Ramona AAB has been using Phos-Chek powder since mid 80’s. Currently using MVP-FX from Perimeter Solutions.
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Great update of the C-130 program. Good to know they will be used on initial attack.
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Thanks for sharing this update!!!
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I thought I posted this elsewhere, but a while back, in fall/winter, I saw a CF C130 doing extremely low passes over Grass Valley’s runway and wondered what they were doing?
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Likely terrain and airport familiarization. They were doing the same thing about a month ago in Mammoth. I’m sure Bishop was included I just happened to be driving by mammoth airport when they were flying thru. They never landed just touch and go. I’m sure they will fly into many of the normal reload airports as the pilots get their flight times up and certifications.
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Coulson Aviation was in the Angeles NF on Saturday.
The large-scale training exercise is expected to commence at 12:00 p.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. Aircraft will be arriving and departing from Fox Field in Lancaster. Please refer to the attached map for the area within the Angeles National Forest where drops will be occurring.Resources participating in the exercise include:
– One Citation Jet “Air Attack” command platform, directing the retardant dropping airtankers.
– One Citation Jet “Lead Airplane,” clearing an approach path for the larger airtankers to ensure safety and a clear path of travel.
– Two C-130 Air Tankers, each capable of dropping 4,000 gallons of retardant.
– One Boeing 737 Air Tanker, capable of dropping 4,000 gallons of retardant.
– One Sikorsky S-76 Helicopter (HLCO) command/intelligence platform equipped with infrared technology to allow for real-time fire mapping, reporting to the “Air Attack” and capable of directing the activities of the rotor wing aircraft.
– One CH-47 Chinook Helitanker, capable of dropping 3,000 gallons of water, gel, and/or retardant.
– Two Sikorsky S-61 Helitankers, capable of dropping 1,000 gallons of water or retardant.
SCVNews.com | LACoFD Announces Aerial Firefighting Training Near Castaic Lake | 05-01-2023
[edited]
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My buddy who captains one of Neptune Aviations tankers said their start date will be June 18th at Fresno. Last year it was Tanker 1 but he didn’t mention if it would be the same this year
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The hills have been turning from green to yellow over the past month in socal. Looking at the positives of this, there will be many dip locations availability for state and contract resources. Also from what I’ve seen and heard leaderships have placed more emphasis on IA response. I’m optimistic for this season, with in reason of course.
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Report of the second Coulson crash with in recent years down under.
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I feel like the ATGS folks do an excellent job keeping retardant out of the waterways. Been on a lot of fires and scene a lot of retardant dropped. A lot were near lakes, rivers and creeks. I cant remember any off it washing into the water in winter and causing a kill. What I can remember is bad water management and water getting to warm in many lakes that effected the fish.
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New USFS retardant vendor and product.
Paywalled but you can read it in incognito mode (if you can deal with the obnoxious ads)
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Fortress Chief Executive Officer Robert Burnham said the Forest Service approval process moved slower than expected. He questioned whether the fire retardants would ever get to market.
Apparently he is not familiar with the progress of other federal air program projects.
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Good article, thanks! Glad to see some serious competition in the retardant sector. Bob Burnham was my first boss in wildfire and we got a chance to talk about his new company this spring. He told me one of the big pluses for magnesium chloride-based retardants over phosphates is a more stable supply chain and smaller energy footprint. He said a lot of the raw materials for Phos-Chek come from Eastern Europe, where they are mined and then shipped across the Atlantic. The war in Ukraine caused disruptions in the supply of phosphates.
Mag chloride is evaporated from the Great Salt Lake using the sun, it requires a lot less trucking distance to get it to the end-user, which will end out saving a lot of money and emissions.
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Years ago we had an issue mixing two different brands of Class a foam. Can these two retardants be mixed into a tank when residue or a quarter tank or half full without causing a jell problem like the foam did. Or any problem for that matter?
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When they tested fortress in Missoula on LATs there were major issues resulting in down time as a result of it mixing with residual LC in the tanks. Crews had to open tanks and literally scrape out the resulting concoction as it caused drop system malfunctions. There was an obvious chemical reaction that was very thick and gummy and troublesome. They tested it on SEATs last year. This year, LAT vendors are bidding on a contract where the selected aircraft would ONLY use fortress. They would set up a mobile retardant base, even if it’s at an existing one, to load that tanker(s) with fortress. I’m guessing that tanker would stay more or less home based with the mobile crew.
Unless they fix the reaction issue of commingling residual LC with Fortress, it’s gotta be a no go. LATs are fast and have long legs and can load from several different bases, in several different regions, in one day using LC or FX. LC and FX commingling with residual of the opposite has never been an issue.
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Copy, thanks for the quick response.
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