T-160 Archives - Fire Aviation

Air tankers at Medford during Lumgrey Fire

Bill Gabbert22. July 2019Fixed wingMedford, Oregon, T-160, T-163, T-94, T-95, T-96

Air Tanker 96 Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 — Air Tanker 96 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.

Tim Crippin sent us these photos he took at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 of air tankers working the Lumgrey Fire on the Klamath National Forest in Northern California.

Thanks Tim!

Air Tanker 160 Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 — Air Tanker 160 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.

Air Tanker 94 Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 — Air Tanker 94 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.

Air Tanker 95 94 Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 — Air Tankers 94 and 95 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.

Air Tanker 163 Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 — Air Tanker 163 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.

Photos of aircraft fighting bushfires in Victoria, Australia

Bill Gabbert31. December 201510. July 2019Fixed wing, HelicoptersAustralia, S-61, T-132, T-160, T-162, Victoria

The Country Fire Authority recently released some excellent photos of aircraft that are fighting bushfires in Victoria, Australia.

Continue reading “Photos of aircraft fighting bushfires in Victoria, Australia”

Air tankers at Medford

Bill Gabbert3. August 20153. August 2015Fixed wingMedford, Oregon, T-10, T-131, T-160, T-162, T-43, T-666 Comments

Tim Crippin took these photos on July 31 of air tankers at Medford, Oregon. Thanks Tim!

U.S. air tankers in Alaska

Bill Gabbert18. June 201520. June 2017Fixed wingAlaska, T-10, T-101, T-160, T-43, T-47, T-52, T-5514 Comments

palmer alaska air tankers — A photo of six air tankers at Palmer, Alaska on June 18, 2015, showing T-260, T-160, T-55, T-52, T-47 and T-43 (photo courtesy of John Bell). Click to enlarge.

In addition to the Canadian air tankers being assigned to Alaska (seven recently that we know of) there are three air tankers under contract with the U.S. Forest Service in the state, according to information we received from today from Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the agency:

T-160 Aero-Flite RJ85
T-10 Neptune BAe-146
T-101 Aero Air MD87

BAe-146 and RJ85 — A BAe-146, T-10, and an RJ85, T-160, on the BLM-Alaska Fire Service Tanker Base tarmac, May 23, 2015, on Ladd Air Field at Fort Wainwright.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Mike and John.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.

Additional resources arrive in Alaska

Bill Gabbert26. May 201528. May 2015Fixed wing, SmokejumpersAlaska, Avro RJ85, BAe-146, CV-580, Smokejumpers, T-10, T-160, T-260

Smokejumpers in Alaska — Smokejumpers from BLM Boise, Idaho, board a CASA-212 to make their practice jump Saturday afternoon, May 23, 2015, at the BLM Alaska Smokejumpers Base on Ladd Air Field at Fort Wainwright.

Because of the recent high fire danger, additional resources, including three air tankers and 16 smokejumpers, have arrived in Alaska to bolster the aircraft fleet and jumpers already in place. These photos were taken and portions of the captions were written by Sam Harrel of the Bureau of Land Management/Alaska Fire Service.

BAe 146and CL-415 — Neptune’s Tanker 10, a BAe-146, and Aero-Flite’s Tanker 260, a CL-415 water scooper, Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at BLM Alaska Fire Service at Fort Wainwright. The two aircraft are new to fire suppression efforts in Alaska.

T-260 CL-415 — Aero-Flite’s Tanker 260, a CL-415 water scooper, sits on the BLM-Alaska Fire Service tarmac at Ladd Field on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at Fort Wainwright. T-260 is less than a year old.

BAe-146 and Convair CV580 — A BAe-146 and a Convair CV580 at the BLM- Alaska Fire Service retardant tanker base Tuesday, May 19, 2015, on Ladd Field at Fort Wainwright. The Convair turboprop tankers have been used in Alaska for several years. This is the first season in Alaska for the jet propelled BAe 146.

Aero-Flite’s Tanker 160 at Missoula

Bill Gabbert15. July 2014Fixed wingAero Flite, Avro RJ85, Missoula, Montana, T-160

A photo of Aero-Flite’s Tanker 160, an RJ85, parked on the ramp in Missoula near Neptune’s hangar, Tuesday afternoon, July 15.

Tanker 160 photographed at the retardant grid test

Bill Gabbert19. January 201429. January 2016Fixed wingAero Flite, Avro RJ85, T-160

Tanker 160 retardant grid test December 13, 2013 — Tanker 160 retardant grid test, December 13, 2013. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.

Jeff Zimmerman took this photo of Aero Flite’s Tanker 160, an Avro RJ85 which was converted into an air tanker by Conair. It was shot during the grid test at Fox Field in southern California December 13, 2013. More photos and a video of Tanker 160 at the grid test can be found HERE. The test involves dropping retardant over a grid of hundreds of cups, intended to measure the volume and consistency of the pattern when it hits the ground.

Last year Aero-Flite received a contract for two Avro RJ85 air tankers from the U.S. Forest Service as part of the agency’s next-generation air tanker program.

You can see more of Jeff’s photography at his site. Thanks Jeff.

Erickson Aero Tanker’s T-101, an MD-87, went through the same tests last week.

Tanker 160 goes through retardant drop grid tests

Bill Gabbert30. December 201319. January 2014Fixed wingAero Flite, Avro RJ85, Conair, grid test, T-1606 Comments

On December 11 Aero Flite’s Tanker 160 began a series of retardant drop tests for their Avro RJ85 at Fox Field in southern California. The aircraft, converted into an air tanker by Conair, was expected to perform 20 to 25 drops over a two or three day period. The process involves dropping retardant over a grid of thousands of cups, intended to measure the volume and consistency of the pattern when it hits the ground. The Interagency AirTanker Board requires passing this and other certifications before an aircraft can be “carded” as a federal air tanker, which makes it eligible for a contract to fight fires. Both paid and inmate fire crews were on hand at Fox Field to assist with the set-up of the grid and the collection of the cups after each drop.

Randy Johnson uploaded this video:

The grid. Thousands of cups. Click to enlarge.

Tanker 160, an RJ85 which is similar to a BAe-146, is being converted by Conair for Aero Flite, which received a contract June 7 for two RJ85s. The aircraft were not ready and missed the contractual start date a couple of months later. The U.S. Forest Service then issued “cure notices” to Aero Flite and two other companies that received the next generation contracts for five air tankers, none of which met the required start date. Aero Flite responded saying the aircraft would be available between April and June, 2014. Later in a justification for awarding a sole source contract to Neptune for two BAe-146 air tankers, the USFS wrote they were “not confident that five of the seven contracted NextGen airtankers will be available to fight fires in 2014″.

Thanks go out to the Los Angeles County Fire Department which took these photos.

Thanks and a hat tip go out to John