Once everything is installed, Hunter is rolled out for extensive ground runs and fuel system tests, capped off by a post-maintenance and ferry fuel test flight to ensure all systems are in perfect working order. After refueling in Oakland, Hunter made an overnight stop in Honolulu. on Air tankers support firefighters at the Deep Space Network near Canberra, Australia, on Aussies set the summer lineup for their firefighting aircraft, “Aussies set the summer lineup for their firefighting aircraft”, on Excellent video of RJ85 drop on Carr Fire, Australia sets their firefighting aircraft lineup for the bushfire season, Portable air tanker base at Canberra used for the first time, Victoria establishes new air tanker base at East Sale, Air tankers support firefighters at the Deep Space Network near Canberra, Australia, Aussies set the summer lineup for their firefighting aircraft, first flight tests for the U.S. Interagency Airtanker Board, Aussies experimented with dropping water from helicopters at night in Victoria, Excellent video of RJ85 drop on Carr Fire, Three large air tankers are working the bushfire in Western Australia, Triple Nickles, paratroopers who fought wildfires during World War II, Photos of PBY-6A air tankers from the 1960s and 1970s, Chief Ranger/Pilot for Alaska’s Northern National Parklands Receives National Aviation Safety Award. The skies were empty save for the odd cargo flight. Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said East Gippsland had experienced very dry conditions following two record dry winters and in the last 24 hours experienced considerable lightning activity. Below are shots of DC-10s at Sacramento McClellan Airport by Sergio Mara. In early November the mandatory availability period (MAP) begins for what will be either another 737 or a  C-130Q at Richmond, provided by Coulson. A 15,000-litre firefighting plane is to be based in Queensland to combat large bushfires like the blazes that destroyed dozens of homes in the state's south-east over this summer. Partnering in the cockpit with Ray is Anthony Ussher as First Officer and on the ground is Ed Da Silva and Steve Daechsel, expert Maintenance Engineers. The aircraft will join another six Avro RJ85 Type 1 land-based airtankers at Aero-Flite. We are catching up on some photos sent in by our readers. A fire that was a few kilometers away from NASA’s Deep Space Network of satellite antennas near Canberra, Australia was attacked by firefighters on the ground assisted by large air tankers that have migrated below the equator for the Australian summer.. Seen in these photos are a C-130Q (T-134) and an RJ85 (T-165). A portable air tanker reloading base at Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory was used recently for the first time. Contracts are in place for four large privately owned large air tankers and nine large Type 1 helicopters. @ACT_ESA Large Airtankers (LATs) can deliver from 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of fire retardant to support firefighters on the ground. All photos are by the Canberra DSN. Conair Group Inc. of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, formerly known as Conair Aviation, is a company specializing in retrofitting firefighting aircraft, maintaining customer and company-owned aircraft and aerial firefighting.Conair currently [when?] “We aim to continue and extend the helicopter NVIS firebombing trial in Victoria, operationalizing the learnings from the Victorian trial earlier this year, but it will be in small, careful steps” Richard Alder, General Manager of NAFC said. This season one Type 1 helicopter (a Coulson S-61) based at Ballarat, Victoria and one Type 2  helicopter (a Kestrel Aviation Bell 412) based at Mangalore, Victoria will have a Night Vision Imaging Systems or Night Vision Goggles (NVIS/NVG) for water dropping. A total of six large air tankers from North America have been working in Australia during their 2018-2019 summer. To the airtanker operator, this means To ensure Victoria has protection, a New South Wales-based LAT will move to Victoria during this period. The group was kept entertained by Field Air gifts, including groceries, books, and jars of vegemite to enjoy while watching hours of Netflix. Just like firefighters at a fire station, health and wellness is always front of mind for the Conair group, from COVID protocol through pilot preparedness, doing everything they can to stay in top shape to be ready to respond at a moment’s notice, 24/7. Against predictions, the -200/RJ85 were the … Securite Civile was the first firefighting agency in the world to use the dash-8 as a fire fighting aircraft. Today our Large Air Tanker Boomer worked to strengthen containment lines during hot and windy conditions – helping to protect a farm adjoining the bushfire in Holey Plains State Park, south of Rosedale. Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Isaac. Picture by Jeff Zimmerman. These specialized individuals are experts in the RJ85 as an aircraft and in the specifications of the modified RJ85 as an air tanker. “This was made possible due to the strong and ongoing partnership between the Australian Defense Force and Emergency Management Australia.”. The SEATs can also be supplemented by other aircraft on Call When Needed (CWN) arrangements if required. Tronos photo. ... Simrik Air helicopter conducts fire-fighting mission at Pathivara Temple Area. The crew has settled into their routines at Dubbo base, regularly performing maintenance and systems checks in preparation for mission call outs. Continue reading “Aussies set the summer lineup for their firefighting aircraft”. They form part of Victoria’s core aerial fleet of 49 aircraft available for the summer season which includes a mix of water bombing aircraft, air supervision, and aerial intelligence gathering aircraft. No other travelers were seen in the terminal as the team was processed through airport COVID protocol and immigration teams. Typos or errors, report them HERE. While its mission is fire suppression, it is the Q400’s environmental performance that is setting the standard for future NexGen airtanker aircraft. The crew arrives in Australia to begin their fire season duties. The nine Type 1 helicopters under exclusive use contract will include six S-64E Air-Cranes (Kestrel/Erickson) and three S-61s (Coulson). The RJ85 team knows the aircraft inside and out. (map). Hunter, the RJ85 LAT demonstrates water bombing capability this morning at Dubbo. Fire Fighting Plane Extreme Near Miss (Almsot Crashes Into Ridge) Click here. Have a fire aviation news tip? Click on a title to visit the episode page & download or listen to the episode from there. In addition they will have the 737 that the New South Wales Rural Fire Service purchased earlier this year. The police and health authorities that greeted the group and worked with them through the process were all keen to make the experience as painless as possible under the circumstances. Combating these fires was a massive task for the fire-fighting community with aerial firefighters playing a prominent role. During each maintenance break, its pilots undergo intensive training from Conair’s Training + Tactics Centre, including ground, flight, and line instruction from experts with decades of aerial firefighting experience. “The updated seasonal outlook confirmed the forecast of an above normal fire risk in East Gippsland. Albury, in NSW can also accommodate the LATs if required. The three S-61s are to be based in Victoria at Colac, Mansfield,  and Ballarat. Victoria also has a surge capacity of up to 100 aircraft that can supplement the core fleet when needed. They know this multi-million dollar machine intimately, having flown critical and challenging missions at its controls for years. On days 2 and 7, they were given COVID tests and confirmed ‘clean.’. Christening the new facility was Conair’s Tanker 166, an RJ85 from Canada that is spending the Northern Hemisphere winter down under. It generated many comments, with one person writing “it doesn’t appear to be a problem” while others considered it a good cautionary learning opportunity. One of Neptune Aviation’s BAe 146s was on exclusive contract with CALFIRE and during 2017 it flew over 226 hours (435 cycles), performed 343 … The four-engine jet aircraft has excellent low-speed and high-speed performance capabilities, making it ideal for almost any terrain, whether in an Initial Attack capacity or supporting sustained suppression missions. The video is by @nascom1. Like the United States and other fire-prone areas, Australia has been experiencing wildfires during times of the year when traditionally they did not occur in large numbers. Rick MacNevin and his Conair team obtain all the documentation and ensure the weights of the installed components associated with the ferry trip, both temporary and permanent, are tracked and accounted for. Embracing Family | Firm Handshake | Resilient Spirit Celebrating over 25 Years of Aerial Firefighting This includes the Planning group’s input to forecast current and future maintenance schedules and from the Purchasing and Materials departments to ensure the spare parts inventory that might be needed. Aero-Flite and Conair Aviation stated the RJ85 has capabilities that are well suited to fire fighting with excellent slow speed flight characteristics and true airspeeds in excess of 300 knots. The Conair team was safely tucked away in their hotel on arrival in Australia for a two week quarantine period. Still, the timely pre-departure COVID-19 test proved to be an essential aspect of the trip, with each touch down requiring proof of a recent negative result from all those on board. Having the LAT based at East Sale will mean reducing the turnaround time for refueling and loading of retardant or water. We have undertaken a detailed evaluation of both the BAe 146 and Avro RJ85 including simulator and flight testing of the aircraft in the demanding low-level profile required in The extensive planning and proactive response from all Conair’s teams translated into a seamless trip south! When departure day from Canada came, the two pilots and two maintenance engineers boarded Hunter knowing it was fully fueled, well maintained, qualified, prepped, and ready for the journey ahead. “If required this LAT will continue the work the other LATs and night helicopter firebombing operations have had on the Rosedale fire since Friday in support of ground crews.”. #NSWRFS @NSWRFS @troygrant @DubboCouncil @DubboAirport pic.twitter.com/efpmPOh9Hi, — Shane Fitzsimmons (@RFSCommissioner) November 5, 2018. Coulson Aviation BAE Systems 146 Avro RJ85 aerial fire fighting aircraft N355AC taxiing at Avalon Airport. As Australia moves into their summer and enters the traditional beginning of their bushfire season the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) in finalizing the lineup of firefighting aircraft for the 2019-2020 season. Together with our Australian partner, Field Air, Flight Operations managed the logistics of the crew schedules for the entire stay in Australia, working through ferry flight planning details and coordinating routes along with fuel and overnight technical stops. This ferry system, assembled in the aircraft’s cabin, requires special flight permits from each country Hunter flies through en route to Australia. Large Air Tankers on exclusive use contracts. The five large air tankers available is one less than in 2018/2019. 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