Bill Gabbert, Author at Fire Aviation

USFS has 34 large air tankers currently activated

Bill Gabbert16. August 201520. July 2018Contracting, Fixed wingSEAT, T-142, T-152, T-154, T-155, T-173, T-174, T-454, T-472, T-474, T-542 Comments

A CV-580 spotted at Boise recently. Photo by Steve.

The U.S. Forest Service has 33 large air tankers currently activated in the United States; 15 on multi-year, full time exclusive use contracts, 9 on call when needed contracts (part time), 6 borrowed from Canada, and 4 military Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) C-130s.

This is the highest number of air tankers we have seen working in the United States at the same time in recent years — especially the 23 that are under some sort of U.S. Forest Service contract, full time exclusive use or call when needed part time. In 2002 there were 44 large air tankers on exclusive use contracts but that number declined over the next 12 years to a low point of 9 in 2013.

Here is the breakdown:

USFS Multi-year full time exclusive use (14)
T-118 HC-130H U.S. Forest Service
T-105 MD-87 Aero Air, LLC
T-101 MD87 Aero Air, LLC
T-161 RJ85 Aero Flite, Inc.
T-160 RJ85 Aero Flite, Inc.
T-260 CL-415 Aero Flite, Inc.
T-912 DC-10 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC
T-131 C-130 Coulson
T-10 BAe-146 Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-43 P2V Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-06 P2V Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-45 P2V Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-05 P2V Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-07 P2V Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-44 P2V Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.

USFS Call When Needed (part time) (9)
T-911 DC-10 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC
T-910 DC-10 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC
T-02 BAe-146 Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-01 BAe-146 Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-41 BAe-146 Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-40 BAe-146 Neptune Aviation Services, Inc.
T-162 RJ85 Aero Flite, Inc.
T-163 RJ85 Aero Flite, Inc.
T-164 RJ85 Aero Flite, Inc.

Canadian government (borrowed) (3)
T-154 CV580 Alberta
T-173 CV580 Saskatchewan
T-174 CV580 Saskatchewan

Canadian companies (3)
T-155 CV580 Conair
T-142 C-440 Conair
T-152 CV580 Conair

MAFFS C-130s (4)
MAFFS 2 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base
MAFFS 5 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base
MAFFS 1 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard
MAFFS 9 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard

It is interesting that Aero Flite has five RJ85s converted, certified, staffed, and actively fighting fires, and Neptune has five BAe-146s doing the same. A few days ago three DC-10s began working at the same time, which is a first for 10 Tanker Air Carrier.

Department of the Interior air tankers

Until a few years ago the Bureau of Indian Affairs had two water scooping air tankers on contract, but now there is an agreement in place between the DOI and the USFS whereby the USFS will handle contracts for all large air tankers, including scoopers. Now there is just one scooping air tanker on contract with the federal government, a CL-415 operated by Aero Flite. Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the USFS, told us that the USFS does not consider the CL-415 to be an air tanker (or an “airtanker” as the agency calls them). To them it is a “scooper”.

The agreement also specified that the BLM would manage contracts for Single Engine Air Tankers and this year there are 33 SEATs, according to BLM spokesperson Randall Eardley.

More next-generation air tankers on the way?

Months ago the USFS issued a solicitation for “up to seven” additional next-generation air tankers. It was protested by two vendors before the solicitation even closed but those were both denied by the GAO. We checked, and Mrs. Jones told us that they are still working through the contracting process. After they make a decision about awards, then there is a 30-day waiting period while Congress is notified, after which the agency can actually award contracts — which could be protested again at that point.

Mrs. Jones said:

While we are working diligently to complete the contracting process, there is no estimated timeframe for completing that, notifying Congress, announcing awards, etc. at this time.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Steve.

Report of helicopter making emergency landing following a wire-strike

Bill Gabbert14. August 201525. April 2016HelicoptersBell 205, California, H-531, night flying1 Comment

Reports from several sources indicate that a firefighting helicopter struck a wire while working on the Cabin Fire in southern California Friday afternoon. The tail number visible on news reports shows that it was N15HX, Helicopter 531, which is a Bell Super 205 equipped with a belly tank and snorkel, supplied to the Angeles National Forest under a contract with Helicopter Express of Atlanta, Georgia.

All indications so far are that the helicopter made a successful landing near a reservoir.

(UPDATE April 25, 2016: The FAA “brief report”.)

Helicopter 531 wire strike fire — File photo of Helicopter 531 and the four crews that staff the aircraft. USFS photo.

The Cabin Fire started at about 1 p.m. PT on August 14 eight miles north of Azusa, California in the Angeles National Forest. It had burned 800 acres by 5:30 p.m., according to the Forest Service.

Helicopter 531 is the only night-flying helicopter used by the U.S. Forest Service. In 2014 when it began the night flying contract, it was staffed 24 hours a day, using five helitack personnel on each 12-hour shift, changing at 0600 and 1800. There were four 5-person shifts of firefighters, A, B, C, and D, in order to have coverage on days off — a total of 20 firefighters for the helicopter operation, plus pilots.

The helicopter was flown in 2014 by one pilot during the day, but added a co-pilot at night. It was scheduled to respond to fires with a Captain and two other helitack crewpersons on board while two more traveled by ground vehicle.

The helicopter and the air attack ship worked out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California in 2014.

Mesa Fire Cajon Pass — Night flying helicopter 531 dropping on the Mesa Fire in Cajon Pass, November 8, 2014. Photo by San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Two additional MAFFS air tankers activated

Bill Gabbert13. August 201515. August 2015Fixed wingMAFFS

The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho has mobilized two additional Department of Defense C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS).

The 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the 145th Airlift Wing with the North Carolina Air National Guard based in Charlotte, North Carolina will each provide one C-130 equipped MAFFS.

They will join two other MAFFS C-130s that were activated August 2 from the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The two Air National Guard MAFFS from the Channel Islands base in California that were deployed on August 2 have been deactivated.

Radio interview about USFS air tankers, and an Rx for a new air tanker

Bill Gabbert12. August 201529. March 2019Fixed wingair tanker design, K-MAX, T-91020 Comments

Tanker 118 on the Lowell Fire, July 25, 2015. Photo by Matthew Rhodes.

Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service in Boise, was interviewed by KVPR about air tankers. It began with a discussion about the HC-130H, Tanker 118, a USFS owned/contractor operated air tanker that has been used for a few weeks working out of McClellan Airport. She was very well-spoken and knowledgeable, and generally did an outstanding job.

However, she said “…nobody manufactures off the line air tankers”, which illustrates the apparent bias of the USFS against the purpose-built “SuperScoopers”, the CL-215 and the CL-415 used by the dozens in other countries in North America and Europe. The USFS contracted for their first one last year.

The Air Tractor single engine air tankers could be considered purpose-built. They were first designed as crop sprayers in 1973, but the conversion from dropping pesticides to fire retardant in 1990 was not a huge leap and the mission profiles are similar.

Air Tankers at Dryden — Air Tankers, mostly purpose built CL-415s, and other firefighting aircraft at Dryden (Ontario) Regional Airport in mid-June, 2015. They are owned by the Province of Ontario, one of the 10 provinces in Canada. Photo by Chris Sherwin, via Mike. Click to enlarge.

And don’t forget the Russian-built Be-200. I consider it a hybrid, since it was designed as an amphibious scooping air tanker, but has provisions for carrying passengers when it’s not suppressing fires. This may have been a compromise during the design process, when a high-ranking politician could have said, “But what if it could also do this, and this….”. Much like the convoluted process of designing the Bradely Fighting Vehicle. So many additional functions were added that it could no longer efficiently and safely function in it’s intended role; transporting troops.

While we’re on the subject of purpose-built air tankers-

I am impressed by the design of some purpose-built aircraft that do not have a single wasted or unused cubic foot. Think about the K-MAX and the Sikorsky S-64 (Erickson Air-Crane) that are built to do one thing — lift heavy loads. No compromises there. Looks that only an aircraft engineer could love, but very efficient. The Air Tractor is another pretty good example.

K-MAX, side — K-MAX at Custer, SD, July 10, 2012. Photo by Bill Gabbert

aircrane helicopter — An Erickson Air-Crane reloads with retardant while fighting the Beaver Fire in northern California, August 12, 2014. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

An air tanker is not required to have a cavernous unused space inside like Tanker 910 below. Imagine how much the weight and air resistance could be reduced if an air tanker was not built around space to carry 380 passengers. This is not a criticism of the DC-10 air tankers. They selected one of the best air frames available at a reasonable cost and figured out a way to turn it into a very effective and useful firefighting tool.

Tanker 910, a DC-10 air tanker — Interior of tanker 910, a DC-10, at Rapid City, April 23, 2013. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

I’d like to see the K-MAX engineering team design from scratch a fixed wing air tanker built around the following components, glue them together, and then configure them to be airworthy, capable of flying at least 350 mph, and able to take off from Ramona, California with a full load of retardant on a 90 degree day;

5,000 to 10,000-gallon tank,
cockpit for two (no passengers; possibly a third seat for an inspector pilot or trainee),
fuel, and
engines.

Like the phoenix, the SuperTanker to rise again

Bill Gabbert12. August 20156. November 2015Fixed wing747, Global SuperTanker6 Comments

747 dropping in Haifa Israel December 5, 2010

A phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor.

The 747 SuperTanker is being given new life. A newly-formed company named Global SuperTanker Services has purchased the retardant system, related Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), and patents from the ashes of the bankrupt Evergreen company, the developer of the 19,600-gallon air tanker. They will be removing the system from the 747-100 and installing it in a newer 747-400BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter) (N492EV) that has more powerful engines.

The aircraft is at Southern California Logistics airport in Victorville, California where it will undergo a C-Check and receive any other maintenance that is necessary. The company that developed the original STC for the SuperTanker, Adaptive Aerospace, will be providing an amendment to cover the new installation and improvements in the retardant dispensing system that will be added. Jim Wheeler, President and CEO of Global SuperTanker Services, said they expect the STC to be approved by the FAA by October, 2015. After testing and crew refresher training, a new grid test will be performed this fall.

The company’s headquarters will be in Colorado Springs.

Evergreen’s 747 SuperTanker first dropped on a fire in 2009 and last received Call When Needed contracts from CAL FIRE and the U.S. Forest Service in 2013. When it received the CWN contract the aircraft had been sitting at Marana without engines and needed a million-dollar “C” check in addition to other maintenance. The company decided that with an expensive expedited “C” check and the other needed work, it could have been ready to fight fire about the time the 2013 western fire season was drawing to a close. And the CWN contract had no guarantee of any revenue. So Bob Soelberg, the Vice President of Evergreen Supertanker Services at the time, said they would wait until the next year to get the maintenance done. A few months later, bankruptcy, and the company ceased to exist.

Mr. Wheeler said they have hired most of the core personnel that worked on the SuperTanker program at Evergreen, including Mr. Soelberg who managed the program there. He is now the Senior VP and Program Manager for the new company. The Chief Pilot is Cliff Hale who has previous experience as an air tanker pilot.

The retardant is forced from the aircraft by compressed air using the same principle seen in the transportable Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) that can be installed in a few hours into C-130s operated by the military. Unlike the newest version of the MAFFS2 which has two on-board air compressors, the SuperTanker will rely on suitable air compressors to be pre-positioned at an air tanker base. When MAFFS are deployed they meet up with one of the six specialized air compressor systems managed by the U.S. Forest Service that can refill the air tanks in 14 minutes when the on-board compressors fail to work properly, which is not uncommon according to a MAFFS crew member we talked with.

Mr. Wheeler told us they will consider installing an air compressor in a year or so.

The first generation MAFFS1 units, no longer used, did not have onboard air compressors and were refilled on the ground. The contracts for the MAFFS2 units specified that the air tanks had to be refilled by the onboard air compressors in no more than 30 minutes. It actually takes 15 to 20 minutes to refill them while airborne.

Mr. Wheeler said in a news release, “The current worsening trends in wildfires globally demand more capable response tools. The Boeing 747-400 represents a modern, strong, high performance platform capable of flying more than 4000 nautical miles at a cruise speed of 565 miles per hour, at pressurized altitudes, fully loaded, then directly deploying nearly 20,000 gallons of a range of liquids including retardant, water, gel and foaming agents.”

The word “Global” in the company’s name is meant to represent their goal of marketing the aircraft around the world. In a few weeks some of their representatives will be attending a conference in Australia to help promote their services.

Erickson Air-Crane on the Rough Fire

Bill Gabbert11. August 201513. August 2015HelicoptersAir-Crane, California, Rough Fire8 Comments

Erickson Air Crane / Kings Canyon Wildfire Aug 9, 2015 from Brandon Setter on Vimeo.

This is a professional quality video of an Erickson Air-Crane drafting water and dropping on the Rough Fire on the Sierra National Forest in California.

The Rough fire has burned about 5,200 acres two miles southwest of Spanish Mountain, 45 air miles east of Fresno, California.

The southwest portion of the fire can be viewed on the Buck Rock web cam.

Wednesday additional overhead from a National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team will join the Sierra National Forest’s Type 3 organization in managing the fire.

Rough Fire, August 11, 2015. SWFRS web cam.

A Request

While this is a very good video, I have a request for everyone who shoots footage of aircraft dropping on a fire. After the liquid is released from the aircraft, stop panning and show us where the water or retardant lands. The air tanker or helicopter exiting the drop area is often, but not always, the least visually interesting part of the process.

And if it is a water drop, which is often DIRECTLY on an actively burning flank of the fire (as opposed to a retardant drop that is usually offset from the flames), linger for 5 or 10 or more seconds so that we can see the effects of the drop. Do the flames diminish, or not? Is smoke replaced with steam? Some of the veteran camera operators for the TV stations in southern California do this.

Am I the only one that wants to know if the drop was, 1) on target, and 2) effective?

Infrared aircraft N149Z down for a week due to maintenance

Bill Gabbert10. August 201510. March 2021Fixed wingKing Air, N149Z, UTF3 Comments

USFS infrared aircraft N149Z at Phoenix in 2013

One of the two infrared line-scanning, fire-mapping fixed wing aircraft operated by the U.S. Forest Service has been out of action for the last seven days. Forest Service spokesperson Mike Ferris said this was due to expected maintenance, an “intricate Phase inspection” required on the Super King Air 200, N149Z. The work is being done by three USFS mechanics at Ogden, Utah. Mr. Ferris expects the aircraft to be back in service for mapping fires tonight, August 10.

During the last seven days the workload increased for the other infrared aircraft, the N144Z Cessna Citation. During some missions their pilots maxed out their duty day and mapping requests from fires were UTF’ed, Unable to be Filled.

In September of 2014 N149Z was down for an extended period of time for a serious problem with an engine mount.

DC-10 supports backfiring operation on the Rocky Fire

Bill Gabbert8. August 20158. August 2015Fixed wingCalifornia, DC-10, T-912

Bryan Reddish uploaded this video of Air Tanker 912, a DC-10, making a retardant drop prior to a backfiring operation on the Rocky Fire east of Clearlake, California.