AerialFire Magazine - January/February 2022

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

The Radial Rides Again

SACRAMENTO METRO FIRE

SERVING THE CALIFORNIA CAPITAL

SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH AMERICA AERIAL FIREFIGHTING IN THE PANTANAL WETLANDS

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LIGHTING

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COVER STORY:

THE RADIAL RIDES AGAIN KANSAS-BASED OPERATOR RETURNS S-2 TO FIREFIGHTING

62 SACRAMENTO METRO FIRE

P.O. Box 850 • Perry, GA 31069 USA 475 Myrtle Field Rd. • Perry, GA 31069 USA PHONE: 478-987-2250 FAX: 478-352-0025 info@marsaylmedia.com • aerialfiremag.com AERIALFIRE IS PUBLISHED BY

SERVING THE CALIFORNIA CAPITAL

54

PUBLISHER: Graham Lavender - graham@marsaylmedia.com

WHAT IS HUMS?

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFITS?

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Ryan Mason - ryan@marsaylmedia.com ACCOUNTING/ADMINISTRATION: Casey Armstrong - casey@marsaylmedia.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING: Melanie Woodley - melanie@marsaylmedia.com PRODUCTION: Deborah Freeman - deborah@marsaylmedia.com CIRCULATION: Mary Jane Virden - maryjane@marsaylmedia.com

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REMEMBERING A PIONEER MARC ‘THOR’ OLSEN

IN THIS ISSUE

THE DROP - EDITORIAL. EDITORIAL.....................................................6 ...................................................6

EXECUTIVE MINUTE.......................................................

MINUTE....................................................... 20

AERIAL FIRE PICS.............................................................

PICS.............................................................88

THE SELF CHECKOUT......................................................

CHECKOUT......................................................24 24

SAFETY CULTURE. CULTURE............................................................12 .......................................................... 12

NEWS................................................................................34 NEWS .............................................................................34

CRAYMERS CORNER. CORNER........................................................ 16

AMERICAN HEROES SHOW RETURNS. RETURNS.............................74 ........................... 74

MISSION POSSIBLE. POSSIBLE......................................................... 18

PANTANAL WETLANDS. WETLANDS...................................................78 ................................................. 78

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Unsolicited editorial manuscripts and photos are welcomed and encouraged. We cannot be responsible for return unless submissions are accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Advertising deadline is 12 noon, on the 1st of the month preceding the month of publication.

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THE DROP

Ryan Mason ryan@aerialfiremag.com

Count Your Blessings As 2021 draws to a close, I have been reflecting a great deal on what a whirlwind 2021 has been, both personally and professionally. As far as the magazine is concerned, growth has not stopped.

We have continued to expand from 46 pages at the beginning of the year to 84 pages by the September issue. Also, changing the print format from saddle-stitched to the perfect-bound version you saw arriving on your doorsteps later in the year.

Adding pages was no easy task, but as the readers, you continued to ask for more content, which we delivered. That content has allowed me to travel around the country and even overseas in the latter part of the year to represent AerialFire Magazine as the only aerial firefighting publication to attend the successful AFF show in Tallinn, Estonia, in October. See the October 2021 issue for coverage on that fantastic event.

One of the things I am thankful for on a professional level as I look back on this year is how well the magazine has been received globally.

I receive some kudos or thank-yous for what we provide by putting the magazine out almost daily.

These comments come from every aspect of the industry, from the casual pilot reader to municipal, state, and federal agencies, all the way up to manufacturers of aircraft or equipment for the industry.

I have to admit when the pandemic struck, we were only a couple of issues into the new magazine. As I saw other businesses struggling, it gave me pause to wonder if we had made the right choice, but we kept doing what we were doing and soldiering on to produce what I hoped was worthwhile and well-received content for the industry.

AF 6 | aerialfiremag.com

While traveling can be difficult at times, I try very hard to be home when significant events happen.

In the almost decade I have been in this business, I have not missed a birthday, graduation, or family holiday. There are certain things I won’t compromise on when it relates to family time.

Thus far, I have been very fortunate to plan around all of those events within the constraints of fire seasons around the world, although the global pandemic has made that slightly easier over the last few years.

One of the things I am thankful for on a professional level is how well the magazine has been received globally.

On a personal note, as we hopefully get to put this pandemic in the rearview mirror soon, I look forward to watching my kids thrive as their lives return to normal more than my own. Watching them come out of school ripping their masks off like surgeons coming out of surgery, glad to breathe fresh air for the first time in 8 hours, was wearing on me. Thankfully, towards the end of this year, this order was rescinded, hoping that this was the last time and they could return to normal along with the rest of us.

I look forward to further indulging their aviation passion in 2022 and hopefully bringing another

helicopter into career day as we did in the years before the pandemic hit. This will be my daughter’s last year in elementary school, and schools focus less on showing kids STEM-based careers in middle and high school, so I have to strike while the iron is hot.

While next year will likely involve a lot more travel as borders begin to open again, the addition of new shows that we will be going to like the European Rotors show, the second AFF show added for Europe in 2022 in France and a several others, I look forward to meeting more people involved in the industry throughout the year.

In the new year for all of our readers, I hope for continued success, growth, and a safe 2022. Even as we still mourn the losses of the 2021 season, I hope that we can continue to drive down the number of pilots lost in accidents throughout the fire season. I hope for continued safety advancements that make pilots’ workloads less and their flying safer, no matter what they fly—cheers to a safe and prosperous 2022 fire season.

Fly safe,

aerialfiremag.com | AF 7

CAL FIRE’S newest asset, Tanker 118 performs touch and go’s in Redding CA. Photo by Maureen Bonessa.

Siller Helicopters 35S Sky Crane departs Minden, NV Airport to fight the Tamarack Fire. Photo by Donn Nisja.

AF 8 | aerialfiremag.com

AERIAL FIRE PICS

10 Tanker’s newly painted Tanker 914 lines up for a drop on the Caldor Fire. Photo by JT Humphrey.

HQ Aviation’s Kaman K-Max on deck in San Diego during fire season. Photo by Ryan McIntyre. aerialfiremag.com | AF 9

Coulson Aviation’s Tanker 131 dropping retardant over the Apple Fire in 2020. Photo by Ryan Winner.

Vigili Del Fuoco’s Tanker 15 returns from fire operations in Sardinia, Italy. Photo by Stefania Loriga.

AF 10 | aerialfiremag.com

AERIAL FIRE PICS

An Air Tractor AT-802 conducts a training drop in Stawell, Victoria Australia. Photo by Dave Soderstrom.

A Coulson Aviation operated NSW RFS Bell 412 conducts a training flight. Photo by Matthew Hopkins. aerialfiremag.com | AF 11

Do You Have a Safety Culture?

By Robert M. Summwalt A significant responsibility of management is to establish and maintain a safety culture. It must start at the top and permeate through the entire organization. If the leaders do not honestly believe in safety, why would others in the organization be expected to embrace it?

Do you have a safety culture in your organization?

Think carefully before answering. For those who immediately respond that they do, Dr. James Reason has some words to keep us on our toes: “[I]f you are convinced that your organization has a good safety culture, you are almost certainly mistaken — A safety culture is something that is strived for but rarely attained — [T]he process is more important than the product.” What is safety culture? I define safety culture simply as doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has long believed in the importance of such a culture. After questioning an organization’s safety focus in several accidents, NTSB in 1997 hosted the Symposium on Corporate Culture and Transportation Safety. Jim Hall, chairman of NTSB at the time, said: “We’ve found through 30 years of accident investigation that sometimes the most common link is the attitude of corporate leadership toward safety.

The safest carriers have more effectively committed themselves to controlling the risks that may arise from mechanical or organizational failures, environmental conditions, and human error.

Although that symposium was a decade ago, we continue to see accidents in which an operator’s safety culture is questioned.

The safety board recently investigated an accident involving a regional jet nighttime positioning flight. The pilots had no passengers and decided, as they told air traffic control, they would “have a little fun.” Post-accident analysis reveals that the crew performed several unauthorized actions, including intentionally causing the stall warning AF 12 | aerialfiremag.com

system to activate on three occasions, imposing dangerous sideloads on the aircraft’s tail structure by deliberately mishandling the rudder, allowing the first officer to occupy the captain’s seat while the captain sat in the first officer’s seat and a series of other deviations from standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Once level at flight level 410, the crew allowed the airspeed to bleed off, leading to a stall and loss of control. The high-altitude upset disrupted airflow through the engines, and both flamed out.

Unfortunately, the crew was unable to restart either engine, and they paid for this behavior with their lives.

The safety board recently investigated an accident involving a regional jet nighttime positioning flight.

These were not rogue pilots. Both were generally described as being good pilots. One first officer described the captain as “the best stick-andrudder pilot” he had ever flown with. Another pilot who flew with the captain a week before the accident said that the captain operated in a traditional manner with no deviations from SOPs. However, they were not doing the right things on the accident flight when no one was watching.

Why did this crew think that they could do what they did? Dr. Reason states that a safety culture consists of an “informed culture,” a “reporting culture” and a “just culture.” During the board meeting for this accident, I asked questions concerning two of these elements — informed and reporting cultures.

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informed culture. Examples of such programs are internal and external audits, flight operational quality assurance (FOQA), line operations safety audits (LOSA), and confidential incident reporting systems such as Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP).

Interestingly, at the time of the accident, the airline had no effective programs to collect and analyze safety data; it did not have a FOQA or ASAP program. It had never conducted a LOSA. Remarkably, when asked how they ensured that crews adhered to SOPs during positioning flights, the company’s chief pilot stated, “Same way I do any flight being conducted to SOP. We look at the reports. We look at the numbers, you know: Did they leave on time, did they not leave on time, and if anyone is on the jump seat doing a check.

That’s the only way I know if any flight I have is being conducted per SOP.” In other words, we don’t know. Reporting cultures are receptive to employee safetyproblem reports. The employees know they will not be punished or ridiculed for their reports. The Flight Safety Foundation Icarus Committee stated several years ago that if you expect employees to provide safety information, then you must have a printed policy signed by the CEO that assures employees that the organization will not initiate disciplinary proceedings against an employee who, in good faith, discloses a hazard or safety incident due to conduct that was unintentional.

Employees must be confident that confidentiality will be maintained. The airline involved in the previously mentioned accident had a safety hotline crew- members could use to report safety concerns. However, investigators discovered that no one used the hotline. In other words, whatever we have is not working.

One board member at the hearing stated, “Based on what you’ve told me today, I would say that … [the airline] lacked at least two elements of a successful safety culture — an informed culture and a reporting culture.”

I believe the absence of these elements, while not causing the accident, may have enabled the accident. It enabled a culture in which crew- members felt they could do whatever they wanted when no one was watching.

AF 14 | aerialfiremag.com

A just culture is essential, but it is often misunderstood. In a proper culture, employees are confident that they will be treated fairly while they will be held accountable for their actions.

They also know that those who act recklessly or deliberately take unjustifiable risks will be punished.

Dr. Reason emphasizes that we must not confuse “just culture” with “no-blame culture” (FSD, 3/05, p. 2). He explains that a “no-blame” culture does not address how to deal with “individuals who willfully (and often repeatedly) engaged in dangerous behaviors that … increase the risk of a bad outcome. Secondly, [no-blame culture does] not properly address the important business of distinguishing between culpable and nonculpable unsafe acts.

“In my view, a safety culture depends critically upon first negotiating where the line should be drawn between unacceptable behavior and blameless acts,” he says.

The three elements of a safety culture are like gears, turning together to propel an organization towards a safety culture. If one or more are missing, the intended movement doesn’t happen.

So, again, the question arises: Do you have a safety culture? Perhaps a more telling question is: Do you have these elements, and are they effective? Be careful how you answer that one.

aerialfiremag.com | AF 15

CRAYMER’S COUNSEL

Robert Craymer - robertc@covingtonaircraft.com

Hot Section Inspections Maintenance time is just ahead for many operators. Shops are starting to fill out schedules for off-season work. One of the maintenance items that is frequently discussed is the need for an engine hot section inspection. While hot section inspection time requirements may differ by engine model, the “mid TBO” recommendation usually applies. Performance loss can also dictate the need for an inspection. For example, the PT6A-34AG engine TBO (Time Between Overhauls) is 4000 hours, and hot sections are recommended at 2000 hours. For the PT6A65AG, the basic engine TBO is 3000 hours, and the recommended hot section inspection is 1500 hours. All this information exists for all engine models in various Pratt & Whitney Canada service AF 16 | aerialfiremag.com

bulletins. Time constraints are listed in service bulletins, but each engine model’s maintenance manual defines the hot section inspection criteria.

What exactly is a hot section inspection? The hot section inspection is the way of making sure the condition of some of the hardest working parts in your engine can continue to do the job up to the next inspection interval or until TBO. The PT6 engine is all about efficiency, and the hot section inspection is a simple and fast way to confirm the engine is not losing efficiency in this extreme environment. Because of the temperature and forces applied to the parts in the hot section, a wide variety of factors can change efficiency just through normal operation. Fretting, wear,

Left: Segment Grinding.

Right Top: CT Blade Tips.

Right Bottom: Hot Section Overview.

cracking, and rubbing all have a chance to exist in the hot section, and all can negatively affect your engine’s performance.

If problems can be detected early and repaired, it is less expensive than replacing parts like a vane ring or turbine blades.

When the engine is split to perform the hot section inspection, one of the first tasks is to measure the compressor turbine blade tip clearance. Tip clearance is one of the key areas for efficiency. On a PT6A-34AG, for example, the median tip clearance is .013”. That is only the thickness of a couple of business cards.

That clearance is awfully close for a disk that spins thousands of revolutions per minute in temperatures of hundreds of degrees. When those tip clearances begin to increase, you lose performance. In the cockpit, that means the engine is not making power because of temperature limitations.

As we head into maintenance season this year, review your engine times and be sure to discuss the need for a hot section inspection. You want to make sure once you get through the downtime, the airplane and engine are primed and ready for another successful spray season.

Please reach out to me at robertc@ covingtonaircraft.com if you have any questions, and I’ll be glad to assist.

After tip clearances are measured, the turbine disk is removed, and the rest of the hot section parts are checked for deterioration, distress, or other problems. Once repairs are made, and issues addressed, components are resurfaced and resealed as needed. The compressor turbine blade tip clearance is reset to get maximum efficiency by changing and/or grinding the segments. Then the hot section is reinstalled.

That is a basic overview.

There are additional requirements as part of the inspection. Bleed valve and compressor condition must be checked. The gas generator case has inspection criteria. The fuel nozzles, the power turbine stator and housing, exhaust duct, oil strainers, oil filters, and chip detectors are also checked. No one wants to invest time and money into a hot section only to find out the compressor has issues and the engine must be removed. What if you find out that the gearboxes are making metal? Perhaps distress in your hot section is being caused by a fuel nozzle issue? Proper inspection of all parts and fulfilling all inspection criteria are essential when it comes to hot section inspection.

I touched on some of the things that we are doing during your hot section inspection. Just remember it is more than a split and peak at the parts. We want to ensure the engine is safe for the operator and can be operated to its fullest when needed. Preventative maintenance and inspections are also a way to keep costs down. aerialfiremag.com | AF 17

Mission Possible — Advocating for GA in the TFR Process

By James Williams Deep in the FAA sits an organization tasked with a mission. At first glance, that mission might sound impossible. But the FAA’s System Operations Security Directorate (SOS) is tasked with balancing the needs of various airspace users within the National Airspace System (NAS). SOS is your advocate for airspace restrictions and governs how they are made and implemented.

SOS is your advocate for airspace restrictions — how they are made and implemented.

As you fly in the NAS, the common constraints you will encounter, often with limited notice, are Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), especially those established by the FAA for security or emergency operations purposes. While TFRs, like most system constraints, are not exactly popular with pilots, it is important to understand that the FAA only uses this tool when needed to meet overriding requirements, including aviation safety demands. The agency consistently works to mitigate the impact of TFRs on pilots and the broader aviation community.

How the Airspace Gets Made SOS is the primary FAA office responsible for air traffic management-related security and disaster response operations. As part of that mission, the SOS often acts as an intermediary between agencies responsible for national security and the general aviation community. Balancing the needs of airspace users, such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, with the need to maximize open access to publicly navigable airspace, is a critical consideration when SOS personnel evaluate TFR requests from these external agencies.

How SOS handles national security-driven TFRs, including those implemented for presidential travel, provides a good look into the FAA’s continuous work to ensure that TFRs are only used when really needed, and executed in a way that lessens their effect on operators and others in the aviation community.

AF 18 | aerialfiremag.com

SOS receives requests for security-related TFRs to cover parades, sporting events, large concerts, and other outdoor events on a regular basis. The FAA is required by law and regulation to establish national security TFRs in collaboration with the Department of Defense or other federal security and intelligence entities. SOS staff partner with representatives from all branches of the military and the federal law enforcement community to thoroughly address and vet each request that is received. All TFRs are designed and approved based upon a stringent evaluation by SOS and security partners, taking into consideration statutory and regulatory mandates, security risks, and impacts on the aviation community.

Everyone’s NAS One of SOS’s core principles is to maximize free airspace access. This fundamental consideration is taken into account with every security TFR request. SOS routinely works with interagency partners to adjust TFRs as a means to ensure minimal impact to the aviation community. SOS staff works with the requesting agency to include only the essential needs for dates, times, and airspace. At times, interagency requests do not meet the defined, credible security threat criteria for issuing a given type of TFR. In these cases, SOS queries the requester. If credible threat information has not been received, the TFR is not approved. If there is a credible security threat, SOS issues a TFR and works with the requestor to determine a timeframe when normal airspace operations can safely and securely resume. While personnel from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice have significant input into vetting a TFR, the FAA retains the ultimate decision-making authority.

SOS is not limited to advocating on behalf of aircraft activity at large airports. In discussions with security partners, the FAA also advocates for

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other operations with a legitimate need to access airspace restricted by a TFR. For example, SOS may seek access for agricultural operations, community-based model aircraft organizations, or last-minute medical evacuation flights.

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Maintaining the security of the NAS also requires notifying pilots of TFRs on a timely basis. Once a TFR has been published, SOS works very closely with pilot organizations to ensure the information is properly disseminated through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) and, in many cases, advisories distributed via the FAA’s Safety Program Airmen Notification System (SPANS) to the widest audience possible (see www. faasafety.gov/spans to register or log in).

“It is our intent to provide notification to pilots of flight restrictions well in advance to prevent any accidental incursions,” says Gary Miller, the Director of SOS. “Such incursions require security partners to dedicate valuable time and resources to intercept unintentional TFR violators that could be used to mitigate a legitimate threat,” he adds. As an added layer to increase public awareness, SOS routinely works withthe FAA’s Public Affairs office to communicate anticipated TFRs using the news media.

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Executive Minute Mattias Magnasco, Jetex Flight Support whatever the nature of the mission may be. Jetex is passionate about serving these aviation sectors and routinely facilitates flights in disaster-affected countries. Our work is focused on delivering consistent and reliable service on a global scale. We guarantee complete discretion for the coordination of our support services.

Jetex also coordinates ad-hoc and large-scale humanitarian relief flights operations for the United Nations, governments, international NGOs, and firefighting companies. We provide timely and dedicated support to critical flights, whatever the nature of the mission.

Jetex Flight Support provides critical ground support and fuel supply to aerial firefighting operations in extreme environments. We spoke to Matias Magnasco about the vital work Jetex does supporting such operations in disasteraffected countries.

Tell us a bit about Jetex and how you came to work in aerial firefighting operations: I am responsible for the European branch of the Mission Planning Division of Jetex Flight Support, which allows me to be in permanent touch with government and military operators involved in firefighting operations. Due to the nature of such operations, this led me to work with Firefighting companies as well.

I am also a Volunteer Firefighter in the French Fire and Rescue service, which allows me to have a sound acknowledgment of the wildfire problem from “on the ground,” too. It is part of the operational culture in Jetex to adapt our services to the specific requirements of our partners. That is the reason why, based on my experience, I was assigned to this Division.

Please explain why major firefighting entities have come to depend on Jetex for ground support and critical operations in disaster-affected territories: Major organizations depend on us to serve their missions with confidentiality and zeal, providing timely supplies, AF 20 | aerialfiremag.com

Often, most lives and forests are saved in the immediate hours following a fire event. We pride ourselves on our ability to react rapidly to emergency situations, including setting up time-critical flights outside of regular working hours. Additionally, our unrivaled global coverage allows us to assist aid providers in responding to crises anywhere in the world.

Some of our previous missions have included evacuating NGO personnel and civilians from war zones, providing executive charter services for officials conducting diplomatic tours, flying Sar and Rescue teams into disaster-stricken areas, and responding to environmental disasters.

Explain the importance of critical fuel uplift coordination for relief and firefighting flights in harsh environments: It is essential for firefighting entities to be able to plan their flight operations based on their needs and not worry about the assets on the ground. This is where Jetex comes into the picture. Our affiliations in regions with limited logistics are a solution our partners value a lot.

What sort of industry outreach programs does Jetex sponsor?

We support, as sponsors and speakers, many conferences and commercial events related to flight operations. These events allow us to be closer to our partners, understand their needs, and adapt our services accordingly. Conferences such as Aerial Firefighting and Military Airlift are among the events that we attend every year. ➤

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Please give us some examples of Jetex operating in challenging environments in support of sensitive operations, in hot and cold and inhospitable parts of the world: One interesting and rewarding example of such an operation occurred when the last earthquake hit the region of Nepal a few years ago. The logistics in the area were limited, and there were a few airports that could receive relief flights without issues. We collaborated with several governmental partners for many weeks, advising of the different airport options, operating hours, and logistics available. These were very demanding operations, and knowing that we were supporting not only our partners but people who were in need at that time, was very rewarding for us.

We’ve noticed that many of your team members are former military personnel. What local recruitment and training programs do you offer prospective employees?

That’s right. As mentioned earlier, it is part of Jetex’s culture to provide customized services to answer our customer’s needs. With this principle in mind, our team of executives representing our company, and who are in close contact with military units, have prior military experience. We believe this is essential due to the nature of our customers. Our flight operations team, which takes care of governmental flights, or

operations contracted by governmental entities, focuses only on these operations.

Jetex is becoming a part of air mobility solutions for special operations. What role do you see Jetex playing in the future of the firefighting operations?

We are constantly adapting our services to our customer’s needs. We have noticed that due to the constant constraints in budgets, operators are not only looking for flight support services but for a company that can provide a full set of services, from coordinating a fuel uplift to providing an aircraft to carry cargo or personnel around the world.

As a service provider, we keep developing our current role as a flight support company and increasing new capabilities, like adding aircraft to the inventory of our charter department, or partnering with local FBOs, adding a network capability to coordinate services at strategic locations like, for example, in California or Chile, where the Chilean Government’s conditions to operate in the country request, as mandatory, that the aircraft has an AOC in Chile. We have developed this capability to facilitate the international firefighting operations there. We are proud to keep developing our services, thanks to the trustful collaboration with our partners, customers, and suppliers.

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www.taeaerospace.com aerialfiremag.com | AF 23 Image courtesy of Steve Whitby Photography

The Self Checkout - A Pilot’s Guide

By Ted Delanghe Although becoming less and less common, a checkout on certain aerial firefighting aircraft can often be: “Well, it’s behind the hangar, go fly it.”

No flight manual, no in-type experienced pilot to offer some words of wisdom, and of course no second seat for a check pilot to occupy. It can be argued that by and large, all aircraft fly more or less the same, but when it comes to a large financial investment, you don’t want to find things out the hard way.

Many years ago a very experienced Kiwi ag pilot told me that it took him about 100 hours of flight time to feel truly proficient when converting to a new aircraft. He called it ‘educating the hands’.

I was young (and inexperienced) at the time and figured it took him that long because he was an older pilot than me. (He was in his early forties and had flown ag aircraft of all types.) Fast forward a couple of decades and I had to agree with him. For me, around 100 hours on type seems just about right to feel truly proficient, so that when things don’t go exactly as planned, the hands do the right thing while the brain is on fire trying to sort things out.

Here is one example of ‘educated hands’ saving the bacon. A while back, I received a phone call from a graduate of an ag pilot course we had run a few months before. He was pretty excited but related to me what had happened that day. He had been flying an AgTruck off a farmer’s narrow grass strip, and just as he was getting airborne near the end of the runway slipped off to one side and his right-wing had caught in the wheat crop, pulling the aircraft to that side and slowing its acceleration.

Things could have ended up badly, but he said his left hand went to the dump lever “on its own” and pushed full forward to jettison the load. “It climbed up like a homesick angel,” he said. “It was like you were sitting beside me going over the emergency jettison procedure.”

During the course we had participants do a “last chance check” just before takeoff, which consisted of throttle quadrant set, trim set, flaps set, fuel AF 24 | aerialfiremag.com

checked, and abort. The last item meant you actually touched the jettison handle as the last item before moving the throttle forward. You don’t want to be searching for that handle when you need it most.

That proactive approach can be expanded to all areas of the flight envelope. It is critically important for pilots in general – and fire pilots specifically – to develop a solid theoretical and practical knowledge of an aircraft’s flight characteristics from square one.

Any initial checkout starts with the aircraft flight manual. Take the time to go over this in detail.

It has been put together specifically to improve your ability to fly the aircraft safely and effectively.

Once that is done, it’s time to go flying. Here is one suggested profile that can be used as a standard checkout when converting to a new aircraft.

Start with an empty hopper. On takeoff, advance the throttle prudently, being aware of any tendency to pull left or right on the takeoff roll.

Climb to a safe altitude that will permit recovery from the maneuvers no lower than 1500 feet AGL. Start with a series of Lazy-8s. This will give you a good feel as to the aileron and elevator response over a wide range of airspeeds, and the rudder effectiveness and trim required at various airspeeds. It will also simulate the exit and entry you would use during actual retardant drop or water dumping salvos.

Next, reduce power and set up for slow flight, reducing speed to approximately 10 knots above the flaps up stall speed. Make sure the aircraft is trimmed so you don’t have to manhandle the stick. Additional power will be required to maintain airspeed and altitude.

Continue to fly in that configuration for a bit, getting a good handle on how the controls feel at that speed. Be particularly aware of the feel of the flight controls, and how ‘mushy’ they ➤

aerialfiremag.com | AF 25

feel as you make gentle banks left and right. With some of the larger aircraft, you may notice how torque, slipstream effect, and P-factor may produce a strong left yaw, requiring rudder input to keep in coordinated flight.

Next, perform a clean stall straight ahead by reducing the throttle to idle. As you approach the stall airspeed, continue to raise the nose to maintain altitude. Just before the stall occurs, buffeting, uncommanded rolling, or vibrations may occur. Put these in the memory bank as warning signs that, at low altitude, you need to do something RIGHT NOW to prevent a serious mishap.

Once stalled, complete a full recovery straight ahead, reconfigure with full flaps, and continue with slow flight and a dirty stall as with the clean configuration.

Once you are satisfied with the upper air work with an empty hopper, return to base, and add a half load of water. Climb back to the same altitude and repeat the sequences as with the empty aircraft. Once completed, in straight and level cruise, perform a full jettison of the load (making sure all is clear below), being especially careful of the significant nose-up pitch that will require considerable forward stick pressure to counteract.

Perform the same thing with a full load at altitude as before.

Again, with a full jettison, be ready to counteract the resulting heavy pitch-up moment with a firm forward stick. While performing all these maneuvers, try to link them to real-life scenarios such as abrupt pullups avoiding birds or obstacles, normal turn procedures during salvos, etc.

The key here is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Being aware of your aircraft’s handling characteristics in all phases of flight will go a long way towards building that all-important pound of cure.

Ted Delanghe is a former Canadian Air Force pilot turned ag pilot, having flown more than 50 aircraft types from ultralights to fighters, including a wide range of ag aircraft. He resides in Regina, Saskatchewan, where he is also a business consultant with a specific focus on aviation and aerospace.

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Above: The radial S-2 received a second chance at

Having worked in the agricultural aviation industry for over 20 years, Bill Garrison’s entry into the aerial firefighting world was somewhat non-traditional. Garrison started working in the ag aviation industry in 1996, starting his own company Ag Air Services Inc., in 2000. After many years flying multiple types of ag aviation aircraft, Garrison’s operation settled on Air Tractors, flying the AT-301 and two AT-400s serving Kansas and surrounding states.

active fire service after Bill Garrison and his team worked dilligently for many months to return the

The AT-301 began his aerial firefighting career in Kansas after being approached to assist in dropping water on some smaller fires over several years by local agencies.

aircraft to flight ready status

AF 28 | aerialfiremag.com

In 2017, the wind-driven grass fuelled Highland wildfire tore through Kansas, garnering national attention, scorching over 7,000 acres, and forcing thousands to evacuate. At the time, Garrison called the Fire Chief in Nickerson, Kansas, to see if he could assist with the blaze. The Fire Chief

told him to bring whatever he could to help. Over the next eleven hours fighting the Highland fire, Garrison would drop more than 20,000 gallons of water alongside the only other air assets available, a pair of Kansas Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopters using Bambi buckets.

During firefighting efforts over the Highland fire, Garrison realized that there was a lot of heavier brush in some areas. He felt that a bigger airplane would be better for aerial firefighting than the Air Tractor he was using with just a standard agricultural gate.

Garrison’s first thought was potentially the much larger 800-gallon Air Tractor AT-802F. However, at over a million dollars, it was too large of an investment to make on something that may not make enough money back to support it. So he began to start looking for an available and affordable solution.

Top: Garrison has now fought several large fires with his S-2, this shot taken during firefighting operations on the Beer Fire.

Bottom: The Kansas based S-2, although relatively new to the state fire agency, has proven to be a

“I’d kind of narrowed it down to a Neptune or Tracker. As for the Neptunes, we looked at one that Evergreen used to have, but it had been sitting outside way too long and started having corrosion issues, so that ruled out the available Neptune at the time.” With Evergreen’s Neptune out of the running, Garrison then stopped in California to look at some S-2 Trackers that were available and found several more located in Carson City, NV.

worthwhile asset for the state’s use to fight fires.

In Carson City, Garrison met Rick Clements, the Cactus Air Force Wings and Wheels Museum owner, who had two Grumman Trackers that the museum had purchased as surplus aircraft

from CAL FIRE. Garrison looked over the plane, telling Clements what he wanted to do with them, eventually striking a deal to buy a flyable Tracker from the museum.

Several months later, Garrison and his mechanic, Tim Coons, arrived back at the museum in Carson City to start working on getting one of the S-2 Trackers into airworthy condition. In addition to the mechanical work that needed to be completed, the data plate had been lost when the museum purchased the aircraft as surplus from CAL FIRE. Garrison had to obtain a data plate reissue from the FAA. Additionally, a maintenance program needed to be written for the veteran ➤ aerialfiremag.com | AF 29

aircraft. A ferry permit was also required to fly the Tracker from Carson City back to Kansas.

Top: Garrison has thousands of flight hours in agricultural aviation, now switching to the much larger S-2.

Right: The S-2 stands out among the greenery of the mostly rural Kansas landscape.

The process of getting the Tracker flying again wasn’t considered problematic. However, it was more time-consuming than anything, said Garrison about the overall experience of bringing the S-2 back to life. Everybody involved in getting the aircraft ready to ferry, including Garrison, had extensive maintenance experience, not so much on S-2 directly, but a great deal of expertise on radial engines. The two spent the next two months working on the S-2 at the museum in Carson City, spending money on hotel accommodations and copious parts purchases. Along with 16-hour workdays, that was what it took to get the aircraft airworthy for its eventual ferry flight to its new home base at the Hutchinson Regional Airport in Kansas.

Upon the aircraft’s arrival at its new home, the additional work of getting the aircraft ready to fight fires began. Due to Garrison having to keep up with the ag spray season during the summer months, the complete restoration would take Garrison the better part of a year. During this time, he replaced all of the oil and hydraulic hoses, then moved through the rest of the associated systems to get the S-2’s four-door, 800-gallon belly tank/ fire suppression system operable. Upon the aircraft’s retirement, CAL FIRE had disabled the aircraft’s wing fold system, which Garrison chose to leave as it was for the time being. The

AF 30 | aerialfiremag.com

next order of business was getting the Automatic Dependant-Surveillance Broadcast (ADSB) installed and radios using the same band as the Kansas Forest Service’s (KFS’s) radio equipment.

Meanwhile, Garrison was also working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue an airworthiness certificate.

Initially, Garrison had bought three engines for the S-2 in cans from a salvage dealer in the Denver area, which was the total of spare parts he had while bringing the aircraft online. During a type rating check ride, one of the engines on the S-2 failed, which quickly used up one of the spare engines, bringing the replacements now down to two. Since then, Garrison has bought another S-2 in military configuration, which he is currently using as a parts aircraft for QECs (Quick Engine Changes), and other spare parts as needed.

Garrison also has a good relationship with the Wichita Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), who he asked to come out several times during the restoration process, so there was knowledge of the aircraft when it came time for the issuing of a new certificate for AAIP (Approved Aircraft Inspection Program). “While it took a little bit, I would say it went pretty darn smoothly,” Garrison stated.

Kansas’ fire season, unlike west coast seasons, typically runs from late November through May, which is when Garrison then switches back to ag spraying in the summer months. Garrison

currently foots the bill for his labor of love, restoring the S-2 and using it to fight fires. “The Forest Service didn’t front any of the money for this. I was doing it on my own, in the hopes that if I could do it, and do it right, I could get a contract.” As one might imagine, the KFS had been interested in seeing Garrison’s progress and if he would be able to get his air tanker project off the ground. So, while all of the maintenance, flight training, and preparations were at his own expense, Garrison knew that if he could have the airplane up and running, they would call when they needed him. Nearly a year after its ferry flight to Kansas, Garrison’s Tracker was finally ready to fight fires, receiving a two-year call when needed (CWN) contract with the Kansas Forest Service.

Despite all of the work and effort that had gone into getting the aircraft airworthy and once again ready to fight fires, perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the entire project for Garrison was dealing with all of the different agencies involved in getting an aircraft such as the S-2, which is only currently in use as a turbine in California, approved for use.

Garrison was able to get through the hurdles and red tape by remaining determined and focused on getting this program started while also doing his best to maintain good working

relationships with those various government agencies throughout the process. Now that his aircraft is finally in the air and performing the missions he had purchased it to do, Garrison takes great pride in the fact that he has “proved that it can be done and even though it was an older aircraft and everybody thought I was nuts - I’ve proved everybody wrong.”

Looking back on the entire project as it has come together, Garrison is very happy with how it has all come together and can’t put his finger on any one thing that he regrets or wishes went differently than it did, except perhaps that he may indeed wish that he had gotten a second, flying S-2.

The S-2 tanker can respond anywhere in the region in a matter of minutes, whereas it may take the National ➤

40 aerialfiremag.com | AF 31

The S-2 is based out of Hutchinson Airport, just outside of the Witchita, Kansas metro area.

Guard hours to ready their aircraft. Garrison has flown his Tracker under contract on three fires so far this year, and now that the first fire season of his two-year CWN contract is under his belt.

Chris Hanson, the District Fire Management Officer for the Kansas Forest Service, stated that while unconventional in its inception, the S-2 program has proven to be a welcome addition to the state’s aerial firefighting program. It has evolved from its initial beginnings to be a program that now utilizes a state agency member as a fire management officer with Garrison in the cockpit that acts as a fire controller in the air onboard the S-2 during fire operations directing the state’s role in the firefighting effort.

When compared to other programs, Garrison’s S-2 program is most certainly still in its infancy. However, from Garrison as the pilot, down to the maintenance crew, ground operations staff, and the cooperation from the State of Kansas; all involved are doing their best to ensure that they do everything right, every time - adhering to a ‘crawl, walk, run’ approach when it comes to this unique air tanker program.

While the aircraft-dropping retardant is still an option, the complexities of Kansas having to set up retardant bases is still a somewhat far-off option in the future due to the logistics involved for the state, said Hanson.

Deconfliction over fires can be a complex issue on extensive fire grounds; however, much of the time, Garrison is the primary or only responding aircraft, unlike many other more congested fire grounds seen in other states. Usually, the only other aircraft on the scene would be the Black Hawks from the National Guard, if they’ve been requested, which typically only occurs after several hours of being on a fire ground. Hanson stated that the state response to fires is relatively quick, being that a local agency can request help from the state. The state then puts Garrison into action, sometimes within the same hour. In contrast, if the National Guard is asked for, that has to go through the national requisition process, which must go through NIFC and then on to the National Guard request process, often taking several hours for the aircraft to get on scene.

Garrison and the Kansas Forest Service also spend a great deal of time educating local fire agencies on the operation of the S-2, often flying the aircraft to different airports around the state to teach local fire agencies how to reload the aircraft with water so that when there is a need for local assistance, the response from local firefighters is swift and speeds up the refilling operation of the aircraft while completing the refilling in the safest manner possible for the ground units assisting.

While Kansas may not be at the top of the list when you think about fire danger, the state does have years that could be devastating without the intervention of the Kansas Fire Service and their ability to employ the use of a nontraditional system like that of Bill Garrison’s S-2. The teamwork between Garrison and agency representatives like Chris Hanson, who strive to make a difference in aerial firefighting, shows that the future of the industry in Kansas looks bright.

Hanson stated that since the program’s inception, the S-2 had flown operationally for 81 hours on fires over the last several years, fighting everything from small fires to 10,000acre fires like the Cherry Creek Fire in Cheyenne County.

AF 32 | aerialfiremag.com

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Pratt & Whitney Canada Appoints Five Jet Aviation Locations as Designated Maintenance Facilities LONGUEUIL, QUEBEC, November 14, 2021 – Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of Pratt & Whitney, announced today that it has appointed five new Designated Maintenance Facilities (DMFs) to serve customers in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Switzerland. Providing line maintenance and mobile repair services, the new DMFs are all maintenance facilities owned and operated by Jet Aviation.

The new DMFs are: • Jet Aviation Singapore, Singapore (PW308A/C, PW307A/D, PT6A-21/-28/135A/-41/-42/-52/-60A/-67A/-65B/67D/-64/-66D, JT15D-5/5R, PW305B, PW617F-E, PW535E) • Jet Aviation Cairns, Cairns, Australia, (PW120, PW121/A, PW127E, PW123B/ C/D/E, PW150A, PW118A/B, PT6A21/-27/-28/-135A/-41/-42/-52/-60A/67A/-65B/67D/-64/-66D/-114/-114A/, JT15D-4/-5A/D5) • Jet Aviation Hong Kong, Lantau, Hong Kong (PW308C, PW307A) • Jet Aviation Manila, Pasay City, Philippines (PT6A-114/A, JT15D-5A, JT15D-D, PW207D, PW207D1/D2, PT6A21/28/135A, PT6A-41/42/52, PT6A60A/67A, PT6A-65B/67D) • Jet Aviation Basel, Basel, Switzerland, (PW305A, PW307A, PW307D, PW308C) “Today’s announcement brings the number of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s DMFs serving helicopters and regional, general and business aviation operators to 22, located in North and South America, Europe and Asia,” said Satheeshkumar Kumarasingam, vice president, Customer Service, Pratt & Whitney Canada.

“Our DMF network is a critical element of our strategy to provide our customers with local and personalized line maintenance and mobile repair services. Since we introduced our first DMF in AF 34 | aerialfiremag.com

2017, we have expanded the network to areas where demand from our customers exists. Along with fast turnaround times and streamlined logistics, DMFs offer a host of high-quality services, from engine-OEM-approved tooling and parts to direct support from our technical professionals if complex questions arise.”

“Jet Aviation is delighted to be appointed a Designated Maintenance Facility for Pratt & Whitney Canada.” said Joe Reckling, senior vice president, Regional Operations – Asia Pacific for Jet Aviation. “We enjoy a close working relationship and are excited by this opportunity to further our support for our commercial and business aviation customers. We are proud to be a collaborator of Pratt & Whitney Canada, as we both work to provide the best solutions to our customers globally.”

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Helitak Receives FAA Approved Model List Amendment for FT4500 Blackhawk Tank Australian company Helitak have received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to include seven additional Sikorsky Black Hawk Type Certificates on the Helitak FT4500 Black Hawk STC that was awarded in May 2021 bringing the total to 10 UH-60 or EH-60 models now approved for operation.

Offering the only FAA certified underbelly fire suppression tank for the Black Hawk helicopter in the World, the proven performance of the Helitak FT4500 Fire Suppression Tank has further been confirmed with the recent contract announcement by the Australian National Aerial Fire Centre (NAFC) where all five Black Hawk aircraft receiving contracts will operate with the Helitak tank installed.

Helitak previously secured their intellectual property with Patent and Design Registration applications submitted in Australia, the USA and other selected countries and territories around the world to protect their next-generation AF 36 | aerialfiremag.com

tank design and tank mounting systems used in connection with the FT4500 Black Hawk fire suppression tank.

Helitak, CEO and Founder Jason Schellaars said, “This certification is so important as it increases the number of helicopters that are approved to operate the FT4500 Fire Suppression Tank, and as we head into Summer it means that these operators who are so instrumental in fighting bush fires, will be able to use our tank as part of their firefighting strategies.

“Importantly, the FT4500 is light, easy to install, allows for large Type 1 water volume capacity and offers easy plug and play operations allowing for a perfect and controllable drop pattern every time and when fighting bush fires accuracy and being able to carry as much water as the aircraft will allow can make all the difference,” Mr Schellaars said.

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DART Aerospace’s SkyCannon Receives UH-60/S-70 FAA STC

DART Aerospace announced on November 1st, 2021 that the company had received FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for its SkyCannon® Fire Attack System on the Sikorsky UH-60/S-70 helicopter. The UH-60/S-70 is the third helicopter type certified to operate the SkyCannon® after the Airbus EC225 Puma and Avicopter AC313.

“This revolutionary firefighting system raises the bar for urban firefighting efforts and solidifies DART’s leadership position in the aerial firefighting equipment market,” says Steve Ghaleb, Vice President of Commercial Operations at DART. “While originally requested by an Asian customer for firefighting efforts in dense city centers, operators of other aircraft types started asking about it. It is our mission to meet our customer’s needs, and we’re pleased to now offer the SkyCannon® on the UH-60/S-70 in direct response to a specific customer request.”

DART worked closely with Nevada-based Skydance Helicopters to flight test and certify the SkyCannon® for the UH-60/S-70.

“At Skydance, we are often in the thick of the fire season throughout the West, so we were thrilled to work with DART AF 38 | aerialfiremag.com

on expanding the SkyCannon® system,” says Skydance President Peggy Cain. “We were very impressed. This system has the potential to make a considerable impact in the firefighting market and for other firefighting operators in the helicopter industry.”

The SkyCannon® was designed to control and contain high-rise fires by providing the ability for helicopters to reach beyond ground-based firefighting efforts with a directed low-pressure, high-volume water stream. The SkyCannon® works with DART Fire Attack Tanks to pump water through an extended boom off the nose of the aircraft to deliver precision applications on high-rise structures. The boom extends one meter beyond the rotor diameter to avoid rotor wash and the system includes an infrared camera and distance measuring equipment for accuracy. Equipped with a hover refill snorkel, the system can rapidly refill from any body of water and can be installed and removed in 30 minutes.

The first UH-60/S-70 SkyCannon® is planned for initial installation on an in-service aircraft this fall and enter into service in early 2022.

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FIRECAT — Ready to Work the Australian Skies Australian-owned firefighting operator Kestrel Aviation has introduced another new aircraft type to its extensive fleet of helicopters in time for this year’s fire season. “FIRECAT” is the company’s first AS332L1 Super Puma contracted for aerial firefighting in Australia, replacing the Sikorsky S-61 previously operating from Victoria’s Ballarat Airport in the southern portion of the country during the summer months.

FIRECAT, registered as VH-KSI, has been assigned the 349 helitack call sign by Victoria’s fire authorities. The aircraft was built in 2000 and was previously operated by the Fire and Disaster Management Division of the Tokyo Fire Department before its sale to Kestrel. Configured for operations in Japan as an aerial fire attack and air ambulance aircraft, the Super Puma served with the department from its initial delivery in 2001 until 2020.

With local fire agencies having a desire for true multi-mission aircraft, unlike restricted category aircraft, the Super Puma has the capacity for 24 passengers thanks to its transport category classification. With dual cabin doors, it provides opportunities for dual rappel and winch operations, making the AS332 a great ‘all-rounder’ with its rich development heritage in the challenging offshore market and over 4-ton lift capacity.

Kestrel joins a select few companies able to secure the highly sought-after transport category aircraft through a collaborative relationship with Canadian-based Coldstream Helicopters, who operate a fleet of ten Super Puma’s as part of their offering to the aerial firefighting and heavy lift market. Both organizations hope that the capability on AF 40 | aerialfiremag.com

display with FIRECAT will see more examples of the aircraft operating in Australia each season.

After an intensive winter maintenance period, which included modification for Australian operations, FIRECAT is now on contract at its Ballarat base. Fitted with an impressive 4,000-litre Powerfill Bambi Max bucket, the aircraft will shortly be mated with its Model 316 belly tank, which includes the innovative SkyCannon, providing a versatile asset in the event of a high-rise fire.

“FIRECAT is another example of Kestrel looking to provide sovereign solutions on the back of the recommendations from the Royal Commission, and we are proud to bring this capability to Australia,” said Ray Cronin, Kestrel’s Managing Director. FIRECAT represents the largest capacity Type-1 helicopter owned and maintained by an Australian aerial firefighting operator under contract with the National Aerial Firefighting Centre. It also represents a continued investment

by Ray and Eleanor Cronin in meeting the growing demands sought by customers both on the fire ground and in the commercial environment.

“The AS332 is a large and powerful helicopter that provides a range of versatile options, and we look forward to working with the agencies in developing the capabilities it will deliver,” said Captain Wayne Herman, Kestrel’s AS332 Type Specialist.

The Super Puma joins Kestrel’s already impressive fleet of aircraft that includes the Bell 206, Bell 212, Bell 412, Sikorsky S-76, and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

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Successful First Flight for Newest Russian Firefighting Helicopter

Expected to become one of the world’s premier firefighting helicopters, the new Ka-32A11M recently took off on its maiden flight at Russia’s flight-test complex at Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise in Bashkortostan.

The Ka-32A11M features an improved, NVG compatible “glass cockpit,” with advanced avionics based on technology that has been undergoing testing in civil versions of the Ansat and Mi-38. This helicopter will be powered by two VK-2500PS-02 engines, offering enhanced performance in high and hot conditions and increasing its load capacity by nearly 1600kg (3,527lbs). This aircraft is also equipped with the new SP-32 fire extinguishing system.

The digitally controlled SP-32 fire extinguishing system developed in collaboration between NTSV Mil, Kamov, and KumAPP can draw up to 4 tons of water in 60 seconds to fill the four compartments of its divided tank. Drops are controlled by a digital flap system allowing the operator to open the flaps in pairs or alternating. The operator can also adjust the angle of the flap opening giving the two crew AF 42 | aerialfiremag.com

members greater control of the pattern and coverage level of each water drop. Up to 400L of water-enhancing foam agents, may also be added.

Designed to provide the option of employing an added water cannon, the new SP-32 fire extinguishing systems are also electrically heated. This feature allows the system to continue functioning even in freezing conditions down to -20 degrees Celsius.

Derived from the Ka-30; the Ka-32 family of aircraft are well suited to perform a variety of missions in harsh conditions, even marine environments, and this newest, iteration is no different. The helicopter’s coaxial rotor system, compact footprint, ruggedness, power, and stability make it ideal not only for the aerial firefighting mission, but a host of other missions as well, including search and rescue, cargo/ personnel transport, medevac, and precision lift work.

Certification for the Ka-32A11M is expected to be completed in 2022 - 2023.

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Kestrel Reaches Night Aerial Firebombing Approval Milestone

Following on from its multi-award-winning success in developing an effective night firebombing helicopter program in partnership with the Victorian Government, Kestrel Aviation has now achieved another significant milestone on its journey to providing around-the-clock aerial firefighting capability that protects Australian communities.

Richard Butterworth, Kestrel’s Head of Training, and project lead on the night program. Continuing, “the program set about to utilise night vision technologies developed from military applications to increase our capabilities beyond dusk, which has traditionally been when aerial firefighting assets have had to land.”

Following six years of development with local agency stakeholders, and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Kestrel has now achieved an Australianfirst regulatory approval to conduct unrestricted night vision firebombing operations for the preservation of life and critical infrastructure. This significant achievement enables Kestrel’s fleet of night capable aircraft to react to fires in a ‘first-strike’ capability which is comparable with its day operations; an invaluable tool to ground firefighters who can take further advantage of calmer night conditions during suppression activities.

Kestrel has won several awards for its night program development, including the Excellence in Innovation Award at the Australian Aviation/Aerospace Awards (2020), International Aerial Firefighting Awards (2019), and Night Vision Awards (2019). Kestrel’s fleet of Bell 412’s, Black Hawk’s and Super Puma helicopter are all capable of modification for ‘initial attack’ night operations.

The CASA approval allows Kestrel to undertake aerial firebombing operations in the vicinity of towns and cities without the requirement for day reconnaissance flights or the requirement for a supervisory aircraft to be coordinating water collections or drops; a restriction that still applies to other night capable operators.

“The aim of this program has been to maximise the conditions at night to ultimately ensure the safety of communities under threat from bushfires” says Captain AF 44 | aerialfiremag.com

Ray Cronin, Kestrel’s Managing Director suggests that “the approval by CASA has shown their confidence in our program and the capability that we can now deliver when called upon.” Continuing, “night capability will become the ‘norm’ in the future, and we look forward to working with the agencies, as a leader in its development in Australia, to ensure its success when they wish to incorporate this capability into their operations.”

While the Victorian night capability development program concluded at the end of last season, at the time of this release, there does not appear to be a night program being planned by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) or its fire agency members for the coming bushfire season.

FEMA, USDA and DOI Jointly Establish New Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of the Interior (DOI), and FEMA today announced the establishment of a Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. Establishing this commission fulfills a key provision of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and represents a critical step in combating the nation’s wildfire crisis and improving resilience in America’s landscapes.

The commission is tasked with recommending federal policies and strategies to more effectively prevent, mitigate, suppress and manage wildland fires, including rehabilitating land affected by wildland fires. It will include representation from federal, state, tribal, county, and municipal governments as well as non-governmental stakeholders from private industry. Through a coordinated effort, the commission will deliver a report to Congress with practical policy recommendations one year from the first meeting.

In addition, the commission will outline a strategy to costeffectively meet aerial firefighting equipment needs through 2030.

The commission’s work will build on existing interagency federal efforts, such as the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group, and will continue to pursue a wholeof-government approach to wildfire risk reduction and resilience.

“The effects of a changing climate are all around us.

Americans, especially those in rural communities in the West, are experiencing a growing number of bigger, hotter, and more destructive wildfires that threaten people, livelihoods, and our natural resources. The commission will bring together a diverse group of leaders to help tackle this crisis and inform our collective ability to improve the health and resilience of our forests and communities,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Secretary Deb Haaland. “The commission established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide valuable insight into ways we can better prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildland fire across our nation’s public and tribal lands.”

“This commission represents a unified effort across the federal government to answer a call that is quickly growing louder; we must protect our wildlands from the ravaging impacts of climate change,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “In coordination with our partners at USDA and DOI, FEMA is committed to doing our part to help build readiness and resilience in communities who are at risk from wildfires.”

“Climate change and increasing development in the wildland-urban interface are rapidly changing the complexity and response challenges for the fire service. It is time for us all to recognize that wildland fire is not just a forest or rural problem any longer. Urban and suburban fire departments that had no part in wildland firefighting 30 years ago are now heavily engaged in wildland fire prevention, mitigation and response. The wildland-urban interface is now the frontier for wildland fire,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore Merrell. “This commission will pull together our partners and stakeholders to focus on community risk reduction, enhanced prevention efforts, and overall response and mitigation capacity that matches the wildfire risks within the nation’s wildland-urban interface.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests unprecedented funding in America’s natural infrastructure. The joint Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will support the implementation of effective wildfire risk reduction, community risk reduction, and resilience strategies to combat the wildfire crisis, recovering and protecting our nation’s forests, landscapes, and surrounding communities.

“We have a historic opportunity to take action on forest restoration, hazardous fuels management, and post-wildfire restoration activities, and better address the needs of federal wildland firefighters,” said Department of the Interior aerialfiremag.com | AF 45

Irish Air Corps Continues Training with Aviation Specialties Unlimited (BOISE, IDAHO) Irish Air Corps (IAC), based at Casement Aerodome, Baldonnel Co. Dublin, Ireland, recently continued additional NVIS training with Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU).

For more than a decade, ASU has supported the IAC night vision training program. In February, ASU was awarded a two-year training contract for IAC aircrew night vision equipment training. In October and November, ASU NVG Instructor Pilot K Kirkendall conducted Annual NVG Ratings for Examiners, Instructors, Aircraft Commanders, and Aircrew. This included ground training and flight training in their Agusta Westland AW139 and Airbus EC135. They completed upgrade training for several IAC instructors to become NVGIs (Night Vision Goggle Instructors) and NVGEs (Night Vision Goggle Examiners), enabling IAC to conduct training and perform examinations internally.

“The relationship with ASU since before 2008 is really valued here in the Air Corps and has done much to enhance AF 46 | aerialfiremag.com

the safety and effectiveness of our operations,” said Chief of Air Staff and Deputy Commander Air Corps Colonel Dave Corcoran. “All ASU representatives, with K being the latest, have made a tremendous contribution to the safety and success of our operations. This, in turn, has provided the Irish taxpayer with state-of-the-art capabilities that have allowed us to deliver true 24-hour operations with our assets. It is really appreciated. It had been the case a few years ago that NVG was seen as the exceptional and unusual thing for our helicopter pilots – nowadays, the crews don’t like to go flying without them!”

ASU started discussions with IAC in the late 1990s.

The first training contract was awarded in 2008, and in 2010 ASU completed initial training for 75 pilots and crewmembers and six Night Vision Goggle Flight Instructors. The Irish Air Corps and ASU also completed training pilots and crewmembers in advanced Night Vision Goggle Flight Training, including fast rope, rescue hoist, formation flight, and aerial gunnery.

“The IAC pilots and crewmembers are skilled professionals dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of aviation performance and safety,” said ASU Director of Aviation Services Chris Schoonover. “ASU shares their philosophy 100% and strives to achieve the same high standards. We like to believe the dedicated professionals of the IAC have grown to trust that ASU will never compromise on innovation, excellence, and safety. ASU looks forward to continuing to provide world-class NVG training with the IAC long into the future.”

The IAC, in addition to providing direct support to their groundbased Defence Forces and Naval Service, they also provides air ambulance services, disaster relief, law enforcement pilots for An Garda Siochana (National Police Service of the Republic of Ireland), and firefighting, among other duties. The IAC values the broad range of experience ASU Instructors bring to the table, including military, air ambulance, law enforcement, firefighting, SAR, etc.

ASU continues to support aviation safety with Night Vision Solutions that Save Lives! For additional information, call +1 (208) 426-8117 or email ASU at info@asu-nvg.com. Join ASU at European Rotors stand E110 for more information about training, white phosphor NVGs, and custom aircraft modifications. ASU is your trusted partner and one-stop shop for safe and sustainable NVIS system integration.

aerialfiremag.com | AF 47

Perimeter Solutions Hosts Congress and State Representatives at Washington State Manufacturing Site Perimeter Solutions, makers of PHOS-CHEK® long-term fire retardant, recently welcomed Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and Washington State Representative Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake) for a tour of its manufacturing facility in Pasco, WA. The Pasco site opened in July of this year, and was constructed in under a year using local contractors and service providers. The site produces Perimeter Solutions’ flagship long-term fire retardant, PHOS-CHEK LCE20Fx, an innovative 100 percent phosphate product that utilizes an environmentally friendly formula to offer superior performance, product safety, and enhanced stability.

Both Representatives are actively working to address the growing challenge wildfires present the state of Washington.

In 2015, Rep. Dent introduced the state’s Wildfire Caucus, which meets monthly to discuss and address issues around forest health, fire and fire suppression. Rep. Newhouse serves as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, a group of more than 70 Members of Congress who are working to address federal land management and wildfire prevention issues. Earlier this year, he introduced legislation called the Stop Causing Alarming Tree, Air, and Soil Trauma Resulting from Obstructive Progressives’ and Hypocritical Environmentalists’ Schemes Act, or the Stop AF 48 | aerialfiremag.com

CATASTROPHES Act. The stated goal of the legislation is to improve forest health and reduce the risk of wildfires.

“It was fascinating to see the innovative research and development with fire retardants taking place at Perimeter Solutions’ Pasco facility. These technologies are vital to protecting our communities, and I’m proud that Central Washington is playing a critical role in combatting, and more importantly, preventing, these devastating wildfires,” said Rep. Newhouse.

PHOS-CHEK LCE20-Fx fire retardant produced at the Pasco site this year was shipped to air attack bases around the U.S. and Canada to help fire management agencies, including the USDA Forest Service, to prevent the spread of wildfires during the active 2021 season.

“We appreciate Representatives Newhouse and Dent taking the time to visit and check out our operations in Pasco,” says Edward Goldberg, CEO of Perimeter Solutions. “Wildfire season in the Western United States continues to become longer and grow in intensity, and that is not going to change.

We need a more proactive strategy to improve wildfire prevention, and we are grateful for the leading role that both Representatives Newhouse and Dent are taking to make that happen.”

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aerialfiremag.com | AF 49

OroraTech Develops the First Global Wildfire Intelligence Service Using Satellites

The 2021 wildfire season on the West Coast of the United States was another season that pushed first responders and fire resources to their limit. High temperatures and dry vegetation fueled record-breaking fire spreads, causing damage to millions of acres in forests and communities. The Munich-based startup, OroraTech, has developed an innovative early wildfire intelligence service, using satellite data to help prevent future fire events from ever matching the results of what we have experienced in recent years.

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The wildfire detection and monitoring service provide additional analytical features for fire risk assessment and forecasting. Using data on vegetation, weather, and topography, the service provides a base to encourage preventative measures to help preserve nature and biodiversity. Early detection and real-time monitoring are maintained due to the numerous satellite sources integrated into the service. Users can then afterward analyze the damage through burn scars and historical data of the wildfire hotspot detection in the area.

Co-founders Thomas Grübler, Björn Stoffers, Florian Mauracher and Rupert Amann came together in 2017 to work on a spin-off from the CubeSat project at the Technical University of Munich, with the idea of using satellite data to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

Supported by a research grant and the ESA Business Incubator, they founded OroraTech in 2018 and gained traction after the severe November forest fires in California later that year. They saw the increasing global wildfire issue and came up with the idea of developing a satellite-based wildfire platform to detect these fires faster and reduce the resulting damage and greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the company has grown to be an international team of 60 people from 5 continents, passionate about space technology and preserving the environment.

AF 50 | aerialfiremag.com

OroraTech aims to provide a service that helps keep Earth sustainable for all life and protect our already vulnerable forests. In the case of wildfires, they utilize thermal-infrared images from satellites in geostationary and low-earth orbit.

Data from these satellites are designed to globally detect forest fires early and notify users who can execute their fire management plans to tackle the fires before they become a catastrophe.

OroraTech combines thermal-infrared data from 20 satellites, ranging from NASA, ESA, NOAA, EUMETSAT, and JAXA, and visual overlays from ESA Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites for validation purposes. In the past, fires were mostly detected using airplanes, helicopters,

watchtowers, camera systems, and patrols on the ground. These methods can sometimes be inefficient and costly, especially in large and sparsely populated areas. OroraTech has taken a holistic approach to develop their wildfire management service by merging every available existing satellite data source and launching their nanosatellites, integrating ground-based camera data, and enabling users to classify fires within the platform.

This data is quickly processed through a cloud-based architecture and is accessible either through a browserbased WebApp or directly accessed via API. When a hotspot is detected, instant notifications of detection and location are sent to the user to act faster on a potential wildfire. The service also provides fire analytics for users to understand fire behaviors with various map forms, visualized fire charts, and historical wildfire data. While researchers can analyze the global dataset on fires, first responders can focus on monitoring their customized area of interest. The latest version of the platform is being used by commercial forestry companies in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, by wildfire services ranging from Canada to Australia, NGOs in Mozambique and the Amazonian, and global insurance providers.

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OroraTech aims to reduce the social and economic damage associated with forest fires and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, helping to make a significant contribution to a more sustainable planet. Many wildfires are caused by humans due to carelessness or not following fire warning protocols, but last summer, we saw an increase of fire spread from lightning strikes and very dry vegetation. The Dixie Fire in Northern California was the largest of the summer breaking several fire barriers, requiring countless fire resources and personnel.

Nanosatellite Technology The core of OroraTech’s innovation lies in developing their CubeSats with miniaturized thermal-infrared cameras. ➤

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Their satellites are designed with a much higher temporal resolution than current operating satellites. The existing satellite data shows a large gap in the afternoon when fires are highly prone to start and spread. OroraTech’s satellites will fill in those gaps and be combined with all of the other data sources. Their constellation will be about 100 nanosatellites and help bring down average detection time to around 30 minutes from several hours today.

OroraTech’s nanosatellites have a novel camera system for precise temperature measurement and an on-orbit processing unit. Once heat sources are detected by an AI-based algorithm onboard the satellite, the information is sent to the ground via an inter-satellite relay to reduce the delay significantly. This allows global forest fires to be detected at an early stage, fully automatic, and around the clock. With today’s NewSpace technology, OroraTech can make the satellites contain all of the instruments within a size of just 10x10x34 cm³, or the size of an average shoebox, compared to large geostationary satellites that can be as big as a truck.

CubeSats are inexpensive to develop in high numbers due to their small size, allowing rapid development with the commercial off-the-shelf materials used to build the hardware. Over the last year, OroraTech has been working around the clock to prepare for the first satellite launch, known as FOREST. They teamed up with US-based Spire Global to launch the AF 52 | aerialfiremag.com

satellite scheduled for January 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Wildfire Readiness OroraTech’s system is currently being tested by organizations in the United States to help them plan for the next wildfire season. After two backto-back extreme seasons, OroraTech hopes to make a difference in protecting vulnerable forests and communities with their wildfire monitoring system. “Getting a grasp on forest fires as early as possible is a game-changer. We can provide the data to keep people out of harm’s way,” said OroraTech co-founder Björn Stoffers. “Watching fires devastate communities, and national parks should not become the norm.”

New features and data sets are implemented step-by-step as OroraTech maintains its vision of creating a more sustainable planet powered by information from space. They continue to expand existing collaborations with numerous universities, research institutes, and corporate partners focused on making an impact. To learn more about OroraTech and how you can access their wildfire detection and monitoring service, visit their website at www.ororatech.com.

Arla O’Neal has a background in marketing, video production, and journalism. She is a Western Kentucky University alumna and has lived in Germany since her studies were completed in 2016.

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What is HUMS? New USFS Firefighting Contract Requires HUMS on ‘Modern’ Aircraft. What are the current options? What are the benefits and costs?

What are the current options? What are the benefits and costs?

Firefighting operators, busy with one of the most active seasons on record this year, could have been forgiven for missing the substantial updates embedded in the US Forest Service’s helicopter contract. By September, however, a new draft and the reality of the mandates in the nearly 300-page solicitation set in. As the Government moved to a ‘Lowest Priced, Technically Acceptable’ footing, they dramatically raised the technical standards on aircraft. Among other requirements, Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) were specified on “Modern” Type 1, 2, and 3 aircraft.

In mid-December, the Forest Service pushed out implementation of its Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) changes until 2022. This gives operators looking down the road more time to evaluate what equipment they need in the future.

But the future will be here soon. To help, Aerial Fire asked some core questions about this less well-known product category. Where did HUMS come from, just what is a HUMS system, what do AF 54 | aerialfiremag.com

you want to look for and are there any benefits to go along with the costs?

Background: The Problem of Machine Failure North American operators lacking experience in sectors where HUMS is prevalent, such as military aviation or oil and gas, are often unfamiliar with this avionics category. But the problem these systems are designed to solve -- machine failure -- has been around since the dawn of the machine era.

The science of condition monitoring developed over the course of the 20th century as technologists developed sensors to pick up vibration signals and then math and eventually software code to refine that signal and convert it into a meaningful trend representing machine condition, or health. This work was initially done on industrial machines and the promise was twofold: you could detect an impending failure in time to address it, thus improving reliability and uptime. And, you could adapt maintenance from a one-size-fits-all scheduled program to an

on-condition footing in which maintenance was done as needed.

Condition Monitoring Comes to Rotorcraft – Gen 1 HUMS The problem of machine failure is of course especially critical for helicopters. Military aircraft need to be ready to fly at a moment’s notice. Safety and reliability are prized on machines that can’t go down without a serious risk to life and limb. These impulses led to the early adoption of condition monitoring on larger aircraft in both the military services and in offshore oil and gas, where several machinerelated accidents in the North Sea generated government requirements for HUMS. Significantly, large-scale studies done to validate the technology’s operational impact testified to its benefits.

Not only did HUMS reduce accidents but it also improved readiness (what commercial operators know as availability) and lowered maintenance costs. The 3rd Aviation Brigade Study, for instance, showed a 30% reduction in mission aborts​, a 20% reduction in maintenance test flights​, and a 5-10% reduction in scheduled maintenance.

But like most first-generation technology, the systems were clunky. Data captured on the aircraft had to be manually offloaded via ‘sneakernet’ to a PC. The trend graphs were so confusing they often required specialized knowledge of signal processing to interpret.

And the systems were prone to false positives, leading ➤ aerialfiremag.com | AF 55

maintainers to begin, say, a time-consuming extraction only to find a perfectly good part at the end of a disassembly.

But in truth, the biggest complaints (and likely the biggest impediment to widespread adoption) were weight and cost.

On the UH60 Blackhawk, for instance, the original health monitoring system was over 100 pounds and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not exactly a viable option for a Bell 407 on a USDA Call When Needed contract.

How HUMS Works Before we describe system functionality, or what precisely HUMS does, we need to understand system architecture, or how HUMS works. You can break this into five parts -- data acquisition, storage, transfer, analysis, and display.

Historically, onboard sensors acquired vibration signals and stored data in a data acquisition unit. Post-flight, operators then used ethernet or PCMCIA cards to transfer data to a PC. Analysis was done at the DAU and within the locally stored software. And data display was through that same PC ground station.

Fast forward to our Internet of Things era when we can control our HVAC unit hundreds of miles away from our phone and you can imagine updates to this picture: On modern systems, data acquired onboard can be automatically transferred wirelessly. The software can live in the cloud, dramatically improving system accessibility. And display can happen on any browser-enabled device, be it your phone, tablet, or laptop.

What HUMS Does So now that you understand how HUMS works, what does it do? It turns out that what’s included in a HUMS system varies... a lot. It’s rumored that at one large helicopter OEM, AF 56 | aerialfiremag.com

the man hired to run the HUMS program was told, “Your first priority is to come up with a better name for these products.” Needless to say, he didn’t succeed. The problem of nomenclature persists because, as a remote monitoring system, the system boundaries change depending on what the designers want to monitor.

At its core, HUMS is Machine Condition Monitoring. Using vibration, systems trend component health, including gears, bearings, and shafts. Component coverage can stop at the engine but a true “airframe HUMS” extends through the drivetrain.

Rotor Track and Balance is the next leg in a typical HUMS offering. Here, the module assesses health in the form of rotor balance (Inches Per Second, or IPS) and provides adjustment solutions to bring balance back to spec.

Some systems, including the Bell Helicopter Vibration Monitoring System by Honeywell, stop right there. Other HUMS include a so-called “Usage System.” Here, the system tracks flight parameters on its own or by tapping into the avionics through an analog-to-digital converter or ARINC. This enables the system to understand how the machine is being flown and whether Exceedances have been triggered.

This data also provides the inputs to calculate flight regime, which drives Rotor Track and Balance and Machine Condition Monitoring acquisitions and other calculations.

HUMS, HFDM, and the ‘Smart Connected Helicopter’ Alert readers may have asked themselves ‘So how is the “Usage” in a Health and Usage Monitoring System different from what I know as a wired Flight Data Monitoring System if both are logging parameters?” The answer? It’s the same. That’s right, a comprehensive HUMS system ➤

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encompasses much of what we would call a parametric (as distinct from a flight following) HFDM system, only it adds more functionality to the monitoring product suite.

So the Forest Service is in line with others advocating a whole-picture safety solution to understand both how the aircraft is being operated and how it’s operating.)

As an operator, then, you want to step back and ask yourself a critical question: What do I want to monitor and what is the best system or combination of systems to achieve that goal?

But other than winning business and improving safety, what’s in it for you? A lot, it turns out.

In some ways, you might think about a Role & Function matrix. Operations typically are interested in real-time information -- communications, mission data, and aircraft location monitoring. Safety focuses on how the aircraft is being operated and needs detailed HFDM parameters post-flight for replay and SMS inputs. Their needs include operational exceedance tracking and – sometimes – cockpit audio and video. Maintenance, meanwhile, wants mechanical data, track and balance, and machine exceedance information from the usage (aka Flight Data Monitoring) function. Management wants all the aforementioned things, but is typically most interested in the mechanical data that can improve availability, lower sustainment costs, and generally optimize flying assets.

Focusing on Machine Condition Monitoring functionality alone, think of HUMS as a kind of permanently-affixed CT Scanner for your aircraft. A best-in-class system is going to detect anomalies earlier than you would have, it’s going to pinpoint what’s going on inside without disassembly, it’s going to give you a predictive Remaining Useful Life estimate giving you the ability to plan ahead -- and it is going to give you this data whether your aircraft is in the field or at the base. Consider a couple of real-world scenarios. What would the system benefit be if it -•

• •

Significantly, as onboard systems and software expand, the lines between what you understood to be a HUMS system, an FDM system, or indeed even a Flight Following / SatComm system will start to blur. The age of the smart connected helicopter is here and operators will need to think critically about how to arrange the pieces to maximize compliance and benefit while minimizing weight and cost.

Benefits – Especially for Firefighting Ops -and Costs Before we look at which system gets you the most monitoring bang for your buck, you might be asking, ‘Why do I even need monitoring?” Apart from the Government saying you must have this technology, why should you want HUMS? Let’s first look at the Government requirement first. It will take the next year to see how the contract plays out in reality. But this much is clear: While the Government will initially accept and contract with all aircraft meeting minimum technical standards, they are clearly expressing a preference for Modern aircraft and defining a modern aircraft as one which is HUMS equipped. So long term, as the saying goes, the writing is on the wall.

(To be clear, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, the Basic Aviation Risk Standards (BARS) organization in mining and CAMTS in air medical have all, to a greater or lesser extent, also prescribed HFDM and HUMS. AF 58 | aerialfiremag.com

•

Enabled your team to troubleshoot a pilot-reported engine issue when the aircraft is hours away from base?

Prevented a chip light event that would have required a landing, inspection, and extraction?

Caught a mechanical issue before it became seriously expensive (bad bearing in the gearbox)?

Diagnosed an issue before your repair station opened up the aircraft, speeding the fix?

On the Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) side, what if the system captured the exact depth of mechanical exceedances, eliminating unnecessary trips back to the MRO? Add in Rotor Track and Balance, where HUMS can reduce associated hours by 80% and associated flights to near 0 and you start to get the picture.

So, while HUMS will undoubtedly improve your contract competitiveness and safety, it is also ROI generating. In fact, one HUMS company worked with Conklin & de Decker who calculated that on the Bell 412 the system was saving the operators $35,000 in annual maintenance -- and that’s in addition to the financial benefits associated with increased availability or asset protection.

What Should You Look For in a HUMS System If your immediate impulse upon seeing the ‘Modern’ aircraft requirement in the US Forest Service contract is to find a HUMS that “checks a box,” it may pay to look a few years down the road. Ask yourself what capabilities you want to gain over time, what you already have, and what’s the most efficient way to get them on your aircraft and in your hangar.

As discussed above, there is the potential to use HUMS ➤

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as a two-in-one solution to also address the Forest Service’s FDM requirement. Critical there is whether the HUMS includes or could be expanded to include audio and cockpit video mentioned in the requirements. But in all cases, you want to understand if you are getting a “single trick” vibration monitoring solution or a larger system with rotor track and balance, mechanical and operational exceedance tracking, engine cycle counting, etc.

Next, ask whether this is a truly up-to-date system designed for today’s commercial operators. Several products on the market might, to be frank, be best described as ‘legacy.’

How do you assess this? Look at whether the system is lightweight and comparatively quick to install, whether data moves off the aircraft wirelessly and whether the system is cloud-based.

This last feature may not seem significant until your aircraft is 500 miles from base and the pilot calls in experiencing low power. If the HUMS is cloud-based, you can use cellular to get data into the cloud software and have your OEM, repair station, and the Director of Maintenance back at base all looking at the same trendlines to troubleshoot. If, by contrast, you need to connect the HUMS box to a PC ground station … well that bird is going to be AOG for a long time.

Lastly, let’s talk about price and pricing model. Historically, HUMS was viewed as hardware and had the expected AF 60 | aerialfiremag.com

upfront costs. In fact though, the bulk of the value in HUMS isn’t in the STC’d kit (however necessary) it’s in the quality of the software code and its ability to generate insight out of signal. Several players have moved toward services pricing, a boon for operators who don’t have 200K lying around and who want to pay for ongoing value, not a box and sensors.

Software-as-a-Service models are in the 10-25K a year range after an initial kit and install is covered. Not a small number, but compare that to losing out on a contract or to the estimated maintenance savings above and it becomes an easier pill to swallow.

Wrap Up – Is there a Silver Lining in this requirement?

Not many operators love mandates, especially if the costs come with no concurrent uptick in revenue. In the case of HUMS, though, this requirement might be more beneficial than initially suspected. If it is priced right, a system that improves availability cuts operating costs, and boosts resale value “buys its way” on the aircraft. As Rogan Parker, CEO of Pathfinder Aviation, said about his decision to put HUMS on a firefighting Bell 212: “We are seeing more and more of our end customers demanding safety-enhancing technology and selecting operators who invest to keep their aircraft current. [HUMS] gives us a leg up in a competitive market and we believe it will also help us speed and streamline our maintenance process.”

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SACRAMENTO

METRO FIRE Serving the California Capital

Sacramento Metro Fire’s Copter 1 is the first of what will eventually be a fleet of four aircraft serving the Sacramento area.

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Story and photos by Ryan Mason

In 2002 the Sacramento County Government identified a need for aerial firefighting support entrusting that support to Sacramento Metro Fire District. After a feasibility study recommended that the county budget could sustain the development and ongoing ability to operate an aerial program, Sacramento Metro Fire District, like many other agencies looking to begin operations in aerial fire suppression, looked to the 1033 government surplus program to obtain their first few airframes.

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This move by the agency happened right as a merger between Sacramento County Fire and the American River Fire Department occurred to form what is today Sacramento Metro Fire, with the increased capacity of the combined agency, so too came the ability for the larger agency to take over the space of the McClellan Fire Department property.

Now called station 115, the station house that was initially part of the separated department before the merger is now where Sacramento Metro Fire’s aviation unit is now based on McClellan airfield.

Station 115 at the time of the union was used as a cadet base for the agency to run drills; that location is also where Sacramento Fire pilot Bryce Mitchell began his first assignment as a teenage cadet, where he would eventually return as a pilot.

Beginning a two aircraft program, the agency obtained several UH-1H airframes from the California National Guard. N114FD, known as Copter 1, began service with the agency shortly after inception. Though the aircraft now boasts a myriad of new equipment, the first UH-1H for the agency was equipped with an Isolair tank and an AF 64 | aerialfiremag.com

internal hoist system. Although the agency does have Bambi Buckets available, due to the agency flying over congested populated areas a majority of their flight time, the agency decided to initially use a belly tank, which they have continued with over the years.

Throughout their nearly twenty years of operation, the agency has modernized tanks, switching in 2006 to a Simplex (now DART) 364-gallon belly tank for both aircraft the agency flies.

In 2008, Sacramento Metro Fire obtained a second UH1H and began upgrading both aircraft to be as capable as possible for aerial firefighting and search and rescue missions, adding external hoist capability. Over time as budget allowed, both aircraft were made NVG capable in 2016, which increased the agency’s response availability for aerial firefighting and search and rescue operations from daytime-only operations to full 24/7 capability when needed.

This increase in capability also allowed the aircraft and crews to be fully deployable on state and federal deployments for both fires and search and rescue operations as needed in California for both day and night operations.

Crew Left: Sacramento Metro Fire’s two UH-1H Huey’s are capable of filling on the fly with their snorkel filled DART tank.

Right: One of the other key missions Metro Fire aircraft are utilized for is search and rescue operations, which they are the only aircraft in the area

Initially, the agency had staffing of just a pilot and a flight officer each shift, but as the department’s needs have evolved over the years, each aircraft is now staffed with a pilot, flight officer, and a third rescuer role. The Rescuer is responsible for all aft cabin duties and EMS care. The flight officer manages the aircraft, mission plan, operates the hoist and coordinates with air attack or other aircraft.

The crew can increase to four when the aircraft is dispatched to a search and rescue mission, adding the fourth crew member as a dedicated rescue team member that will perform the winch rescue and life-saving measures and stabilization of patients to be airlifted in the helicopter. These team members are sourced from ground units and activated on shift when needed.

able to conduct night rescue missions.

Starting the unit involved tapping people’s experience within the agency, tapping one of the first pilots for the crew. This prior Vietnam-era

Huey pilot worked for the agency as a battalion chief at the time. Flight officers were also sourced from previous aviation and military backgrounds, along with some initial team members that functioned in the crew chief role that had previously worked on helicopters and as members of helitack crews for other agencies both in the United States and overseas.

Seasonal Work While it may surprise many, Sacramento Metro Fire’s aviation operation is still seasonal from May through mid-November. The base is manned 10 hours a day by a crew of three for one aircraft, although that can change instantly at the onset of a large fire, a deployment, or if a search and rescue operation is underway requiring a fourth crew member to join the aircraft. The remainder of the hours during the peak season, although available 24/7, is dealt with on an on-call basis with a response time of being skids up in under an hour. ➤

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During the off-season, the agency makes the aircraft available for all crew members to maintain currency between designated training days and scheduled flights to maintain currency required every 90 days for day flying and every 60 days for night operations. Crews manage their time between off days from the firehouse and days when the firehouses can run one officer short when aviation duties or training takes preference to maintain currency requirements.

Typically, a flight crew member will work two days and one-night operation each month in the offseason between mid-November and April.

Future Operations While Captain Mitchell states that it is always a fluid situation, the aviation budget and staffing are constantly changing. However, due to the workload continually increasing, he envisages that hopefully, within the next several years as budget allow, the unit will eventually morph into a full-time operation that is staffed 24/7—allowing fulltime crews to better serve the citizens of Sacramento County and their surrounding response areas.

Pilot Selection and Training Being an agency that has grown slowly over time, pilot selection, training and retention have often been one of the most complex struggles for the unit. Formerly sourcing all of the agency’s pilots from external applicants who had either law enforcement or military flying experience, the agency has completed the first round of selecting and training their first pilot from within the agency. Captain Bryce Mitchell is the first pilot in command of an aircraft to come from the department’s internal ranks.

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The task of getting the agency to agree to internal applicants was assisted by the unit’s Chief Pilot Montie Vanlandingham, who persisted in explaining the benefits of internal hires and training from the ground up. The agency eventually agreed after it was explained that there was a potential for failure in the future as current pilots’ attrition and age started to become a potential issue.

While there are no hard and fast requirements for non-flying roles within the unit, a pilot must have 1000 hours rotary experience, while rescue crew members are selected from within the firefighter ranks as needed and trained for the specific role. From there, each crew member can train to cover the other positions within the aircraft and move up to the flight officer role when deemed ready.

The First Internal Candidate Bryce Mitchell is the epitome of gaining all the right qualifications and making the right sacrifices to be the first internal pilot candidate. After being a cadet and watching the delivery of what would become Copter 1 for the agency, Mitchells’ mind was made up; he wanted to fly a helicopter for the agency. As he continued to accrue years of firefighting experience, Mitchell also went on to gain his fixed-wing rating initially, then moving on to helicopters, acquiring his commercial license, then his CFI rating.

Finally, buying an R22 and opening a flight school on his off days to continue building hours, even going as far as relocating to an RV to pour every spare cent he had into gaining more flight

experience, should the opportunity arise to fly for the agency.

Left: Sacramento Metro Fire aircraft are dispatched with three crew members that include a pilot, flight officer and rescuer.

Above: Metro Fire operates out of an old airport fire station that now houses the aircraft, maintenance, training and housing for the air operations staff.

Mitchell stated that other primary flight crew members, seeing the road he traveled, began to take similar paths. Two of them jointly purchased an aircraft to begin completing their ratings, then moving on to helicopters, hoping to be the next in line of logical choices for the agency to make the step from primary flight crew to the pilot seat in the future.

Capable Aircraft Since its inception, the UH-1H Huey airframe has been the backbone of the agency’s air operations unit. While airframes may have been the same, the agency’s main push over the last decade has been standardization between ships 1 and 2 to provide the most capable aircraft. This being completed to provide the most cohesive flying experience between the two airframes that provide the most capability to the agency.

Both aircraft are fitted with Simplex (now DART) tanks that are identical; both feature high skid landing gear to accommodate the tank, along with NVG capable instrument panels, dual G3X 10-inch touch screen map displays that are IMC capable.

Currently, ship 1, the primary response aircraft, is fitted with an aero computers moving map system, with plans as budget allow to purchase and install an additional system into ship 2 in the future. Each operational aircraft also operates a non-mounted iPad with Foreflight and fire-specific applications such as pulse point for dispatch operations during flight operations.

Each aircraft operates six radios to cover everything from aviation frequencies to firefighting operations. Search and rescue operations are completed with a 600lb capacity Goodrich Winch system, featuring a 250-foot cable for use by the winch operator. Ship 2 currently features an internal hoist that will eventually be replaced with an identical external Goodrich hoist for consistency as the budget allows.

Each aircraft is equipped with a Becker Avionics PA system and internal audio, which is often used when conducting search and rescue operations to communicate with the party being rescued before a rescue crew member is lowered.

Over the last several years, as agencies have retired the Huey platform, an increase in parts availability has been an enormous benefit for Sacramento Metro Fire. The additional influx ➤

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Top: Metro Fire air ops conducts regular training out of nearby water sources including

also allowed for the purchase of what will eventually become ships three and four in the fleet that are currently in the early stages of the fit-out for the agency’s mission.

Folsom Lake.

Bottom Left: Copter 3 is one of two additional aircraft that will be brought online over the next several years.

Bottom Right: Captain Bryce Mitchell prepares to run up Copter 2 after maintenance work.

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Additionally, each aircraft features the fast fin system, Van Horn composite blades, a 703 engine, and cobra transmissions, allowing for high performance at altitude and when performing high-angle rescue work.

The agency is frequently called in for rescue operations where other agencies air assets either can’t get to where the rescue operation is, their hoist cable may be shorter, or their

operational rules prevent them from operating into nighttime hours, where Sacramento Metro Fire has designed their program to be as fully capable of operating in the harshest of conditions, be it fighting fires or performing search and rescue, the agency that currently doesn’t work with a full-time budget is able to bat above its average thanks to the hard work and determination of everyone in the unit pulling for an above-average outcome to save lives through firefighting and search and rescue.

Metro fire UH-1H aircraft are fitted with the most up to date equipment, including an external Goodrich winch used for search and rescue operations.

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Remembering a Pioneer on s l O ” or h T “ c ar M

In his youth, years before his middle name would become his callsign, Marc Thor Olson knew he wanted to fly. It comes as no surprise, given that he grew up across the street from an airport in the small town of Mineral Wells, Texas, with a father who had been a helicopter flight instructor for the U.S. Army at Fort Rucker for some years. No matter what Olson’s specific aviation catalyst was, it was clear to his close, life-long friend, Mark Smith, that “He was thinking well beyond high school. Marc knew aviation was his future, and nothing was going to stop him.”

In 1979, Olson received his private pilot’s license at age 17, having paid for it by saving lunch money and working at the airport washing planes. Frequently, Olson would call Smith and say, “Hey, we’re going to go wash an airplane.”

Smith recalled how he would run out to the airport to assist his friend because “We had to dry it off when we were done, right? So Marc and I would go around the pattern a couple of times to dry it off.”

Following high school, Olson enlisted in the Army as a helicopter mechanic and was later selected for Army Officer Candidate School (OCS), becoming a helicopter pilot. After his initial hitch, he then attended Embry Riddle, after which he transitioned to the Air Force and completed Air Force flight training at Williams Air Force Base. According to Smith, Olson had a stand-out military career even from the beginning, having won all of the flying awards that his Air Force flight training offered. “Thor,” as he was now known, would continue in that same manner through his military career.

“Oscar,” fellow A-10 pilot and pilot with CO Fire Aviation, first met Thor at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina in AF 70 | aerialfiremag.com

the early 90’s when they were both OV-10 Bronco pilots.

Though they were assigned to “competing” squadrons they shared common ground in their love of flying and in celebrating the histories of their renowned “Snoopy” and “Raven” squadrons. The two became friends, eventually best of friends, and throughout their time in the Air Force, they always made sure that the young officers around them knew the heritage behind the patches they wore and reinforced the understanding that they were all fighting for a flag that a lot of the people before them fought for. As Oscar recounts, “It wasn’t about making rank, it was about flying. It was also about making other people into good pilots, and Thor was a great instructor.”

Thor and Oscar transitioned together from OV-10s to A-10s and became deeply involved in the A-10’s modernization program. Many lessons had recently been learned during Desert Storm, and modifying A-10 to allow Night Vision Goggle (NVG) operations was expected to improve the flying conditions for the pilots, as well as expand and improve the mission set and survivability of the aircraft. In the early 90s, there was finally support at the Pentagon to modernize and modify the A-10. Thor, Oscar and the other core pilots in the program developed a great deal of passion for what they were doing. Pairing the A-10 and NVGs was game-changing and revolutionized the close air support mission for the aircraft and crews.

This passion for flying with NVGs and his renowned aptitude for instruction became central to Thor’s military career.

He continued to succeed and excel in everything he did throughout his military service and managed to accumulate an impressive list of accolades before retiring from the Air Force after 32 years of combined military service. Thor

A veteran of 42 years of flying experience and pioneer of night aerial firefighting in SEAT aircraft, Marc “Thor” Olson is remembered as a consummate professional that loved aviation and passing on his experience and knowledge to others. AerialFire Magazine remembers a beloved industry pioneer gone too soon. had flown over 190 hours in combat, was a two-time Hawgsmoke winner, and at the time of his retirement, Thor held the record as the highest time A-10 pilot, to mention a few of his many accomplishments. However, according to all who knew him, you would never guess that Thor was such an accomplished fighter pilot and legend in the A-10 community despite his godly callsign. It was never about rank or bragging rights; it was only about his passion for flying.

For many in the A-10 community, life after the service offers only a few civilian avenues to ply the close air support skills they have spent years, even decades, honing. Around his retirement, the United Arab Emirates was developing a Border Patrol Aircraft (BPA) program utilizing weaponized Air Tractor 802s and Thrush 660s. The UAE sought experienced A-10 pilots to teach their students skills like weapons delivery, close air support, and being in a threat environment. Thor and his best friend Oscar became one

of the original six hand-picked instructors to launch this program.

In 2014, not long after the BPA program began, fellow A-10 wingmen “Hamster” and “Stitchy” also retired from the Air Force. They, too, had learned about the program with Thor and Oscar in Abu Dhabi. Hamster sets the scene, “They’d come up with this new idea of dropping laser-guided bombs off these crop dusters, and I remember thinking this ain’t going to work. But, they were paying good money, so we went over and gave it a shot.” The instructor cadre of A-10 pilots was being paid to teach some of the UAE’s younger pilots how to drop bombs from crop dusters. The student pilots in this program had minimal experience, some of as little as 100 to 200 hours. Communication was also terrible as many of the students didn’t speak English very well.

Some of them couldn’t understand what the instructors were saying unless they could watch the instructor’s lips. Not an ideal situation when the instructor is sitting immediately ➤

Thor Olson flies CoFire Tanker 864 during a 2019 photo shoot for a cover story with AerialFire Magazine.:

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behind the student in the airplane. To top it off - most of this flight instruction is being done at night.

Thor Olsen (second from left) was an accomplished military aviator before beginning his aerial firefighting career.

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“It’s nighttime, they don’t fly very well, you’re trying to talk to them over an intercom system, and they don’t understand you very well, and this airplane had a lot of ‘Gucci stuff’ in it.” Hamster remarks, adding that, “The brand new GPS has different windows, it was so easy for them to hit the wrong buttons and get into different screens that you had to try to talk them back out of, but again, they don’t understand you very well. So the communication was horrible, and Thor was adamant that he was going to come up with a better way to teach these guys.”

Hamster continues, “He went on with this thing for about a month while the rest of us laughed at him. Then we thought, you know, he may be on to something. Well, one night, he was unstrapped and reaching over the guy’s shoulder, pointing at the buttons he needed to press. Finally, the student got the concept, and Thor decided to sit back down. As he sat, he accidentally hit the door handle with his butt, opening the door, which was then promptly ripped off the side of the airplane by the airstream. - Later, at the bar, we asked him how the communication in the aircraft was once his ass ripped the door off….” Hamster laughs heartily, “I’ll never forget that… He was always trying to make things better for us. We never did find that door!”

After a few months of trying to figure out a better way, Thor came in with an old telescoping antenna that had been broken off of a car. While flying, if the student didn’t understand what Thor was talking about, he would pull this little antenna out, unbuckle himself from the backseat, stand up and reach over the student’s shoulder with the antenna, and point at what buttons he needed the student to press. It was clear that his idea was working out pretty well, and Thor was even bragging a bit about his teaching abilities being way more effective and the communication improving.

Stitchy had briefly met Thor before his retirement.

“He was already a legend in the A-10 community at that time because of some of the things he’d done with night vision goggles. His high-time in the aircraft, his amazing ability flying the aircraft, and of course the knowledge that came along with that.” Now, having the chance to work with him for the first time, Stitchy immediately recognized some of his strengths, one of which was his passion for flying. “There are people who fly for a job and do things for a paycheck, but Thor, it was his passion. He lived and breathed flying. He was also incredibly dedicated to working with the

students and instructors alike.” For instance, when asked a question, Thor was never the kind of guy to say, I’m not sure. He usually knew the answer. But, if he didn’t, he would take the time to research the question and return with a very detailed explanation.

While in the UAE, Chris “Doyley” Doyle, a test pilot for the 802, would continually talk to the cadre of A-10 pilots about his dream of starting a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) company and fighting fires with the Air Tractor 802s. All of the pilots had been listening to him talk about this idea over and over. The more they thought about it, the more they realized that it would be a fantastic opportunity and great way for them to continue to use their skills in close air support missions back home instead of overseas. A couple of years later, as Doyley and Kyle Scott teamed up to start CO Fire Aviation, Doyley introduced Oscar, Thor and the others to Kyle. Thus, as the pilots began rotating out of the UAE, their journeys into fire aviation began.

“I first met Thor in 2016,” recalls Kyle Scott, Co-Owner of CO Fire Aviation. “He was a remarkable guy, as are a lot of people in this industry, but I think his story is pretty unique.

It’s ironic, telling parts of his story because he loved being mysterious, an enigma. Thor wouldn’t tell many people much about who he was. He was a ‘Man of Mystery’ and didn’t talk much about his accomplishments, and there were a lot of them.”

After joining CO Fire, Thor again immersed himself into his passions of flying, night NVG flying, and now firefighting. He also began to develop CO Fire’s Fixed-Wing NVG Firefighting program. He spent five years building the program from the ground up, harnessing his more than 1,000 hours of NVG flying experience for much of the basis of the program’s foundation. It was a passion, a labor of love for Thor, who would spend a significant amount of his free time further developing and refining the program. Kyle also described how it had been a lifelong dream of Thor’s to own an airplane. Thor chose to build a Glasair Sportsman and even set up the cockpit for NVGs. “He flew that Sportsman more than 500 hours the first year he had it, which is a crazy number of hours for a personal airplane. I bet a lot of that time was at night too. He would just put the NVGs on and go flying for hours at night, just for the sheer joy of it.”

One time, Kyle invited Thor to fly an impromptu “escort mission” for a caravan of veterans as they traveled through Fort Morgan on their way to Denver for an “Honor Flight.”

Thor immediately jumped at the opportunity. “That’s just the kind of guy he was. There wasn’t a bit of hesitation. It was like, ‘Yeah! We’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right, and this is how it’s done.’” Thor briefed Kyle on how A-10

pilots would fly convoy escort missions in the Middle East so that one aircraft is always traveling alongside the vehicles as they were moving. The two expertly executed the task, even joining at the end to perform a ceremonious break for the veterans just as they had gotten out of the vehicles at a gas station.

“He would take planning to the level above dotting ‘i’s and crossing ‘t’s,” according to Stitchy. And Thor was just as ready to meticulously plan and carry out pranks. Including one amazing heist of a sign that required some ‘Mission Impossible’ style skills up on a ladder swapping out a sign with a perfectly crafted forgery while avoiding a security camera. He then had the original sign expertly modified to read ‘Welcome to the Kliewer Hacienda of High Hospitality’ (the Triple H), as it became known to the CO Fire Crews that would stay there. Though he would see it every day Gary Kliewer - friend, and owner, had no idea it was even missing until a few months later as he was unwrapping his Christmas gift - the modified sign.

Stories like these come as no surprise to those close to Thor.

They all know of his kind and thoughtful nature. Not just limited to gift-giving, pranks, or providing bottles of Scotch for ‘Le Rent,’ he would even always take the time to make handwritten thank you notes and Christmas cards. Thor was also genuinely passionate about introducing people to aviation. It was not lost on him that those who developed a passion for aviation were generally introduced to it by someone who truly loved it. He loved taking people for flights in his Sportsman; at times, he would even bring his friends along for his leisurely nighttime flights.

While those who knew him each have their favorite memories of times with Thor. They all describe him as extremely intelligent, witty, always armed with great sarcasm and a fantastic, dry sense of humor combined with his impeccable delivery. Above all, Thor was filled with a passion for life, which contributed directly to his willingness to help and his more than 8,000 hours of flying. This passion for life also fueled his desire to develop meaningful relationships with those around him, including friends from work, wingmen from his military service, personnel at tanker bases, and the two black labs at Kliewer’s “Triple H.” For those who had the pleasure of knowing him, Marc Thor Olson managed to touch many lives and leave a lasting, positive impact on all that shared time in his life. Further reaching are the missions he flew, the lessons he taught, and trails he blazed during his 42 years of flying, a legacy that will continue through the lessons he taught so many for so long.

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Aerial Firefighting Takes Center Stage in California Show Return The American Heroes Air Show returned to the Hansen Dam Recreation Area on November 13th to close out the California Airshow Season for 2021.

After a year break in 2020 due to the pandemic, the first responder-centric show in its 26th year of operation drew an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people to attend the free show for its 2021 event.

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Photos and Story by Jeff Serpa

Many aircraft including this HH60L from Ventura County formed part of the annual American Heroes Air Show held at Hansen Dam, outside of Los Angeles, CA.

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Above: L.A County Fire, the first operator of the S-70i in aerial firefighting was on hand to show off their legacy firefighting aircraft at the show.

The airshow/display is an annual helicopter-only show put on by American Heroes, founded by Jim Paules in 1993 and run locally in Los Angeles with the assistance of local show director Steve “Goldy” Goldsworthy, himself a first responder and veteran Los Angeles County Search and Rescue team member. American Heroes puts on several displays across the country featuring local agencies that cover all aspects of first responders with a heavy presence at the Los Angeles show of aerial firefighting operators from the Los Angeles basin area and surrounding departments.

In addition to the helicopters on display, there were over 40 law enforcement and first responder recruiting booths and displays. Exhibitors included helicopters and crew personnel from police and sheriff’s agencies, aerial firefighting, DEA, and various branches of the United States military, including Search and Rescue Blackhawks. Agencies from as far as San Diego County participated, as well as local agency participants from the Los Angeles County Alta Dena station and Santa Clarita search and rescue teams. Helicopters began arriving at 7 am and continued for several hours right up until the opening of the event at 9 am.

One of the latest and most popular multi-use aircraft on display was the Sikorsky S-70i Firehawk. Used as an aerial firefighting machine, as well as a search and rescue AF 76 | aerialfiremag.com

helicopter, the Firehawk was represented well at the show.

Several agencies including the Los Angeles County Fire Department Air Operations Unit and Cal Fire, displaying their latest water-dropping fire attack/SAR helicopters. Also in attendance was the Ventura County HH-60L, one of several operated by the agency that was also completed by Colorado-based United Rotorcraft that performs the same multi-mission capacity as the S-70i. The United States Army displayed a UH-60M Medevac Blackhawk with one additional Blackhawk and a United States Navy UH-60 in their popular orange and white China Lake VX-31 Search and Rescue livery.

The airshow/display is an annual helicopter-only show put on by American Heroes, founded by Jim Paules in 1993 and run locally in Los Angeles with the assistance of local show director Steve “Goldy” Goldsworthy.

In addition to the Blackhawks in attendance, aviation fans were treated to a variety of helicopters on display including the MD500, Airbus H-125, MD520N, Leonardo’s AW-139 from Los Angeles City Fire, A UH-1H Huey from the Kern County Sheriff’s department, and many more.

One particularly rare aircraft on display was the Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society’s restored Bell 47G helicopter, which has not been flown in more than

four years. This was a great piece of history for aviation enthusiasts to see up close in a near brand new state after an extensive restoration effort restored the aircraft to a nearly new appearance, although the aircraft is not likely to ever fly again. In addition to the ground displays, Los Angeles County Fire Air Operations performed a hoist display showing attendees the value of a multi-mission aircraft like the S-70i that can perform aerial firefighting missions and search and rescue operations.

Above: Aircraft on display came from every manufacturer in the public safety spectrum, from the Vietnam war era Huey to the AW130 and S-70i.

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Spotlight on South America

Aerial Firefighting in the Pantanal Wetlands In 2021, Brazil has struggled through the most severe drought in nearly a century. The volume of rain was the lowest since 1930.

Farmers throughout the country faced many challenges, and the “safrinha” (the second crop of the year) showed a significant drop in productivity.

Despite that, fires in the country have reduced in a year in which a substantial increase would be expected. According to data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the total number of active fire spots detected between January and October fell from approximately 175,000 to 133,000. The regions that deserve the most attention are the two biomes that have been most affected in recent years, the Amazon and Pantanal (with 1.4 and 4.3 times fewer fire outbreaks, respectively) and the state of Mato Grosso, the largest agricultural producer of the country (with records 2.2 times lower than last year).

These optimistic numbers result from a broad national effort, which involves a public and private initiative across the country. Undoubtedly, Brazilian agricultural aviation has played an essential role in this development. For another year, has shown signs of growing maturity in playing a part in aerial firefighting operations.

We saw an industry boom in the past year, driven mainly by the private sector. In addition to providing services at all levels of government (federal, state, and city,) aerial application companies are increasingly helping farmers across the country fight fires. From large landowners in northeastern Brazil to agricultural associations in the

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Midwest, from sugarcane mills to the pulp industry, hundreds of pilots and agricultural aircraft were hired to protect the most diverse types of crops and, by default, also contribute to environmental preservation.

Firefighting in the Pantanal wetlands Gustavo Borges is an agricultural pilot with extensive experience in firefighting. In recent years, he has carried out operations in several regions of Brazil, including the Amazon, Pantanal, and Chapada dos Guimarães regions and Paraguay, previously featured in the Fall 2019 issue and the January/February 2021 issue of Aerial Fire Magazine.

As a pilot with Serrana Aviação Agrícola, Borges focused his firefighting work in 2021 on the Pantanal wetland region, the area most affected by forest fires in the country during the last year. The aerial application business (based in the city of São Gabriel do Oeste) signed a contract with the Environmental Institute of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul for aerial firefighting in different environmental Conservation Units. The company was responsible for providing all equipment and personnel to perform the service, paid on demand by flight hours, the equivalent of a Call When Needed (CWN) contract in the United States. ➤

Story and Photography by Lucas Zanoni The Pantenal Wetlands area (inset map) in Brazil offers a complex environment for South American aerial firefighting operations.

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Borges provided firefighting services over six weeks this fire season, each in a different region of Brazil. The first in the Jardim region, close to the Bonito tourist hub during the end of July: “The central fire there was in a marsh, which posed some challenges. As it was soggy ground, we had no land access, making aerial firefighting essential. It was a new experience.

The solution for this fire was to surround it and restrict it only to the marsh. We managed to funnel the fire, and the ground crews provided backburning on the other side. We were successful in the result.

We worked with two Air Tractor AT-502s, one with a manual fire gate and a hydraulic fire gate from Zanoni. We used about 70,000 liters (approx. 18.5 thousand gallons) of water. The airstrip was suitable, so we were able to take off with a full hopper”.

Unlike operations in the United States, firefighting operations require the logistical support of residents that are crucial to the success of all operations Borges has already participated in. As a rule, some rural landowners provide the base of operation, neighboring farmers contribute with the supply of tanks, and farm employees help with various tasks on the ground.

“There was a lot of fire in several places, both in dense forest and in pastures. We were able to control several outbreaks and reduce damage. We did a lot of air monitoring too, and

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the ground team’s work was very efficient. However, it was only rain that lasted two days that managed to put an end to the fires,” Borges stated about his second operation in the Porto Murtinho region, on the border with Paraguay, in early August.

Borges carried out his third aerial firefighting deployment in the Miranda region in early September. He shared with us the account of a 68-year-old resident, talking about the fires in the Pantanal: “The Pantanal has a known cycle of 25 to 30 years of floods and ten years of drought, so our grandparents and the natives of the region told us. This is the third year of drought that unfortunately comes with fires, deaths of various animals, and the destruction of vegetation. Fires have long accompanied the drought of the Pantanal.”

Gustavo’s colleague and fellow Serrana pilot, Renato Oliveira Coelho, participated in aerial firefighting operations in the Pantanal region near Corumbá (border with Bolivia); Commander Oliveira was flying loaded to fight fire outbreaks.

When approaching the dump, he saw a house in another area, where a “fire head” was about to reach. He thought, “it’s going to burn the house down,” and turned around, already with great difficulty because of the smoke. Oliveira then made an almost blind dump on the new target and poured the 500 gallons on board directly over the fire: ➤

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“We always pray to get it right, and it worked,” said Oliveira, “The flames were tamed, giving the people in the house the chance to get close enough to put out the rest of the fire. I was at the right time in the right place” he continued.

After that mission, the house’s occupants made a point of going to the fire department to thank the “little yellow aircraft.” The residents described it as “help that came from heaven.”

Right: Onboard cameras captured this wildfire image during firefighting operations in the Pantenal Wetlands in 2021.

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