorsky S-70i Firehawk helicopters flew from the Denver area to Sacramento Wednesday and Thursday of last week. The aircraft were converted for wildland firefighting by United Rotorcraft in Englewood, Colorado.
The two helicopters left Centennial Airport southeast of Denver March 10 at about 10:40 a.m. MST and arrived at Sacramento McClellan Airport at 4:08 p.m. PST on March 11. On the seven-leg trip they stopped at Alamosa, CO; Cortez, CO; Page, AZ (where they stayed overnight); Bullhead City, AZ;, Tehachapi, CA; and Columbia, CA.
According to Flight Aware the helicopters flew at 130 to 150 mph.
The two helicopters were H-301 (N486DF) which will be based at Hemet, and H-104 (N487DF) destined for Boggs Mountain. It is likely to be weeks or months before they finish their final inspections and outfitting and arrive at their new homes.
Horsepower for the 2021 Fire season, in transit from Colorado yesterday, Hemet Ryan’s (Riverside Co.) and Boggs Mountain (NorCal) new S70i Firehawks stopped at Columbia Air Attack Base for fuel enroute to Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/ofn7J8MbFw
— SoCal Air Operations (@SocalAirOps) March 13, 2021
I hope they’ll be configured to carry more firefighters for IA (10?)