Ever since I saw a S-2A Tracker do a water drop at Hemet, CA, I was fascinated by water bombers. Not only because of the specific job they do, but also because of the beautiful aircraft types which are used for it. As a child I grew up with S-2 Trackers, P-2 Neptunes and P-3 Orions at NAS Valkenburg, types which I got to love and which were widely used in the airtanker industry.
But as time progresses the beautiful wide variety of old prop aircraft around the world is being replaced by a bulk of relatively unattractive standardized jets. The airtanker business is one of the few branches in aviation which still uses nostalgic aircraft, but this is about to change. The P-3 Orions have already been put aside last year and all remaining P-2 Neptunes are due to be replaced by BAe-146’s within months. Right now only about eight of them remain in active service.
For me this last chance was reason to do a dedicated airtanker trip to the USA. The two main goals I had were to catch some P-2 Neptunes and photograph some true aerial fire fighting action. Last week my wishes came true and below is the report.
02. Tanker 12 is a P-2V-5 of Neptune Aviation Services. This company is leading in P-2 fire fighting, and all of their Neptunes have similar colors to this one. It was photographed at Porterville, CA in the early morning hours on 27 September 2012.
03. Cal Fire is the new name for the California state organisation that takes care of fire fighting. Before this all Trackers, Bronco’s and Hueys wore CDF titles. Not all aircraft and helicopters have been repainted yet, as only a few are done each year.
04. Helitac 301 is Cal Fire’s UH-1H from Hemet, CA. It is used to transport a team of fire fighters to the fire and support them with water drops. Water is taken from nearby lakes, ponds and even pools by lowering the snorkel and sucking up water while hovering.
05. Every air attack base uses its own OV-10A Bronco. It is the same aircraft every season. This aircraft is N409DF, coded AA-330, and is used by AAB Ramona in Southern California. The Bronco’s are used for command and control during fires.
06. In California the aerial fire fighting business is a big thing and involves many agencies. Aircraft and helicopters are operated by many different city, county, state and federal departments, and are provided by commercial, governmental and military institutions. Seen here is Kern County Fire Bell 205-A-1++ N408KC / H-408 at Keene, CA.
07. San Bernardino County uses this UH-1H and operates is from Prado Helitac Base. The registration is N305SB and it is coded H-305, and it used to be former US Army UH-1H 69-15239. Here it is seen heading for another water pick up.
08. The old CH-54 Skycrane design and licence has been bought by Erickson, which uses it to put this unique helicopter back to work as the S-64 Air-crane. It is widely used as a heavy lifter and aerial fire fighting platform. Seen here is S-64E N176AC / HT-733, leased by the LAFD Air Operations at Van Nuys airport. Clearly visible are the white sea-snorkel on the side and water cannon on the nose.
09. An artistic view of Tanker 12, which is P-2V-5 N96264 operated by Neptune Aviation Services at Missoula, MT.
10. Most Cal Fire Air Attack Bases now operate two S-2T Trackers each. Seen here is Tanker 78 during a night photoshoot at Porterville, CA. This particular aircraft used to be based at Fresno, CA, but due to budget cuts and reorganisation it was reassigned to Porterville. It still wears the previous colorscheme, which has new colors but old CDF titles. But these colors are not the oldest colorscheme still in service.
11. Helicopter Transport Services (HTS) is one of the several commercial companies involved in aerial fire fighting. Their CH-54B used to be 69-18470 for the US Army, but now wears registration N715HT and code HT-715. Here it is seen dropping a load of “fresh” water at the Range Fire on 30 September 2012.
12. Cal Fire S-2T Tanker 73 returns to Hemet, CA after a very late mission against a brush fire near Highway 241 in Orange County, CA on 27 September 2012. Operating hours for these tankers are during day time only.
13. Helitac 301 is UH-1H N491DF from Cal Fire at Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base. It sports the latest Cal Fire colorscheme after having flown in previous CDF colors for a long time. H-301 used to be 69-15858, and is one of Cal Fire’s eleven UH-1H’s still in service.
14. This is the very last Bell 412 EP operated by the LAFD Air Division at Van Nuys airport. The city of Los Angeles used to operate several Bell 412 helicopters but is now replacing them with AW-139’s. Seen here is N301FD, coded Helicopter 1, in the distinctive red-black-white colors.
15. LA County Fire is the only fire department in the US to operate S-70A Firehawks. It has three of them, working side by side with six Bell 412’s. Every day LA County Fire deploys three helicopters to forward helicopter spots at Lancaster, Pomona and Malibu. This allows them to reach emergencies in the outer areas of the county faster than when flying from their hombase at Pacoima – Barton heliport.
16. Drop…..drop…..NOW ! Pilot Bob Forbes has just hit the drop button in Tanker 73 in order to make line at the Range Fire. Instead of dropping on the fire itself a line of red Phos-check retardant is put in front of the fire, keeping it from moving on. This way the fire is contained and is expected to burn out on itself.
17. Tanker 48 is a P-2V-7, used by the second largest aerial fire fighting company operating P-2 Neptunes: Minden Air Corp. Its unique yellow colorscheme is very distinctive and makes it easy to recognize. Minden’s other P-2 Neptune is Tanker 55, which made an emergency landing with the left main gear up. The damage to Tanker 55 is repairable, but unfortunately all company efforts are focussed on bringing the company’s BAe-146’s to an operational status. Most likely Tanker 48 will remain the only operational P-2 Neptune with Minden Air Corp.
18. Tankertown Hemet is a great place for airtanker photography. Not only it has two S-2T Trackers, one OV-10A Bronco and a UH-1H Huey, but it also has a fantastic fire tower, a great viewing area and perfect lighting all day long. Unfortunately this old base with its nostalgic tower will soon be relocated to a new facility on the other side of the runway, and will loose some of these great key photographic features.
19. Bell 205 A-1 is one of the about 22 fire fighting helicopters from commercial companies, contracted by California and located on fixed helibases throughout the state. This Bell C-FHQK from Heliqwest Aviation Inc. is assigned H-534 as its code and operates from Heaps Peak Helibase. Here it is seen fighting the Range Fire near Bannin, CA on 30 September 2012.
20. Contrary to European countries and Canada, the Canadair CL-415 Super Scoopers are rarely used in the USA. LA County Fire is the exception, as they lease two Canadian CL-415’s every season and operate them out of Van Nuys airport. Here C-GQBK / 247, leased from the Quebec Gvmt, takes off for a fire fighting mission on 1 October 2012.
21. After the large 2004 fires a few things changed and the importance of aerial fire fighting got bigger. San Diego County took on two fire fighting helicopters and assigned them to ASTREA, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department at Gillespie Field Airport. Seen here is Copter 10, a Bell 205-A-1++ with registration N449RC.
22. The Range Fire broke out on Saturday 29 October 2012, just before sunset. As this fire raged only about 22 km north-east of Hemet Air Attack Base, Cal Fire deployed Helitac 301, UH-1H N491DF the following morning to support ground troops. Here it comes in for another water drop after taking on water from a local reservoir.
23. The Los Angeles County Fire operates nine helicopters from Pacoima – Barton heliport. These are three S-70 Firehawks and six Bell 412 EP’s. Next to these LA County Fire also leases two CL-415’s and a S-64 Aircrane every season, flying from Van Nuys airport at only 9 km south-west of Pacoima.
24. Neptune’s Tanker 12 has just been relocated from Redding, CA and is spending the night at Portreville, CA on Wednesday 26 September 2012. Every large airtanker on contract with the USFS is moved to strategic locations all over the US so they can be deployed against wildfires on the shortest possible notice. Positions of the airtankers may change from hour to hour, although every airtanker crew has one fixed day off each week. No matter what happens, this fixed day off will keep the aircraft on the ground. The crew of Tanker 12 always has Fridays off.
25. Cal Fire S-2T N437DF “Tanker 73” is turning short finals at Hemet, CA after a mission on Friday 28 October 2012. Cal Fire airtanker pilots also have one fixed day off every week, but for them a relief pilot takes over. Both Hemet and Ramona have two based pilots each, and one relief pilot has been assigned to replace all four of them on a rotational basis during their weekly day off.
26. Helicopter Transport Services provided much needed support during the Range Fire with its CH-54B N715HT, coded HT-715. Here it is seen dropping a load of dirty water at only a few feet away from fire fighters. This helicopter had been stationed at San Bernardino at the time, which was only 42 km north-west of the fire. Together with three other helicopters, two S-2T airtankers and an OV-10A Bronco it supported the ground troops in their battle.
27. The San Diego Fire-Rescue operates two very smart looking fire helicopters out of Montgomery Field. One is a Bell 212HP, and the other one is this Bell 412EP with registration N807JS, coded Copter 2. These two helicopters are owned by the city of San Diego, while the helicopters of San Diego County are operated by ASTREA (Sheriff’s department) only 15 km to the east at Gillespie Field.
28. Returning to Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base after a late mission on Saturday 30 September 2012. Clearly visible are the water tank and the tied up snorkel. Hemet, CA is home to both Tanker 72 and Tanker 73, as well Air Attack 310 and Helitac 301.
29. The Los Angeles Fire Department at Van Nuys airport operates three AW-139 helicopters, a Bell 206 and a single Bell 412 EP. One more Bell 412 is owned by the LAFD Air Operations, but this helicopter is up for sale. Eventually both Bell 412’s will be replaced by AW-139’s like this N303FD / 3.
30. Tanker 12 is already 59 years of age, but still going strong. This former US Navy P-2V-5 Neptune used to be BuNo 128346, but was converted to airtanker N96264 by Neptune Aviation. Here a mechanic inspects the an engine at Porterville, CA after an engine test run.
31. Ramona Air Attack Base is home to two S-2T Turbo Trackers, both sporting the new Cal Fire colorscheme. Every year Tanker 70 & 71 terurn to Ramona after the winter season, together with OV-10A AA-330.
32. Helicopter 19 lifts off from Pacoima – Barton heliport on Tuesday 2 October 2012 for a standard daily deployment to one of the three forward operating basis for LA County Fire. The LACF is the only fire department to operate three S-70A Firehawks together with three Bell 412EP’s.
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