AIRATTACKMAG.

COM I A KIA KAHA MEDIA PUBLICATION

ISSUE 26 I 2023

TAKING STOCK OF RUSSIA’S

THE UNDESIRABLES TIME TO LET ROTARY-WING GIANT
SURVEYING INVASIVE IT RAIN OF THE SKIES
PLANTS IN CALIFORNIA CARRIES ON
AIR ATTACK 1
WHEN THE
WORLD NEEDS A
LIFT, WE’RE THERE
bellflight.com

2 AIR ATTACK
OUR
TEAM
PUBLISHER
Neville ‘Ned’ Dawson

EDITOR
Mark Ogden

EAST EUROPE EDITOR

Alex Mladenov

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
/ PHOTOGRAPHERS
Steve Whitby
Greg Doyle
A.R. Prince
Mike Gilbert
Michael Piper
Ben Shepherd

GRAPHIC DESIGN
Carolina De Armas

4 AIR ATTACK
OUR
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EMAIL
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COVER: One of English

Air's MD500s low level
in the Santa Monica
mountains as the crew
document the invasive
species of plant growth.
Photo by Ned Dawson

AIR ATTACK 5
ISSUE 26 I 2023

From the Editor 9

92
Industry News 10

Time to Let it RAIN?

Regular readers of Air Attack will likely recall mention of Rain Industries in
previous issues. Rain has been at the cutting edge of the use of Uncrewed
Air Vehicles (UAVs) in firefighting operations - eschewing the more prosaic
uses of drones, such as overwatch and Full Motion Video (FMV) feed to
enhance Situational Awareness (SA) for firefighters on the ground, for an
entire self-contained ecosystem that offers the promise of Rapid Initial
Attack, 24/7, in areas assessed as highly vulnerable to wildfires.

6 AIR ATTACK
 66

Russia’s rotary-wing giant of the

skies carries on

34
The Mi-26 is amongst Russia’s greatest aviation industry achievements.
The 56-tone dual-use rotorcraft holds a class of its own and is still being
maintained in low-rate production, mainly for military and government
customers, both domestic and export. Alexander Mladenov reports on
its use in the demanding firefighting role where the type excels due to its
tremendous payload and looks at the issues the unique type is facing in
Taking Stock of the civilian operation in Russia.

Undesirables -
Surveying invasive
plants in California 108
A project to survey infestations of
invasive plants demonstrates the
synergistic benefits accruing when two
complimentary organizations cooperate
in the pursuit of a single goal. Ned
Dawson talked to biologist Morgan Ball
and pilot Jean Paul (‘JP’) Robinson about
the ongoing project in California’s Santa
Monica mountains.
A Talk about Fatigue...

Aerial firefighting is without doubt second only to military combat

operations with respect to operating in austere, dynamic, and high threat
flight and operational environments.

AIR ATTACK 7
AIR TRACTOR
DELIVERS.

AIR TRACTOR DELIVERS THE

PERFORMANCE, EFFICIENCY, AND
PRECISION THIS JOB DEMANDS.
IT’S TIME YOU DEMAND MORE.

8 AIR ATTACK
 editor
letter from the

mark ogden

T
he crash of a large air tanker is sure to raise questions about how aerial
firefighting is being conducted. In January 2020, a Coulson Aviation EC-130Q
Hercules tanker was lost in New South Wales, Australia when it hit the ground
during firefighting operations. The crew were received fatal injuries. The wind
conditions were bad where the forecast included severe turbulence and the aircraft likely
encountered wind shear. In October 2022, a Canadair CL-415 crashed at Mount Calcinera, near
Linguaglossa, Sicily, in Italy. The two pilots onboard were also fatally injured when shortly
after dumping water on the site of the fire. when it hit the mountainside. In February this
year, Coulsons lost another tanker, this time a firefighting Boeing 737 in Western Australia.
Fortunately, the two pilots walked away. The investigation into that accident is ongoing.
Operating large aircraft close to the ground is risky – even before conditions of fire, smoke,
heat, and wind/turbulence are added to the mix. Pilots and these aircraft are often pushed
to their limits doing this job in these conditions and the margins for mistake or error
in judgement are almost nil. The risk needs to be understood by all including the crew,
aircraft operators and the agencies that employ these aircraft. I mean, how many close calls
are not reported?
I would argue that the risk is not well understood by many of those involved – remember,
many of the aircraft being used were never intended to be used in such a manner by the
manufacturers. Most of these aircraft have been modified and pressed into a new life. How
much testing is done to ensure the aircraft are actually capable of doing the task and to
establish the available margins? Are the life cycle changes on the airframe fully understood?
Tanker pilots by the nature of their task are very task focussed but this can lead to them
continuing in conditions where maybe the activity should be ‘knocked off’. The tasking
agencies are also task focussed – after all, they are charged with trying to save lives and
property. So, who, in this mix, are best suited to calling off activities when things get
unnecessarily dangerous? I don’t pretend to know but, I do think that operators and agencies
need strong sets of standards and standard operating procedures to help with ensuring
the aircraft are being operated correctly. A system is needed to identify that point where
the risk is too high and the reward too low, the point where operations should stop. There
needs to be an investment in training and there needs to be someone, who is oversighting
the operation, who is dispassionate about the activity, and who has enough experience to
recognise when the risks are getting too high and who has the authority to be able to call
off operations.
Generally, these operations are conducted safely but when things go wrong, they go wrong
quickly and catastrophically. Yet we seem to leave vital decisions about operations to the
person who is under the greatest stress to make the call, the pilot. Is that really the best way?

Mark

AIR ATTACK 9
 INDUSTRY
News

Bridger Aerospace enters stock market

Air-tanker contractor Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings and Jack Creek Investment
Corp have announced the completion of their business combination, operating as
Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc.

“The closing of the transaction and our listing on Nasdaq is an important milestone
and an incredibly proud moment for the entire Bridger team,” commented Tim
Sheehy, who will continue to lead the combined company as Chief Executive
Officer. “We are excited to enter this new chapter as a publicly traded company,
uniquely positioned to expand throughout North America and continue our
mission to save lives, preserve our environment, and protect the people and
communities that are impacted by the growing wildfire crisis across the globe.”

Founded in 2014 and led by former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, Bridger is a mission-
driven company focused on addressing the year-round threat of economic and
environmental damage caused by wildfires. Through its effective, modern, and
purposefully designed fleet of aircraft, Bridger provides its federal agency and
state government client base with a comprehensive range of aerial firefighting
solutions. Bridger operates a large and sophisticated fleet of firefighting aircraft,
which includes “Super Scoopers” (CL-415EAF), air attack and logistical support
aircraft (Next Generation Daher Kodiaks, Pilatus PC-12s, DeHavilland Twin Otter
and legacy Twin Commanders), and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Bridger also
offers FireTRAC, an innovative, proprietary data gathering, aerial surveillance and
reporting platform that complements its fleet of firefighting assets.

Jack Creek’s Executive Chairman, Jeffrey Kelter, who is joining Bridger’s Board of
Directors as Chairman added, “We are excited to finalize our business combination
and continue our partnership with the Bridger management team. As a public
company, Bridger is well-positioned financially to further expand its industry-
leading fleet and explore proprietary strategic investments to complete its growth
plans for 2023 and create significant and sustained value for all stakeholders as it
works to meet critical environmental and community needs.”

10 AIR ATTACK
 INDUSTRY
News

Air Tractor deliver 1,000th AT-802

Employee-owners of airplane manufacturer Air Tractor, Inc. and representatives
from Pratt & Whitney Canada have celebrated the 1,000th model AT-802.

Air Tractor dealer Lane Aviation sold serial number 802A-1000 through its Brazil
agent Aero Globo Aeronaves and is painted in the Brazilian flag colors of yellow,
green and blue.

It recently departed Olney, Texas for its new home at Grupo Moacir Smaniotto
(GMS) Agronegocios, the new AT-802A joins another Air Tractor 502XP purchased
in 2019.

Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch was presented with a plaque commemorating the
milestone from Natanael Vaz and Anthony Rossi of Pratt & Whitney Canada. “We’ve
come a long way with the 802 series,” remarked Hirsch. “In the early 1990s when
the very first 802s were built, our founder Leland Snow looked at the airplane and
offhandedly remarked, ‘We’ll probably build 10 or 12 of these.’ Well, Leland would
be really pleased about its worldwide distribution and success today.”

The 802 series is the largest production single engine agricultural airplane in the
world. Its power, rugged dependability and size made it quite versatile. Beyond
its use in agricultural and firefighting applications, AT-802 series aircraft work in a
variety of specialized applications, from oil spill cleanup and fuel hauling in remote
areas, to timber seeding and reforestation and coca crop eradication in South
America. “Its power and rugged design, low operating costs, payload capacity has
helped make 802s Air Tractor’s most versatile airplane.” notes Hirsch.

AIR ATTACK 11
 INDUSTRY
News

U.S. Army Hawaii

range controlled
Firefighting crews from Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA),
Hawaii County, and Volunteers, along with bulldozer
operators and military helicopter crews from Oahu made
good progress in fighting the Keamuku Maneuver Area
(KMA) Complex Fire, which was caused by lightning strikes.

Three Army helicopters from the 25th Infantry Division,

25th Combat Aviation Brigade, Oahu, two UH-60
Blackhawks and one CH-47 Chinook, assisted with water
bucket drops throughout the day. These are in addition
to one MEDEVAC helicopter (HH-60) conducting water
bucket drops that was already positioned at PTA,
making a total of four military helicopters in support of
firefighting efforts. These helicopters will continue their
efforts tomorrow as well. A Hawaii County helicopter
has also been assisting with bucket drops.
The number of water drops for the entire incident
totaled 222 dropping a total of 200,000 gallons of water.
“We truly appreciate the tremendous team effort
in fighting this fire – hunters and local residents
calling emergency services on Sunday when they
saw the lightning strikes and the fire; the Army flight
helicopter crews from Oahu; and the firefighters
and dozer operators from PTA, County, Volunteers,
and Department of Forestry and Wildlife for working
throughout the day and night to try and keep the fires
contained,” said PTA Commander Lt. Col. Kevin Cronin.
“We truly are a team of teams.”
Burglars ransack Helitac
Law Enforcement with the Stanislaus Na
public’s assistance in identifying and ap
for an unlawful entry and theft at the St
Mountain Helitak base off Highway 108
The theft at the helitak base resulted in th
aviation and forestry equipment. Initial es
stolen property between $40,000 and $50
to break-ins at the Forest Supervisor’s Offi
Office, and the Summit District Office ove
“Fighting fire is a difficult enough challe
equipment,” said Stanislaus National Fo
“Obviously we will replace the equipme
have a budget for, thus funds will have
areas meaning the degrading of other s
The forest will also
need to repair the
vandalism to these
federal facilities
(broken windows,
damaged fencing,
general clean-up of
ransacked buildings).
This too will have
an impact to other
program areas and the
services we offer.”

12 AIR ATTACK
 INDUSTRY
News

LEGO unveil Firefighter Aircraft model

LEGO has launched a Firefighter Aircraft as part of its Technic range inspired by real-
life firefighting planes so kids can see how all the functions work together during
firefighting operations. Technic buildable models feature realistic movement and
mechanisms that introduce young builders to the engineering in an approachable
and realistic way. Aimed at children aged 10+ they can learn about the functions of
a real firefighting airplane as they build and play with this the firefighting toy set.
The model includes adjustable landing gear, spinning propellers and moving tail
flaps, plus they can load the firefighting aircraft with ‘water’ and then open the hatch
to douse imaginary fires. The buildable model aircraft measures over 7 in. (18 cm)
high, 23 in. (59 cm) long and 23.5 in. (60 cm) wide and comes in 1,134 pieces. The
Firefighter Airplane is priced at $99.99 and is scheduled for release in March 2023.

ck
ational Forest is seeking the
pprehending those responsible
tanislaus National Forest’s Bald
8.

he loss of various firefighting,

stimates place the value of the
0,000. This latest theft is in addition
ffice in Sonora, the Mi-Wok District
er the last six months.
enge without the loss of our
orest Supervisor, Jason Kuiken.
ent, but this is not something we
to come from different program
services provided by forest staff.
Mangalore Super Puma
ready for fire season
Victoria’s Night Aviation Program is set for the high fire-risk
period of summer, with the aircraft having responded to about
200 fires so far this season. The state’s 50-strong firefighting
fleet includes a Super Puma based at Mangalore. These aircraft
have also been important for the flood response over recent
months. Victorian Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes
said she saw first-hand the difference these aircraft made to
regional communities during flooding events and thanked the
personnel who operated them. “As grasses dry out, the night
aviation fleet provides a vital extra element in our efforts to
protect communities across the state. This is the period where
we know risk can be higher, and we’re remaining vigilant night
and day.” Symes said. Victoria also has a surge capacity of up to
100 aircraft and as part of national aircraft arrangements, the
Q400 Large Air Tanker is shared with Queensland, and based in
Victoria for the state’s high-risk season.

AIR ATTACK 13
 INDUSTRY
News

Bridger takes delivery of Sixth Super Scooper

Bridger Aerospace has taken delivery of its sixth CL-415EAF “Super Scooper” from
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited.

“The delivery of our sixth Scooper will allow us to further expand our operations
and allow greater deployment of the Bridger aircraft fleet across the U.S.,”
commented Tim Sheehy, Bridger Aerospace’s Chief Executive Officer. “In
conjunction with our Air Attack and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) fleet, we
believe that we are one of the most full-spectrum aerial fire service providers in
North America with a fleet of over 20 aircraft.”

The Super Scooper is an amphibious aircraft that skims the surface of a body of
water to scoop water into onboard tanks to drop on a fire. The purposeful design
of the Super Scooper allows for an aggressive low-altitude flight profile, which
enables pilots to deliver their drops with more precision, hitting the fire harder
and extinguishing it faster. Super Scoopers can scoop up to 1,412 gallons of water
in approximately 10 seconds, and with 90% of wildfires within 20 miles of a major
water source, Super Scoopers provide an extremely effective tool to economically
and expeditiously deliver water to a fire without having to return to an airport to
refill the water tanks.

“By adding to what was already the nation’s largest fleet of Super Scoopers, we
hope to ensure their availability to our federal and state government customers to
help combat the growing threat of wildfires,” added Sheehy.
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16 AIR ATTACK
 INDUSTRY
News

Coulson Aviation awarded Large Air Tanker contract

Coulson Aviation has been awarded the contract for Australia’s National Large
Air Tanker (LAT). The converted Boeing 737, Tanker 139, is the newest addition to
Coulson’s FireLiner fleet and will be based in Sydney, New South Wales but will
support additional locations in-country as needed.
As the National LAT, Tanker 139 will wear the name “Phoenix” following the result
of a naming competition last year via local Australian schools and joint winners
Bishop Druitt College Coffs Harbor, St Patrick’s College Campbelltown and Christian
College Geelong.
“Coulson is proud to provide our state-of-the-art aircraft to the Federal Australian
Government. This aircraft is an incredibly efficient bomber and the crews that
operate each of our aircraft are second to none,” said Coulson Aviation Australia
CEO Britt Coulson. “Working alongside dedicated Australian firefighters, Phoenix
will be one of the key assets supporting this upcoming bush fire season,” said Britt.
The 737 is in Australia funded by the Commonwealth Government through a
partnership with the National Aerial Firefighting Centre. The contract is for two
years with the option to extend. Phoenix is equipped with Coulson Aviation’s
Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS), the Company's patented tanking and
release system. With RADS onboard, the aircraft is capable of dropping up to 4,000
gallons of retardant or water at flow rates of up to 3,000 gallons per second.
Coulson Aviation is the only company in the world to convert a Boeing 737
commercial airliner into a multi-mission FireLiner aircraft.

AIR ATTACK 17
 INDUSTRY
News

Firebird helicopters arrive

for ACT fire season
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Rural Fire Service has unveiled two of
the three helicopters that will be used in the ACT over the following months
with a third due to arrive soon.

ACT RFS Chief Officer Rohan Scott said the contract had been timed for
when this season’s fire risk is at its highest after such a wet spring and early
summer. “We’ve been monitoring the risk, and as people will see, there’s
significant grass growth out in the ACT and the surrounding areas that is
starting to dry off, so we have delayed the start of the aircraft to be available
to us to deploy in that heightened period of the fire season which is coming
towards the end of this month.”

The contract with United Aero Helicopters, based in Sydney and Microflite
in Victoria, was awarded through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre.
The AS350, call sign Firebird 100, will map the fire area and send data
to the Incident Management Team. It can also detect lighting strikes a
common cause of fires and mapping teams could forecast the fire path and
determine the resources that needed to be deployed.
AG600 start
flight-test ph
“We will be able to pick up lightning detections within hours rather than days, and
by the time they get detected days later, they’re actually a potentially significant The Aviation Indust
threat. It’s reducing the size of fires and detecting them early.” said Scott. announced that the
amphibious aircraf
Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentlemen said the high-tech helicopter
phase.
was a game changer that could be over a fire in 15 to 20 minutes providing a
flow of information back to headquarters so mapping teams could forecast Two AG600M firefig
the fire path and determine the resources that needed to be deployed. test center in Yanlia
Shaanxi Province to
Two Bell 412s, call sign Firebird 101and 102, are fitted with under-belly
type certification. T
tanks capable of carrying water or retardant, as well as a winch for inserting
modifications befo
firefighters.
Codenamed Kunlon
AG600 aircraft fam
rescue missions inc
other critical emerg

A member of the A
designed to comba
weight of 60 tonne
12 tonnes and fligh
of low-altitude flyin
accurately on fire s

It is expected that t
rescue model of AG
2024 and 2025 resp

18 AIR ATTACK

ts airworthiness
hase
try Corporation of China (AVIC) has
e indigenously developed AG600
ft has entered the airworthiness flight-test
ghting aircraft have arrived at the flight-
ang District in Xi'an, northwest China's
o undergo the flight-test phase to achieve
The aircraft will receive a number of
ore flight testing begins.
ng, or "water dragon" in Chinese, the
mily has been developed for emergency
cluding firefighting, maritime SAR and
gency missions.
AG600 family, the AG600M was specifically
at forest fires. It has a maximum take-off
es, plus a water-carrying capacity of up to
ht range of up to 4,500 km. It is capable
ng at low speed, enabling it to drop water
sites.
the firefighting model and emergency
G600 aircraft will obtain certification in
pectively.
INDUSTRY
News
Chilean AF Hermes 900 crashes
while monitoring forest fires
An unmanned Elbit Hermes 900 UAV operated
by Aviation Group nº 2, of the 1st Air Brigade the
Chilean Air Force, has crashed in to the Cautín River
in the region of Araucania, some 600km south of the
country’s capital, Santiago, the cause of the crash is
currently unknown.
The Israeli-made drone was flying a mission in
support of the Chilean forestry agency, Corporación
Nacional Forestal Chilena (CONAF), monitoring forest
fires in Southern Chile.
The crash occurred while the unmanned aircraft was
on its way back to Maquehue air base, near the city
of Temuco with online footage of the crashed drone
shows it in the shallows of the fast-flowing Cautín
Rivera. Drones like the Hermes 900 can support
firefighting missions thanks to their long endurance
and the use of powerful infrared cameras, sensors
and other surveillance equipment carried onboard.
Chile is currently suffering a wave of forest fires
that have left at least 26 dead, hundreds of houses
destroyed and hundreds of thousands of hectares
devastated.
Chilean Air Force personnel arrived at the crash
site in a Bell 412 and subsequently removed the
damaged drone.
AIR ATTACK 19
20 AIR ATTACK
TimberlineAerospace.com
 INDUSTRY
News

WA to upgrading runways in fire-prone areas

A bushfire-prone area in Western Australia (WA) believes the state government
should consider upgrades at key regional runways to accommodate large
water bombers.
For the first time this summer the Department of Fire and Emergency Services
had access to the Boeing 737 Fireliner and the C130 Hercules, which can each
carry more than 15,000 litres of suppressant.
But neither model would be able to land in the Esperance Shire because the
airport's runway does not meet minimum weight requirements to operate the
aircraft types.
With aircraft operating at reduced capacity carrying partial loads of retardant
or less fuel than is optimal for maintaining operations
Esperance Shire Chief Executive Shane Burge said "It’s estimated it would cost
$20 million to upgrade the runway and that could be something the state
government might look to put some money in to".
A government spokesperson said the Shire of Esperance was responsible for
management and operations at the airport, but any major project at it would
likely require joint funding from multiple levels of government.
Upgrading Esperance Airport to accommodate large air tankers could also pay
off strategically due to its proximity to the Nullarbor Plain, large agricultural
areas and the Great Western Woodlands.

Click HERE for more Up to the Minute NEWS

AIR ATTACK 21
 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

TOMMASO L CRUCIANI
POSITION: FIREFIGHTING CO-PILOT
BABCOCK ITALIA
In this issue, we talk with Tommaso Cruciani, a
Firefighting Co-Pilot working for Babcock Italia and
based in Rome. Tommaso talks with us about his
experience flying the Canadair CL-415 and his path
into firefighting. He talks about how he mixes flying
civilian executive charter aircraft in the winter months to
firefighting in the summer season, plus he talks about
his favorite aspects of flying the CL-415.

22 22 AIRAIR
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 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

1. Tommaso can you start by telling us who you work for

and where you are based?
I work as a seasonal firefighting pilot for a private company
on contract to the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian firefighting
agency. The headquarters are in Rome, where I live, but
we have permanent bases in Genova, in the North, and
Lamezia Terme, in the South, to cover the whole country.
During the Summer, we open a number of seasonal bases
and deploy more aircraft and pilots. My roster can see me
being positioned to any base and then being brought back
to Rome for my time off.

2. What initially brought you into aviation?

It’s a classic case of having been fascinated with anything
aviation related since I can remember - I never shook off
the childish fascination and still get giddy talking about
airplanes. Growing up internationally due to my parents’
work, I was familiar with airplanes as a young kid and
instinctively felt they were the ultimate vessel of freedom
and adventure.
AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 23 23
 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

3. How long have you been a pilot, and what has your
career been like up to this point?
I began taking flying lessons at sixteen during the weekends
but had been reading about it for years. As a teenager, I
was lucky enough to be able to occasionally rent a simple
airplane and explore the Italian countryside with my
friends. Going to University in the UK, I continued building
hours, learned to fly gliders and joined a group of hobbyists
flying all over Europe.
After graduating, I completed my professional pilot licenses
and worked part-time in the hangar of a local fixed-wing
air ambulance company and worked my way into the right
seat as a pilot assistant. I never saw myself going into the
airlines for a career and enjoyed the air ambulance flying
because I felt I was using my skills to help others, and as a
‘people person’ I was able to make a difference where the
human side of the job was essential to mission success.
An unexpected opportunity to move to Malta as an
apprentice for a growing air charter company had me pack
my bags and rush down to fill a position in the back office,
where I learned to deal with everything from client services
to aircraft catering, crew travel and accommodation
requirements and other support tasks. In two years, I rose
to become a Team Leader in the client services department
and shortly after was promoted to a First Officer position
on the Embraer Legacy 600. We flew the aircraft mostly
across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the CIS

24 24 AIRAIR
ATTACK
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 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

region on a charter basis but I was often also stationed in

Nigeria flying for oil executives. The do-it-all-yourself nature
of this job and the fact I was not just a pilot but expected
to provide high-standards of face to face hospitality in an
international environment appealed to me and I have been
flying executive charter ever since. Today I still work for a
large German air charter company on the Legacy 650E and
have recently been type rated on the Dassault Falcon 7X, a
long haul three engine business aircraft.
Throughout all this time, my sense of adventure always
drew me to the unconventional flying jobs out there. I can’t
get my mind off the idea of flying airplanes like the Twin
Otter in the deserts, islands and glaciers of far-flung places
and often imagine the draws of the quintessential bush
pilot lifestyle. So, in 2019 I got my seaplane rating in Florida
and occasionally fly light floatplanes here in Italy to keep
my stick and rudder skills sharp and satisfy my nostalgia for
all thing’s seaplanes and flying boats.
AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 25 25
 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

4. How long have you been involved in firefighting

aviation, and how did you get into your current position?
For several years I have been attracted to the idea of
entering the aerial firefighting industry because it’s the kind
of flying that combines a wide set of skills in the service of
others. Having moved from Belgium back to Italy during
the Covid pandemic, I felt I had a chance to finally make
that goal real and applied in 2021 for a position as a CL-
415 Canadair Co-Pilot for the 2022 summer season. I was
fortunate enough to pass the standard selection process,
with four of us going onto the type rating course.

5. Can you tell us a bit about your current position and

what you do?
In Italy, the CL-415 fleet owned by the State, operated by
a private contractor, is ready on a 365 day a year basis,
available to assist in firefighting efforts across the country
and beyond. The summers are of course the busiest season
due to the hot and dry Mediterranean climate, but dry
winters can also prove prone to large wildfires, especially in
the north of Italy. As part of the state fleet, our aerial assets
are called upon when initial attack ground or regional aerial
firefighting assets (mostly helicopters) are insufficient,
unavailable, or unable to reach and contain a fire. We are
on standby from sunrise to sunset and depending on the
season, a certain number of aircraft and crews will be
available to be airborne within 30 minutes from the call.

26 26 AIRAIR
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 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

Within a typical summer season, we can expect

to fly between 100 and 200 hours per pilot but possibly
much less when the climatic situation isn’t as bad. Most
summer seasons, we also have aircraft on standby
for missions abroad within the scope of the RescEU
mandate, a program to pool European resources for
combating disasters such as wildfires. I had the chance
to fly in Portugal and France this summer and felt it was
an excellent way to exchange lessons on how different
countries’ firefighting systems operate.

6. How many hours do you currently have, and what

ratings do you have.
I have approximately 2500 hours and am currently rated on
the CL-415, EMB-135 and FA-7X.

7. Can you tell us about what types of special training you

have gone through in your career?
Mostly the training one would expect of any commercial
aircraft operator to provide. Plenty of Human Factors
training besides the technical training but also sea survival
training and other relevant courses. I find that a lot of
one’s development in professional flying should also occur
outside the workplace and I consider myself a lifelong
learner.
AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 27 27
 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

8. How did you find the transition from the executive

charter sector to flying firefighting?
It doesn’t seem to be the traditional path into firefighting,
but I found that my background in business aviation really
helped me during my first season flying water bombers. It
goes without saying that flying on a fire requires a high level
of comfort with VFR and stick and rudder, which is different
to the majority of jet flying, but the CL-415 in our operation
also demands a much wider set of skills.
As a large, multi-engine, multi-crew turboprop flying boat,
one has to be able to transition from highly diverse water
work on seas, lakes and rivers to flying and coordinating in
busy fire areas to long, international IFR routes with solid
CRM. Since most of my experience is in IFR flight level flying,
I have something to bring to the table when it comes to
the planning and execution of longer flights and I use my
international background and experience with coordinating
people on a daily basis. On the other hand, as a newcomer
and being contracted only from June to September, I have
a lot to learn from the highly experienced Captains and
Co-Pilots I serve with, many of whom have been doing this
for decades and whose skills in low-level flying, water work
and fire analysis are exceptional.
It really is an activity that requires a great team mindset
and a variety of experience, which is why the company hires
pilots from all sectors of aviation, including from the air
force, general aviation, airlines and even executive charter
flying. Everyone has something to learn and teach.

28 28 AIRAIR
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 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

9. What types of aircraft do you fly for work?

As I mentioned, I currently fly the Falcon 7X in the winter
and the CL-415 in the summer, two aircraft at opposite
ends of the performance spectrum with pretty much the
only similarity being that they are both designed to be
exceptionally maneuverable. They really keep me on my
toes!

10. What are your favorite aspects about the aircraft you
currently fly?
I have always hoped to fly the CL-415 and having achieved
that goal I can honestly say it is everything I had hoped and
more. As the only aircraft designed to fight fires from the
drawing board up, it is perfectly suited to that task. I love
how maneuverable it is at very slow speeds, how it can claw
every bit of lift you ask of it and always surprise you with
its ability to decelerate and turn on a dime. It is every bit as
robust as a fire truck and seems to handle the punishment
of rough seas, tight mountain lakes and winding rivers with
grunt and grace. It hauls a large load, expects a tough day’s
work and requires no babying - and most importantly is
forgiving of beginners like me. What’s not to love?

11. What would you say is the most satisfying part of flying
on fires?
Without a doubt, the feeling of accomplishment that comes
from knowing you played a role in helping put out a wildfire
is the most satisfying part of the job. At the end of a hard,
hot day, when exhaustion sets in you can rest knowing that
the effort was towards a noble cause. I enjoy knowing that
I helped to preserve our wild spaces, the trees and animals
that inhabit them and the people that live around them in
the many small towns that dot the Italian landscape.

12. What are the biggest challenges associated with

operating during the fire season in the region that you
cover?
This is a tough country for wildland firefighting due mostly
to the mountainous terrain all along the Italian peninsula.
The Apennines, running down the spine of the country,
mean that most days we are mountain flying and many fires
require us to shuttle between the flat but narrow coastal
plains where we scoop seawater and the impervious
interior where the fires often occur, performing steep
AIR ATTACK 29
 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

climbs and descents over mountain passes when we cannot

navigate through the valleys or no lakes are available
nearby. The CL-415 is perfectly suited to this terrain and
has been used in the Mediterranean for decades due to its
unique performance.
A typical mission here can be a challenge from start to
finish, from the quick reaction time demanded of the
crews, to the complex navigation to the fire area and the
constantly changing scenarios. Often, we depart towards
a fire only to be diverted via satcom mid-route to a higher
priority target, and once we complete that fire we may
be re-tasked inflight onto a third target in a completely
different type of terrain. We have to communicate with our
OCC, ATC, the local fire attack supervisor via VHF, other
aircraft in the area and often with local police units and
the coast guard. In summer, it is not uncommon that Italy
is victim to a large number of wildfires simultaneously
and the entire fleet could be out at the same time, fighting
alongside the ground forces and dozens of helicopters.
Sometimes the aircraft fly from sunrise to sunset for
days on end and that puts enormous strain on the pilots,
mechanics and all support staff on the ground, all of whom
work with the same goal in mind. I am fortunate to fly with
and learn from highly experienced colleagues who make
it all look easy, but I know that kind of nonchalance takes
years to master in such a non-standard environment.

13. Prior to flying fire contracts, was there something

that you thought about this segment of the industry that
you’ve since discovered was completely wrong?
I did a lot of research in the years leading up to joining the
firefighting fleet and I tried to be socially involved with
people from the industry to learn more about the job
before even applying. In that sense, I can’t say I came into it
blindly and I feel that I was well informed before taking this
path. If there is anything that I can say I’ve been surprised
by since joining, it’s that nobody in the sector considers
themselves especially heroic but rather just regular people
doing their jobs, no matter how action-packed it may look
from the outside.

14. There can often be a lot of down-time in aerial

firefighting what’s your favorite way to pass the time?
Since we’re in Italy, much of the downtime on base is spent

30 30 AIRAIR
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 AIR ATTACK PROFILE

chatting and hangar flying by the espresso machine, the

holiest of all corners of the hangar.

15. What would you say was some of the best advice you
have received over your career?
Amongst the innumerable tips and tricks and good advice I
have received over my short career, one that sticks with me
is that part of the goal of every flight should also be to have
some fun, because otherwise why the hell are we doing
this? In this line of work, where emergencies can bring
challenging encounters with all manner of devastation, it is
important to always carry a bit of humor on every mission.

16. Who has been a role model for you to help you achieve
your flying ambitions?
I cannot name just one, but I have been especially inspired
not just by those Captains ahead of me in rank and
experience, but largely by those Co-Pilots at my level who
have helped motivate me at every step of the way, with
whom I have shared blood, sweat and tears to achieve our
goals and develop our professional careers.

17. What is one thing you always bring with you on every
flight?
A reliable watch, a cold bottle of water and a dry snack, all
essential items for a firefighting pilot.

18. If you were able to do so; what advice would your

“experienced” self of today give to yourself, when you
were still learning to become a pilot?
Never stop learning and always strive to master the basics,
because they will be with you every step of the way to more
advanced flying and it will always be an incomplete journey.

Alan Norris trained as an engineer working for the British Government in Research and
Development for over 30 years. He has been a freelance aviation journalist for 45 years
specializing in helicopter related journalism and photography, and has been published in many
international aviation journals. He is one of the founders and a trustee of The Helicopter Museum,
located in the South West of England, and was restoration manager for over ten years organizing
the conservation and preservation of the collection. Alan is also a Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale registered judge for helicopter sport flying events at UK National, European,
International and World Championships.

AIR ATTACK 31
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TAKING STOCK
OF THE UNDESIRABLE
SURVEYING INVASIVE PLANTS IN CALIFOR
STORY BY LEIGH NEIL
PHOTOS BY NED DAWSON
ES
RNIA

AIR ATTACK 35
 A project to survey infestations of invasive plants
demonstrates the synergistic benefits accruing
when two complimentary organizations cooperate
in the pursuit of a single goal. Ned Dawson talked
to biologist Morgan Ball and pilot Jean Paul (‘JP’)
Robinson about the ongoing project in California’s
Santa Monica mountains.

FIRE RISK

Many invasive plants significantly increase wildland fire risk, not

only providing fuel but also modifying the environment in such a way
that fires are more likely to ignite and then be much more difficult to
control. Executive director and wildlife biologist Morgan Ball specializes
in wildlands stewardship, endangered species protection and invasive
species control through his company Wildlands Conservation Science
and partners with many other agencies. He explained that some
introduced species such as Pampas grass invade freshwater seeps and
springs, and quickly monopolize the water, drying out the habitat.
This process increases fire risk and contributes to the displacement of
indigenous plants and animals.
The current project in the Santa Monica mountains is funded
by a grant consequential to the extremely destructive November
2018 Woolsey Fire, which burned almost 100,000 acres in the Santa
Monica mountains and adjacent back country. That fire destroyed
1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation
of more than 295,000 people. “A consortium of about a dozen land
managers in the Santa Monica mountains – including the National
Park Service, California State Parks, Conservation Biology Institute,
and various conservation groups – applied for a National Fish and
Wildlife Federation grant to create a fire prevention program to protect
homeowners while also conserving plant and wildlife habitat. A
component of this includes grant mapping invasive plants, particularly
36 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 37
 those that exacerbate wildfires,” Ball recounted, and explained
that many invasive plants come from other parts of the world, from
environments that are based on a disturbance regime where regular
fires are normal. “So, not only do they displace the indigenous species,
they also are prone to igniting more easily and spreading fire rapidly.
Then, the more fires you have, the better suited the habitat becomes to
those invasive species.”

WEEDS ARE EXPENSIVE

Invasive weeds are a very expensive problem and Ball pointed

38 AIR ATTACK
out that the work they are doing on this project uses helicopters to
allow the efficient location of smaller, incipient infestations of the
undesirable species before they become sufficiently well established
to build up a major seed bank. “That allows land managers to decide
on the appropriate action to take for each infestation. We help with
that decision-making and when we survey with helicopters, we follow
that up by prioritizing invasive plants that warrant management. We
consider such metrics as the quality of the habitat, ease of access,
presence of endangered species, recreational and aesthetic values,
and the virulence of the weed itself. Then we provide a full report
and management plan tailored to each agency’s requirements and
priorities, including recommendations on which infestations and
AIR ATTACK 39
 locations should be targeted,” he related, pointing out that budgets are
limited so it is important to focus control efforts on the most critical
areas and those which will see the greatest benefit.
Once the grant for the program had been approved, the consortium
approached Ball to conduct the survey, as they were familiar with his
record and experience in similar projects. Over the last five years, Ball
has worked extensively with California-based English Air Service LLC
(EAS), which started out as an agricultural operator but subsequently
expanded into LIDAR mapping, construction and maintenance, and
utility work. EAS provides the MD500-E and pilot ‘JP’ Robinson for the
aviation portion of the project and Ball is highly complimentary about
JP’s flying skills and work ethic. “Our cooperation with EAS has evolved
over time, using many of the Kiwi (New Zealand) game recovery and
mountain flying techniques that you don’t usually see in the US, and
JP has adapted to them superbly. I typically fly about 400 hours a year
just with JP,” Ball reported. The list of work that JP has flown for Ball

40 AIR ATTACK
 THE MOST ECONOMICAL AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SOLUTION

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AIR ATTACK 41
42 AIR ATTACK
The VAP-42 water bombing
system has manual control,
with operators opening
the discharge valves upon
command issued by the pilot.
(Ognyan Stefanov via Alex
Mladenov)

AIR ATTACK 43
 includes many invasive plant and endangered species surveys, along
with large animal surveys, as well as dropping off crews to conduct
remote small mammal trapping and camera trapping.

CURRENT PROJECT

The current survey project incorporates around 40 days of flying to

cover around 80,000 acres, predominantly within the front range in the
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area but with patches
scattered throughout the thirty-by-eight-mile range. The project was
originally scheduled for completion over one summer and one winter,
but an extraordinarily dry summer and the covid-19 outbreak threw
a spanner into the works last year, limiting flying to only about sixty
hours over ten days. Things got back on track this year and two of the
three scheduled summer tours have now been completed. Ball advised
that one additional sixty-hour tour was completed during the winter
when the willows were leafless, to survey weeds that grow in the
understory and by the time the survey project ends the total amassed
flight time will be between 250 and 300 hours. “When we work with

44 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 45
46 AIR ATTACK
The VAP-42 water bombing
system has manual control,
with operators opening
the discharge valves upon
command issued by the pilot.
(Ognyan Stefanov via Alex
Mladenov)

AIR ATTACK 47
 our partners, we always try to identify what their target plants and
concerns are, while for us it’s really about human traffic and whether
we can see the ground and any wires,” he remarked.
As funding for ecological and conservation projects is invariably
limited, Ball also engages early with land managers to establish what
limitations exist on their ability to conduct control measures, to aid
in determining priorities for survey and therefore eliminate expensive
helicopter time in mapping infestations that will be unfeasible or
impractical to exterminate. Aside from the invasive plants, a list of
endangered indigenous species is also maintained as a part of the
program and any examples found are also mapped and reported to the
customers. Among his many projects, Ball regularly provides ecological
management services to the United States Department of Defense
(DoD) through an association with the defense contractor, ManTech
International. For the work, the helicopter is regularly used to survey a
variety of natural resources across vast tracts land surrounding military
facilities and operations.

48 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 49
 MILITARY CONTRIBUTION

Ball points out that, “many military bases require large areas of
undeveloped land to function as safety and security buffers. Ironically
these areas, free from human encroachment serve as some of the few
remaining refuges of numerous endangered species. The US military
goes to great lengths to survey and manage these resources. Dollar
for dollar, helicopters are still the most cost effective and ‘greenest’
way to survey the larger areas, and particularly where access is remote
or difficult. The only time that ground surveying is more efficient is
where there are large invasive plant populations close to road access
in easy terrain,”. To date, Ball and JP have performed low level survey
of over one million acres of DoD lands mapping everything from plants
to archeological sites, raptors, sage-grouse, seabirds, large ungulates

50 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 51
 including deer, pronghorn and feral horses and even unexploded
ordinance.

PEOPLE PROBLEMS

Many parts of the Santa Monica range are subject to heavy hiking
and recreational traffic and Robinson noted, “It’s tricky. We can get
really close to the hikers at times, so we have to be careful not to fly
right over the top of them. That definitely slows down our progress.”
Ball estimated that a ten to fifteen percent progress deficit is incurred
when human traffic is in the survey area, which he jokingly refers to
as the project’s ‘people tax’. “When people are present, we typically
have to head off and work somewhere else, but as soon as we see that
they’ve moved out of the area, we hightail it back to finish up our work
before someone else arrives on the scene,” he commented.
Another issue is private residences, as the park boundary goes right
up to the fence-line of many properties, and the presence of people
has a direct relationship to the prevalence of introduced weeds, a
substantial amount of survey flying is in close proximity to dwellings.
“We really don’t get many complaints, but we typically find large
infestations of a variety of weeds around private dwellings, that have
spread out into the surrounding native habitat. As result, we end up
spending a disproportionate amount of time hovering immediately
adjacent to private property and will often see the residents watching
us, completely confused as to what we are doing,” Ball advised.
Robinson added that local law enforcement and the FAA representative
are very good and well-aware of what the project entails, however, so
those complaints that do come in usually don’t progress beyond their
respective desks.
Additionally, operations near roads are frequently interrupted as
traffic tends to stop so vehicle occupants can watch the helicopter at
work. “Drivers pay so much attention to what we’re doing that they
don’t pay attention to their driving, or more often they’ll just stop in
the middle of the road and get out to take photos or videos, creating a

52 AIR ATTACK
major traffic hazard and being constantly mindful of that is one of the
things that slows us down,” Robinson recounted. “So, if we see vehicle
traffic, we’ll also move somewhere else until they’ve moved off.” The
likely presence of deer and other animals is a given throughout the
survey area, so operations around roads always start from the road and
work outward, away from the road so that any deer being pushed by
the helicopter are travelling away from the road and not becoming a
traffic hazard.

BOXING IT IN

Ball explained that a crucial part of each survey segment is what he

calls ‘building a box’. This means very carefully approaching each new
area with an initial high perimeter check, looking for, identifying and
mapping all hazards, particularly wires, which are seen as the greatest
hazard to the operational flights. Equestrian activity is prevalent in
many areas and so equestrian hazards are noted also, as the helicopter
operates at extremely low altitude and its presence is therefore a major
fright hazard to equestrian activity. “If we have an area that has a lot

AIR ATTACK 53
54 AIR ATTACK
The VAP-42 water bombing
system has manual control,
with operators opening
the discharge valves upon
command issued by the pilot.
(Ognyan Stefanov via Alex
Mladenov)

AIR ATTACK 55
 of wires, large numbers of people or significant equestrian activity,
we’ll just box that out. The helicopter is an amazing tool but there are
certain circumstances where you just have to pull the plug and have
people come in and survey it from the ground,” said Ball. “If we see
horses in an area where we are working, we just watch them and if
they start to get agitated, we’ll pull out and move somewhere else.”
Robinson listed strong and variable winds, flying below translational
lift and potential loss of tail rotor authority as additional hazards that
have to be guarded against constantly. “Because of the terrain and
knife-edge ridges, even fifteen knots of wind can be unflyable,” he
reported, while Ball advised that in some areas where the mountain
ridges run perpendicular to the prevailing wind, conditions have been
unflyable after 10:30am for the entire project to date.
As an aside, Ball pointed out the extra fire hazard inherent in
building residences in fire-prone wilderness areas, particularly when

56 AIR ATTACK
many people still choose to build with wooden structures or cladding,
and wooden roofing shingles. “Some people seem to either not know
or not understand the significance of the fire hazard where they choose
to build, and then there’s the extra cost and difficulty in firefighting to
protect those isolated homes when fires do break out.”

FLYING CONDITIONS

As any experienced pilot knows, wind and weather conditions in

mountainous terrain are hugely variable so areas to be surveyed at any
given time are largely dictated by the prevailing human traffic, weather
and lighting conditions. “JP has to fly very low and slow in an extremely
stable manner, so we try to find an area where the conditions are in his
favor,” Ball advised. Surveys are typically carried out from fifteen to fifty

AIR ATTACK 57
 feet off the ground but at times can be as low as a mere five feet, and
only a rotor-disc width from vertical faces. “Larger project areas are
easiest for us to survey because we can usually find a good flightpath
to suit our needs, whereas the smaller project areas can prove very
limiting if conditions don’t swing in our favor,” said Ball. The 500-E is
ideal for Ball’s work, as he explained. “It’s a great little workhorse. For
my work, I need a platform where I can stow multiple cameras and
computer systems but be able to pull them out quickly the photograph
or map things directly under the helicopter before we pass them by.
I need to be quick of the draw because our maneuverability margin
is often limited. When mapping, we try to get directly on top of our
subject because we map using an onboard GPS. The 500 has the power
we need, and the small rotor disc helps in tight spaces, I can see easily
out of both sides and JP flies it smooth so that my cameras aren’t being
shaken all over the floor.” In Robinson’s opinion the 500 is perfect for
the task and he commented that he wouldn’t want to fly the role in any
other type.
EAS originally supplied a 500-D in earlier years but the E model’s
lower bulkhead between the front and rear cabin allows Ball to see
the GPS more easily and makes it the preferred platform. Robinson
added that the unmatched agility of the 500 enables him to fly the
helicopter accurately enough to precisely map the perimeter of larger
infestations. “It’s definitely hands-on the whole time though, and you
never get a break during surveys. If it’s an area with a lot of weeds,
I may never get beyond translational lift. Five feet, stop, another
five feet, stop, go back a few feet, stop. It’s basically just one long
hover and it’s exhausting,” he noted. Ball commented that wherever
possible, they try to mix it up, breaking up those exhausting stints
with surveys on less infested areas so Robinson can get some relief
with some less demanding flying. A normal day’s surveying runs for
three two-hour fuel cycles, with a break in between of a half-hour to an
hour. At the end of each strenuous day of flying, Robinson then refuels
the helicopter and carries out any necessary cleaning and daily pilot
maintenance, so Ball’s obvious respect for his professionalism and
work ethic is understandable. Ball too has a physically demanding role
at times, often needing to stand on the skids when looking directly

58 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 59
 underneath the aircraft, or surveying over riverbeds or steep cliffs.
When working over undulating hill country, however, he is able to work
sitting in the doorway facing outward.

MAPPING GEAR

Ball originally operated from the front passenger seat but as he

began using more and more cameras and equipment, it became
easier to work from the rear. Ball works with three GPS-enabled Canon
cameras outfitted with three different lenses: a 75-200mm mid-range
zoom, a 24-105mm wide-angle and a 600mm super telephoto. He uses
a sub-meter-accuracy Trimble GPS bluetoothed to his computer, three
iPads and a larger Xplore tablet computer on which he draws the maps
using a legacy ESRI ArcPad software program. Although the ArcPad
software is no longer supported by Esri, Ball likes it because it allows

60 AIR ATTACK
for freehand stylus drawing that can be linked to his required attribute
tables. “I don’t ever let these computers touch the internet though,
because if I did, they’d do an update and this program would be gone.
And instead of using aviation software for navigation, we use a system
called Gaia GPS while we’re flying – a system used by hikers. It lays
down beautiful tracks and I can stop and start it to make sure I only lay
down tracks when we’re actually surveying. It also really helps JP flying
because you can select the background visuals, so he can view the
landform and mentally relate it to the survey pattern in advance.” Ball
estimates that using the Gaia GPS has increased survey efficiency by
ten to fifteen percent.
With Ball in the rear cabin, an observer now flies in the front with
Robinson. This extra set of eyes is critical for ensuring a quality survey
but equally as important, this crew member plays a dominant role in
maintaining mission safety as the demanding flight regime utilized
for surveying makes lookout and situational awareness a crucial

AIR ATTACK 61
62 AIR ATTACK
The VAP-42 water bombing
system has manual control,
with operators opening
the discharge valves upon
command issued by the pilot.
(Ognyan Stefanov via Alex
Mladenov)

AIR ATTACK 63
 element of the operation. Both Ball and Robinson stressed that CRM is
critically important to flight safety and Robinson advised that EAS has
mandatory 12-monthly CRM training. The crew constantly talks about
any hazards or obstructions, rather than just identifying them once,
eliminating any likelihood of forgetting their presence or becoming
complacent. That said, Ball stated that he had never experienced as
much danger while flying as he did when attempting to negotiate some
of the rugged, unstable Santa Monica terrain on foot. The aircraft is
modified specifically for Ball’s work, with special hardpoints for his
harness, power receptacles for all his electronic devices, and exterior
handles to ease ingress and egress for the weed control crews with
their backpacks. Safety training for the weed crews is also thorough
and Robinson advised that a whole morning can be spent with the
helicopter running while training the crews on safe ingress/egress
techniques, clear hand signals and managing the interior facilities
such as seatbelts and headsets. “They have an amazing safety culture,”
he noted. “We often work a hybrid mission,” Ball explained, “I might

64 AIR ATTACK
be performing on an aerial mapping job but we often have a weed
crew running at the same time. In those situations, we maintain radio
communication with our crew and pick them up from one remote
weed infestation and transport them to a different population in a
matter of minutes. This mission synergy saves days of field crew effort.
That open rear cabin makes this cost saving multitasking possible.”

ECONOMY OF EFFORT

Although helicopter operations such as this can, at first glance, be

seen as expensive, one must balance that against the cost of helicopter
firefighting support for such major fires as the Woolsey blaze. If control
efforts as a result of this project support any notable decreased fire
risk in the Santa Monica Range, its cost will be a mere drop in the
bucket, compared to the savings in firefighting resources. The fact
that the program is being conducted in an exceptionally efficient
and safe manner is testament to the close, almost symbiotic working
relationship that has developed between Ball and Robinson. “It’s a
holistic view,” remarked Ball. “If we can do anything to help create a
situation where people can live a little safer, where fire is managed
better, then we are reducing the overall cost to the community.” n

Leigh Neil has always had an involvement with aviation, predominantly fixed-wing flying and
rotary-wing writing, and lives in New Zealand on the South Island’s West Coast with his wife of 33
years. Leigh works as a heavy machinery operator in mining, when not writing or editing, and on
the free time he has left explores the roads through the mountains and forests on his motorcycle.

Ned Dawson has had an interest in the helicopter world since his first ride in a 3 Sqn RNZAF Sioux
in his early years. Since then he has gone on to become an accomplished air to air photographer
shooting everything from R-22s to S-92s. Ned is also the group Publisher so he is more often
than not out travelling the world from Afghanistan to Africa shooting this amazing industry.

AIR ATTACK 65
 STORY BY ALEXANDER MLADENOV

66 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 67
 The Mi-26 is amongst Russia’s greatest aviation industry
achievements. The 56-tone dual-use rotorcraft holds a class
of its own and is still being maintained in low-rate production,
mainly for military and government customers, both
domestic and export. Alexander Mladenov reports on
its use in the demanding firefighting role where the
type excels due to its tremendous payload and
looks at the issues the unique type is facing in
civilian operation in Russia.

N
o doubt, a unique rotary-wing flying machine and
the largest one ever manufactured in significant
numbers, the Mi-26 offers a wide spectrum of
military, para-public and civilian usage. It provides
a much-needed heavy-lift capability for a dozen of military and
para-public operators in Russia and around the world and has
also been employed in the firefighting role on as-needed basis.
Civilian-operated Mi-26s in Russia have been called upon in the past
to provide all-encompassing support to numerous UN-sponsored
peacekeeping and humanitarian operations although their primary
role is to serve the domestic oil and gas industry in exploration fields
in the Russia’s otherwise inaccessible far northern territories. A small
proportion of the civil-registered machines have also occasionally
been called upon to participate in firefighting and disaster relief
missions in Russia and abroad, but the sharply reduced numerical
strength of the fleet put an end to this business.

AGILE AND FAST MACHINE

Now it seems rather astonishing that in the 1970s and 1980s

Moscow-based Mil Design Bureau managed to design, test and launch

68 AIR ATTACK
 An EMERCOM Mi-26T seen during
firefighting with the VSU-15A external
bucket, sporting a capacity of up
to 15,000 litres of water (Russian
Helicopters)

into large-scale production such a high-performance heavyweight

helicopter, considering the prevailing low-technology level available
to then Soviet, now Russian helicopter industry. The Mi-26 not only
boasts an incredible lifting capability but despite its huge size and
weight, it also offers a better agility and maintainability than the Mi-24
Hind attack helicopter and is significantly faster than the Mi-8MTV/
Mi-17 Hip transport machine.
The Mi-26 features cargo-hold dimensions and a maximum payload
to rival the cargo-hauling capability of the Lockheed L-100/C-130
Hercules four-engine freighter. It can easily lift the weight of a fully
laden Mi-8/17 helicopter plus an additional cargo of five tons. The
machine is even capable of transporting another Mi-26 on external
sling, with its rotors, engines and main gearbox removed; this job has
been done on numerous occasions in Russia since the early 2000s.
The Mi-26’s first prototype made its maiden flight in December
1977 in the hands of the legendary Mil Design Bureau test pilot

AIR ATTACK 69
 This is the first civilian-standard
Mi-26T2 built for Russia’s Ministry of
Emergency Situations, handed over in
December 2022. (Russian Helicopters)

Gurgen Karapetyan. The initial production machines, built in military

configuration, rolled off the line at the Rostvertol plant in the southern
Russian city of Rostov on Don in 1980. The full-rate production rate was
reported in the mid and late 1980s, accounting for up to 30 helicopters
a year, mostly destined for the Soviet military. During the 1990s and the
2000s the production switched to the low-rate mode.
The Mi-26 made its public debut at the Paris Air Show in 1981, and
in October 1982 it has set four payload-to-height world records: lifting
a payload of 10 tons in the cargo cabin to 20,660ft (6,300m); 15 tons
to 18,000ft (5,550m), 20 tons to 15,080ft (4,600m) and 25 tons lifted to
13,316ft (4,060m).
The giant rotorcraft entered regular service with the then Soviet
Army Aviation front-line regiments in 1983 and soon afterwards the
Mi-26 found its place with the rotary-wing fleet of the KGB-controlled
Border Troops Service.
In the early 1990s, the giant rotorcraft also entered service with two more
government operator in Russia - the Internal Troops (a Ministry of Interior
military branch responsible for internal security, now known as Rosgvardia)
and with the parapublic Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM).

70 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 71
Despite the mammoth size and weight,
the Mi-26 boasts a better manoeuvrability
and maintainability than the Mi-24 and
is considerably faster than the Mi-8/17.
(Alexander Mladenov)

PRODUCTION DATA

Nearly 370 examples are known to have been rolled out at Rostvertol
in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia between 1980 and 2023, but the
vast majority of these machines, inducted in service in the 1980s, have
been withdrawn from use and scrapped, or are destined for scrapping
in foreseeable future. More than two thirds of the Mi-26s built were
originally taken on strength by military and parapublic operators
while the type remains serving in commercial operation in Russia only,
while the type remains in government service in China, Belorussia
and Kazakhstan, and the list of the military customers with helicopters
in active operation includes Algeria, Jordan, India, Kazakhstan
and Venezuela.
The civilian version of the Mi-26 entered production at Rostvertol
in 1985 under the designation Mi-26T while in 1995 the type got its

72 AIR ATTACK
 The VSU-15A bucket seen at discharging,
offers discharge rates of up to 1,000 litters
per second. (Alexander Mladenov)

type certificate, receiving the new designation Mi-26TC (C denoting

Certified). The Mi-26TC subversion, however, has been delivered
only to customers in China, while Russian operators still use the
‘vanilla’ Mi-26T.
Stripped of all heavyweight and bulky military-specific equipment,
the civilian version comes with enhanced capabilities for transporting
loads on external sling. When employed in the heavy-duty flying
crane role (the main operation of the civil-registered fleet in Russia),
the Mi-26T/TC can be also equipped with a pipe grip to transport
large-diameter gas-pipes, while logging work is performed with a
purpose-built cargo grip. A precise hovering system is available in

AIR ATTACK 73
 Ground servicing of a
Mi-26T2. (Alexander
Mladenov)

addition to a set of three closed-circuit color TV cameras used for cargo

observation when hauling cargoes on an external hook.
The autopilot also features a newly-added mode for external load
oscillation suppression in a bid to prevent large-amplitude load swing.
The external cargo system comes with an integrated weight-meter and
DG-65 or VTDG-20 electrical locks with remote control.
Owing to its military roots, the Mi-26T’s airframe was originally
provided with a relatively short service life of 2,100 hours or 20 years
only, whichever is reached first, while the time between overhauls
(TBO) was set at 900 hours or ten years. In the 2000s, Mil advised that
the service life could be extended incrementally up to 4,800 hours
depending on the fuselage condition in terms of corrosion and fatigue
damage (such as cracking on load-bearing elements of the fuselage,
especially the tail boom, caused by heavy-duty operation).
Ever increasing operating and maintenance costs, combined with

74 AIR ATTACK
 The Russian Air
Aviation has on
strength some
30 Mi-26s and
all front-line
squadrons
equipped with the
type training for
the firefighting role
using the VSU-15A
bucket. (Russian
MoD)

the technical complexity of the giant rotorcraft, sharply increased spare

parts prices and the relatively short service life and TBO intervals of the
type, eventually led to a sharp increase of the type’s operating costs.
As a result, the Mi-26’s use for UN-sponsored humanitarian relief and
cargo transport missions worldwide has been discontinued since the
late 2010s.
Currently, the Russian civil-registered Mi-26s are used mainly in
country, exclusively for transportation of heavy and outsized cargoes
for the oil and gas exploration companies working in the extreme
northern regions. The business of the companies in Russia’s oil and gas
sector, however, has been badly hit by the low oil prices in the recent
years and their demand for Mi-26 services dropped, hence the large
number of inactive aircraft held in storage but some of these could be
easily returned to service in better times.
As of December 2016, five Russian commercial air operators had a

AIR ATTACK 75
 fleet of 67 Mi-26s compared to 69 in 2015 and 68 in 2014. 26 of these
machines were kept in active operation throughout the year, with
average flight time of 231 flight hour per helicopter in 2016 while the
rest was placed in long-term storage or was undergoing overhauls. In
early 2023, the fleet of civil-operated Mi-26s kept in active operation in
Russia accounted for between 15 and 20 machines, with prospects for
further reduction in the 2020s, chiefly due to the lack of commercial
demand for newly-built Mi-26T/T2s, combined with sharply increased
acquisition and support prices.

FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT
FOR THE GIANT

The Mi-26TP, flown for the first time in August 1994, is the first
dedicated firefighting derivative. The helicopter has an additional
operator workstation and is equipped with a system of four
internal tanks for a total of 15 tons of water in addition to two tanks
accommodating 900 liters of foam-forming chemicals. The tanks
are provided with a pressurization system and their discharge is
undertaken through two vents. This version, however, remained
in a prototype form and never launched into production due to its
demonstrated ineffectiveness when tackling fires.
The next firefighting derivative, which began flight testing in
September 1997, offered a much more flexible solution in the form
of an external sling bucket system. The Russian-made VSU-15A
accommodating up to 15 tons, developed by Technoeks and
NPK PANH companies, was successfully tested by Mil and Rostvertol.
The initial newly-built Mi-26Ts, modified for the VSU-15A use, were
delivered to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM)
in 1998. In total, EMERCOM got six helicopters capable of deploying
the VSU-15A and another example was taken in 1999 by Moscow’s
firefighting service. The EMERCOM Mi-26Ts are heavily involved in
fighting forest and steppe fires, with heavy utilization in the summer
firefighting campaigns when Russia suffers many fierce forest fires in its
European areas.

76 AIR ATTACK
VSU-15A WATER BUCKET

The primary fire attack hardware cleared for use by the Russian civil and
military-operated Mi-26 fleet consists of the VSU-15A flexible bucket system which
can discharge up to 15 tons of water and when fully laden provides coverage of a
swathe 412 and 1,089ft (125m to 300m) long and 45ft (15m) wide.
The bucket is controlled remotely by an operator in the helicopter, including
preparation for taking water and its discharge. Future upgrades include adding a
foam injection system (to dispense foam in the water in the bucket) and satellite
navigation receiver.
There are six adjustable sizes for the giant bucket for accommodating 7, 8, 9,
10, 12.5 and 13.5 tones, while in its maximum size for discharging 15 tons of water
the VSU-15A can be filled in ten seconds and the discharge rate is one tone per
second. VSU-15A’s own weight is 562lb (255kg) and the helicopter speed during
discharge is set at between 0 and 65kt (120km/h), while the speed limitation with
the bucket full with water is up to 97kts (180km/h) and with an empty bucket is
108kt (200km/h).
Design life of the Russian-made water bucket is set at 1,000 water drop cycles
or two years, whichever reached the first.

Rostvertol has also offered another firefighting version of the

Mi-26, outfitted with an underslung fire suppression equipment,
comprising of two linked EP-8000 containers, each accommodating
eight tons of water, suspended on a 60-long line, attached to the
helicopter’s cargo hook. This version, however, remained in prototype
form only due to its inflexibility as the EP-8000s needed a dedicated
ground station outfitted with water pumps providing 3,000 liters per
minute refilling rate.
Another and much more successful firefighting derivative of the
rotorcraft used a Twin Bambi Bucket system, supplied by Canadian
company SEI Industries. Accommodating 19.6 tons of water, the
buckets are mounted in tandem and can be discharged separately
or simultaneously. A Mi-26T belonging to NPK PANH company
completed Twin Bambi Bucket testing in 1997. The results from the
testing campaign proved very promising, showing that the helicopter

AIR ATTACK 77
 The military-standard Mi-26T2V is
expected to be the main version to be
rolled out at Rostverol in the near-to-
medium run. (Alexander Mladenov)

78 AIR ATTACK
The VAP-42 water bombing
system has manual control,
with operators opening
the discharge valves upon
command issued by the pilot.
(Ognyan Stefanov via Alex
Mladenov)

AIR ATTACK 79
 A scan into the Mi-26T2’s cockpit.
(Alexander Mladenov)

could maintain stable flight up to 123kts (227km/h) when carrying

the system. Refilling the two backets was demonstrated to complete
within 30 seconds. The NPK PANH-operated helicopter was rushed in
real-world firefighting operations in Turkey in the same year and at a
later stage it continued doing its unsung job in Italy and Spain in 2000,
under contract with Belgian company Skytech SA. In Italy, Skytech
SA provided three Mi-26Ts, supporting the country’s Civil Protection
Service’s firefighting season.
Another Mi-26T outfitted with the Twin Bambi Backet was provided
in 1997 to Korean company Samsung Aerospace, again under contract
with Skytech SA and became operational in April 1998.
As of December 2022, Russia’s civil-operated Mi-26T fleet has very
restricted use for firefighting. Currently, the only specialized firefighting
force in Russia operating the giant type, the Ministry of Emergency

80 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 81
 FACTS & FIGURES

Despite its giant size and superheavy weight, the Mi-26 features a surprisingly high
maximum speed, up to 159kts (295km/h), while cruise speed is 138kts (255km/h) and
range on internal fuel is 431nm (800km).
Sporting such performance becomes possible thanks to the combination of the sound
aerodynamic design with an eight-blade main rotor system combined with powerful
engines. In fact, the Mi-26 is the first helicopter in the world to fly successfully with an
eight-blade main rotor design.
The two Ukrainian-made Ivchenko-Progress D-136 turboshafts are rated at 11,400shp
(8,501kW) each at take-off while the continuous maximum rating is 6,100shp (4,486kW).
The VR-26 main gearbox, a huge assembly weighting 8,025lb (3,640kg), is rated at
22,000shp (16,405 kW).
The main rotor has a diameter of 105ft (32m) and consists of titanium rotor head
weighing 6,600lb (3,000 kg) that is supporting eight giant blades each weighting 826lb
(375kg). The main rotor blades use conventional steel spar.
The tail rotor has five blades mounted on starboard side of the fine; its diameter is 25ft
(7.62m), equal to the main rotor diameter of light twin helicopter types such as the MD
Helicopters MD500 or MD600 series.
The fuselage has conventional all-metal riveted semi-monocoque structure of pod and
boom type. The rear of the pod has clamshell loading doors and ramp. The Mi-26 was
designed from outset for fully autonomous basing, without the need for bulky ground

82 AIR ATTACK
servicing equipment for day-to-day maintenance. All the airstairs are built-in while two
large panels on each side of the main rotor mast fairing hinge downwards in order to be
used as work platforms during engine servicing. Electrical power, hydraulic pressure and
compressed air supply when engines are not working is provided by a TV-8V auxiliary
power unit (APU) installed under the flight desk.
The maximum gross weight is 123,459lb (56,000kg) and the helicopter is designed to
be capable of lifting off loads up to 44,029lb (20,000kg), either in the cargo hold or on
external sling. The helicopter’s empty weight is only half of the helicopter’s maximum
take-off weight. The standard internal fuel capacity is 12,000 liters in eight underfloor
tanks. The cargo hold has a length of 39ft 8in (12.1m) excluding the ramp, width of 10ft8in
(3.25 m) and height of 10ft5in (3.15m), while total volume is 4,273cu ft (121m3). It is
unpressurised and can accommodate up to 68 fully-equipped paratroops or 82 troops
on lightweight folding seats arranged in four rows. When equipped for the medevac duty,
the cargo hold can house up to 60 litters.
Cargo hold size allows accommodating a standard ISO container, two infantry fighting
vehicles, or other light armored wheeled/tracked military and civil equipment.
Cargo handling is made possible thanks to the availability of two LG-1500 electrical
winches on overhead rails, each rated at 5,551lb (2,500kg) allowing loads to be
transported along the cabin. There is another winch for hauling loads with 1,110lb
(500kg) capacity. For easy loading of large-size cargoes inside cabin there is a system for
reducing the ground clearance by adjusting the length of the main undercarriage legs.
Loading is via a downward-hinged lower door, with integral folding ramp.

28 civilian-registered examples were

in active operation plus about 40 more
held in long-term storage in December
2016 while in October 2017 the
number of Mi-26s in active operation
dropped to 21 and by December 2022
the figure hovered at between 15 and
20 examples. This is UTair’s fleet, the
largest in Russia. (UTair)

AIR ATTACK 83
The Belarusian Ministry of Emergency
Situations operate a fleet of Mi-
26Ts, mainly in the firefighting role,
on contracts in southern Europe.
(Belorussian Ministry of Emergency
Situations)

Situation, maintains a fleet of five Mi-26Ts. Seeing heavy utilization

in the summer forest and steppe fire campaigns each year, these
helicopters were inducted into service between 1996 and 1998. The
fleet was augmented by one much improved Mi-26T2, introduced in
December 2022. Another Mi-26T is operated by the Moscow Aviation
Center. The primary fire attack equipment employed by all of these
Mi-26Ts is represented by the VSU-15A flexible bucket system.
Since the mid-2010s, the Russian Aerospace Forces (RuASF) has
operated an active fleet of about 30 Mi-26s, have begun to be involved
in the firefighting mission on as-needed basis, also outfitted with the
VSU-15A water bucket.

GLASS COCKPIT-OUTFITTED MI-26T2

The 56-tone Mi-26T2 is a significant facelift of the original

1980s-vintage baseline mode, initially proposed for civilian use. It
introduced a glass cockpit augmented by an all-new flight/navigation
suite. The T2 prototype made its maiden flight in February 2011 at

84 AIR ATTACK
AIR ATTACK 85
 airbus.com

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 A Mi-26T operated by EMERCOM,
tasked with the primary firefighting role
in addition to some other emergency
relief operations. (Alexander Mladenov)

Rostvertol and it was launched in production in 2014, initially for

foreign military customers as domestic demand from commercial
operators was non-existent.
The Mi-26T2 comes equipped with the all-new BREO-26 digital
avionics package, comprising largely Russian-produced components,
built around the KRET NPK-90-2 flight-navigation avionics suite
comprising a LINS-100RS laser inertial navigation system and an A737-1
satellite navigation receiver in addition to the PKV-26D four-axis digital
autopilot system.
An integrated navigation flight planning and communication system
is also included in the package as well as a precise auto hover system
and a digital map display. The flight deck is outfitted with five MFI-10-7V
multifunctional color displays replacing a number of conventional
‘stem-gauge’ instruments. Other new avionics components included
the KS-26T2 communications suite and a 7A-813C weather radar. The
external sling operations are facilitated though the added-on BTU-3 TV

AIR ATTACK 87
 The Russian Aerospace Forces operate
about 30 ‘vanilla’ Mi-26s in the Army
Aviation branch, to be complemented by
at least two dozens of Mi-26T2Vs in the
medium term. (Alexander Mladenov)

88 AIR ATTACK
The VAP-42 water bombing
system has manual control,
with operators opening
the discharge valves upon
command issued by the pilot.
(Ognyan Stefanov via Alex
Mladenov)

AIR ATTACK 89
 camera displaying the image of the external load on one of the displays
in the cockpit.
The all-new avionics systems allow for the reduction of the Mi-26T2’s
crew to three (pilot, co-pilot and flight mechanic), down from the
original figure of six (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator, flight
engineer and flight mechanic) as used on the military version. Two
foreign military customers have already ordered the Mi-26T2 version,
built in a militarized subversion featuring NVG compatibility and
coming equipped with self-protection aids.
Algeria was the launch customer with a total of 14 helicopters
ordered, and then delivered between 2015 and 2017. Jordan is the
second customer, with a contract signed April 2017, covering four
machines for the country’s military. The first of these Mi-26T2s,
sporting a colorful military-style camouflage, was spotted undergoing
post-assembly flight testing at the Rostvertol plant in Rostov on Don in
mid-October 2017.
So far, there is no interest expressed from Russian commercial
operators to the Mi-26’s facelift and it is set to be purchased by
domestic government customers only. The first order for the EMERCOM,
which is an existing Mi-26T operator, was placed in 2020, covering one
machine only, taken in December 2022.
The Russian MoD invested in procurement of the Mi-26T2, in a
significantly militarized version designated as the Mi-26T2V, which
retains the firefighting capability of its processor, by using an
underslung water bucket. It made its maiden flight in 2018 and the first
deliveries of production-standard machines to the Russian Aerospace
Forces were reported in mid-2022.

FUTURE NOT TOO PROMISING

The Mi26 is set to continue doing its unsung job for at least the next
three decades. The type will also continue to keep selling, albeit in
small numbers, to various military and government customers around
the world, both existing and new Mi-26 operators. It is likely, however,

90 AIR ATTACK
 The cavernous cargo hold is, capable to
accommodate one ISO container, one big or two
smaller trucks. (Alexander Mladenov)

that there will be few orders from civilian customers for newly-built
Mi-26T2s - if there are any at all.
There is no doubt that the Mi-26 will continue to be unmatched in
the super heavy lift rotary-wing arena, as the type is set to stay firmly
in a class of its own. So, it would be rather difficult if not impossible
to foresee a Mi-26 one-to-one replacement to match its load-hauling
capabilities in the near-to-medium future. n

Alexander Mladenov is an aviation and defense journalist and photographer, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. His
articles and photos have appeared in no fewer than two dozen aerospace and defense publications around
the world and his first contribution to HeliOps dates back to 2008. Alex specializes in East European and
Soviet/Russian military and civil rotorcraft topics with a particular interest in the latest combat and civilian
technology, air-launched weapons, combat employment and business developments. He is also a co-
founder and managing partner of an aerospace and defense consulting company based in Sofia, Bulgaria.

AIR ATTACK 91
STORY BY PAUL KENNARD

AIR ATTACK 93
 Regular readers of Air Attack will likely
recall mention of Rain Industries in
previous issues. Rain has been at the
cutting edge of the use of Uncrewed
Air Vehicles (UAVs) in firefighting
operations - eschewing the more prosaic
uses of drones, such as overwatch
and Full Motion Video (FMV) feed to
enhance Situational Awareness (SA) for
firefighters on the ground, for an entire
self-contained ecosystem that offers
the promise of Rapid Initial Attack, 24/7,
in areas assessed as highly vulnerable to
wildfires. This ecosystem comprises of
a complimentary suite of Electro Optic /
Thermal cameras, firefighting drones and
an underpinning Command and Control
(C2) network, which takes the 'feeds'
from the cameras and external sources
(for example, lightning strike detection
and weather/wind reports) to provide
augmented decision making to control
room staff, or indeed act autonomously
within a framework of guidelines.

94 AIR ATTACK
Air Attack was fortunate to be able to
talk to Ephraim Nowak, Chief Engineer
at Rain, to gain a better appreciation of
what the company is bringing to market,
and where it might fit in with the current
Air Attack order of battle.

RAINING

As well as being the Chief Engineer of Rain, Ephraim is also a

co-founder. He has a background in aerial mapping, including
developing and selling a fire perimeter mapping system to the
Provincial Government of British Columbia in Canada. Indeed, it was
the 2003 'Firestorm Summer' in BC which was the inspiration behind
much of what Rain does today. The level 6 Firestorm, concentrated
around Okanagan Lake and mountain, consumed nearly 250 000
hectares, destroyed hundreds of homes and led to the largest mass
evacuation of people in Canada since the Second World War. Ephraim
was convinced that emerging technology in the UAV world, coupled
with a better C2 system, could make a significant impact on detecting,
containing and even suppressing fires.

BUT HOW?

UAVs have long been seen, as suggested earlier, as important

'players' in a scene of fire. Their ability to, literally, provide a birds-eye
view of the situation, and to enable those on the ground to see what
is happening over the next ridge or treeline, can prove invaluable -

AIR ATTACK 95
 greatly enhancing both the efficiency and safety of those 'boots on
the ground'. There have been obvious shortcomings as well. Smaller
drones can struggle to remain in control in the strong updraughts and
local winds that can accompany a wildfire - they simply lack the mass,
control power and engine/rotor performance to remain stable in such
conditions. There are also concerns about deconfliction with manned
assets and the relatively short endurance that current power density
batteries can provide. Finally, UAVs have struggled to deliver credible
payloads of dispersant or water onto smaller fires, limiting their appeal
to many firefighting organisations.
The team at Rain understood this 'capability gap’ and canvassed
numerous Fire Chiefs and fire departments to define requirements for
a UAV-delivered capability that could prove to be more than just an
'eye in the sky'.

DETECTION

The overwhelming need identified by Rain was to detect an ignition

at the earliest possible opportunity, then to contain it until larger air
and ground assets arrived, or, in the best case, knock the fire down
completely. As Ephraim categorises it, a 'Really, Really, Rapid Initial
Attack Capability'. His thoughts are echoed by others in the Air Attack
business, both rotary and fixed wing. The issues confronting those
trying to accelerate the firefighting 'kill chain' are complex.
Firstly, the 'hotspots' for wildfires tend to be in huge geographical
areas, often poorly served by fire-fighting infrastructure such as
major airfields, roads and support services such as fuel, food, water
and accommodation. This geographical challenge means that
fires can start, unseen, deep inside forested areas as the result of a
lightning strike or poor camping/cooking discipline from locals and
tourists alike - even an errant match or cigarette butt can provide the
slow ignition source in the right underfoot and climatic conditions.
Therefore, often by the time a fire is detected, it is already past the

1. https://www.faasafety.gov/files/gslac/library/documents/2011/aug/56407/faa%20
p-8740-40%20windshear%5Bhi-res%5D%20branded.pdf

96 AIR ATTACK
point of rapid initial attack and knock-down, and the mission switches
instead to containment until enough 'heavy' resource can be deployed
to extinguish it - often relying on ceding ground until a favourable
attack area is identified.
Secondly, in BC and California in particular, the terrain is often
steeply sided valleys - making access by land difficult and operations
by larger fixed wing aircraft difficult, if not high-risk (as sadly recently
demonstrated in Italy). This is where the helicopter and 802 SEAT /
Fireboss come into their own, being able to operate more safely in
challenging topography, but unable to deliver the sheer weight of
water that the larger jet-powered fixed wing Air Tankers can. The
Fireboss and helicopters can also exploit local water sources, such
as rivers and lakes (depending on depth and run length), while
helicopters can also use swimming pools and ponds if needed.
However, they are both relatively slow in transit terms, and are
expensive to purchase and operate when compared to a UAV.
Their biggest limitation is the lack of ability to detect and suppress
fires in remote areas during the hours of darkness. Large fixed-wing
and even 802/Fireboss operations at night are extremely difficult, if
not impossible. The lack of NVG compatible cockpits and the high

AIR ATTACK 97
 risk of flight into obstructions and terrain make such flying a dubious
proposition. A few helicopters are equipped with NVG certified
cockpits, and their crews trained for night operations. Often these
crews are ex-military aviators with extensive goggle flying experience
and used to the dangers of the low-level environment at night, and
they are flying ex-military aircraft such as the CH-47 Chinook and
UH-60 Black Hawk which require relatively modest upgrades to satisfy
civil NVG operating requirements. However, attempts by Government
organisations to drive down the cost of retained, contracted, air attack
assets are having an impact on even this limited capability; companies
wary of the financial 'race to the bottom' simply cannot find the margin
in their operations to maintain NVG proficiency. Crews require regular
recurrency flying, compatible cockpits need to be maintained and the
NVG's themselves purchased and updated - none of which is cheap.
One of the biggest complaints of the new Lowest Price Technically
Acceptable (LPTA) contracting methodology amongst those users is
this dwindling ability for operators to service night-time fires. As it was
explained to me several times, fires are spotted in the early hours by
police, members of the public or passing aircraft. A fire that could be
suppressed or extinguished by a helicopter in the early hours instead

98 AIR ATTACK
 NETWORKING THE
GLOBAL AERIAL
FIRE-FIGHTING INDUSTRY
The aerial fire-fighting industry is truly worldwide
these days – from Europe to Australia –
from South Africa to the United States & Canada

Mobile Phone, iPads, Laptop or Desktop

Air Attack is available on all devices.

SU BSC RI B E H E RE
 has, potentially, time to grow into something considerably larger by
first light. The cost of that few hours of NVG helicopter time are rapidly
dwarfed by the effort required to contain a fire that has been given time
to grow in size and intensity, but the LPTA doesn't seem to take this
into consideration - the system seemingly preferring to low ball for day
capability and, if the fire outstrips retained capability, use central Federal
funds to activate more expensive 'Call When Needed' provision. As
discussed in earlier articles, there is a lingering risk that LPTA contracts
may see larger providers refusing to offer up assets for retained contracts

100 AIR ATTACK

- preferring instead to utilise their valuable aircraft and expensive crews
to generate income from either other sectors (utility, logging etc) or send
them around the globe, responding to the growing call for Air Attack
capability as Climate Change impacts the severity of fire seasons in
Southern Europe and South America in particular.
These are the very problems that Ephraim and Rain are trying to
address. As he describes it, the Rain Industries intent is to contain the
fire early' - regardless of where it is and what time it starts.
Ephraim explained that the deployment plan for the helicopter

AIR ATTACK 101

 UAVs would be key to overcoming the terrain and geographical
remoteness concerns. "We conduct a survey of wildfire risk in the
target area and, using our analytical and planning software, select the
most efficient locations to base the UAVs". As a 'firefighting drone in a
box' the UAVs will be distributed through the highest risk areas - with
the intent of being 'on scene' within 10 minutes of a fire detection - and
fully networked to a central Command Station.

DEMONSTRATOR

The Rain MK2 UAV demonstrator looks like a small version of a

conventional helicopter and is capable of carrying about 300lb/100Kg
of water payload, has a range in excess of 20 miles and has an
endurance of over an hour. It has significantly more mass and
controllability than a smaller, quadcopter, UAV. Unlike most UAVs,
the Rain MK2 has a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE)
powerplant. Ephraim explained that with the current limitations of
battery technology, the use of an ICE provided superior power density
and simplified the refuel and reload procedure between sorties. The
Rain MK2 can be refuelled rapidly in field locations from drum stock
fuel while the water/dispersant hopper is refilled.
The Rain MK2 is capable of autonomous operation and is also fully
night capable. In many ways, the real strength in the concept is this
ability to respond in the hours of darkness to provide suppression and
overwatch capabilities, when very few manned platforms currently
operate. In effect, this also solves the deconfliction issue - the UAVs
and manned platforms will, potentially, not be on scene at the same
time and, if they are, a deconfliction plan can be applied. To facilitate
operations with manned aircraft in the vicinity, the UAV is equipped
with ADS-B in/out for traffic avoidance, is fitted with navigation lights
and can be fitted with High Intensity Strobe Lights (HISLs) to further
increase visual conspicuity. As the autonomy level of the system
increases, the remote pilot take on supervisory roles, potentially

102 AIR ATTACK

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CONNECTED.

 
 

 





 
 

 
 
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AIR ATTACK 103
 allowing a small number of operators at the Command Station to
oversee the safe operation of multiple UAVs and co-ordinate their
efforts during a multi-vehicle response. Each of the UAVs have a
thermal camera fitted, enabling on-board real-time image processing,
and information on the fire to be passed to the Control Centre. This
camera feed enables Control Centre staff to monitor the progress of
the fire, and ongoing efforts to suppress it. If the fire is not immediately
extinguished overnight, then the feed can be a vital briefing tool for
ground and Air Attack assets to ensure that effort is targeted effectively
in the morning.
Ephraim suggested that, depending on the circumstances, after
dropping its water load, UAVs could be kept 'on target' acting as
a dedicated camera asset. The network architecture of the Rain
System could see multiple Rain UAVs launch, transit, drop on target,
assume a short overwatch period, handing over to the next UAV then
returning to the refuel/reload site before entering the rotation again.
Such a process would see almost unbroken 'water on target' and fire
monitoring during darkness. As an extension, given the relatively low
operating cost of the Rain MK2, during periods of particularly high
risk, a 'Combat Air Patrol' could be established, where UAVs could
be constantly adding their thermal camera to other sensors, looking
for the first signs of a fire starting or ember-caused spot fires ahead
of the fire front, and meeting that 'really, really, rapid initial attack'
aspiration.
As the Rain MK2 demonstrates the air vehicle part of the ecosystem,
Ephraim provided an insight into ongoing work on the C2 structure
and potential operating models. He explained that the 'drone in a
box' concept was not a mere soundbite. Having them packaged as
such would enable UAVs to be pre-positioned - not just locally, but
also globally. The UAVs will 'learn' the area they are placed into,
continually improving the 'recce map' and understanding the slight
discrepancies between the a priori terrain and obstruction data
bases that are pre-loaded and the real world. In suitable areas, and

104 AIR ATTACK

at appropriate times, the UAVs could be launched autonomously, by
being dispatched using early fire detection data, and low latency data
links could, theoretically, enable UAVs to be directed and guided from
a central location many thousands of miles from the area of operations
- much in the same way that Predator and Reaper UAVs are flown via
transcontinental links.
Rain Industries will doubtlessly learn much from the Rain MK2 and
follow-on designs will likely feature enhancements as suggested by
potential users. Multiple ship operations, and even 'swarming' are
already being looked at as potential next steps, and enhancements in
payload, range and endurance will inevitably feature at some stage in
the growth plan. The potential of using drones for firefighting, and by
extension, other utility uses of the platforms and the C2 networks and
AI backbones, has been postulated for quite some time. Companies
like Rain Industries are starting to make that vision more of a reality. n

AIR ATTACK 105

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Photo by Mike Gilbert.
A talk about
fatigue...
AERIAL FIREFIGHTING IS WITHOUT
DOUBT SECOND ONLY TO MILITARY
COMBAT OPERATIONS WITH
RESPECT TO OPERATING IN AUSTERE,
DYNAMIC, AND HIGH THREAT FLIGHT
AND OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS.

STORY BY DANIEL ANDERSON

AIR ATTACK 109

 A
erial firefighting can be, and is,
extremely hazardous and risky. If
you have flown in the forestry fire
environment, you know. If you have
not, you can imagine and have seen print and digital
media replete with images of air tankers cutting
through dense smoke just above burning tree tops,
helitankers dropping water over torching trees
along high tension wires to save nearby homes, and
Helitack helicopters delivering firefighters to confined
ridge lines and then conducting bucket support
drops. There is no shortage of breaking fire news,
aviation and fire publications, online aviation blogs
or social media showcasing the latest airtankers,
helitankers, helicopters, mission equipment,
logistical support, or stories depicting the agencies
and vendors whom fight the fires. Being wakeful,
alert, and physiologically ready is imperative to safe
and effective operations in this intense, dangerous,
and dynamic flight and operational environment.
When fires are burning do pilots get tired in this
environment? How critical is fatigue on the flight fire
line? What are the general crew rests standards which
offer protections and mitigations against fatigue
and are they appropriate and effective? How often
are these questions visited seriously beyond daily
incident aviation risk assessment (which are seldom
used), an occasional bulletin, or brought up during a
morning brief when asked how many days a
pilot has worked? When the fire is raging with homes,
lives, and billable hours on the line?

110 AIR ATTACK

Photo by Steve Whitby.

AIR ATTACK 111

 Photo by Ned Dawson.

Air Attack magazine wants to help the international and U.S helicopter
safety efforts by discussing human factor and safety issues. In this and the
next two editions we will be featuring human factors discussions in aerial
firefighting to engage the community to elevate awareness across the aviation
niche industry. This month we start with a part one which will focus on the
U.S. helicopter forestry fire (HFF) industry and look at current pilot duty and
rest standards, review accident data and related research, and introduce
some questions and topics which should warrant further industry and agency
discussion. Moreover, we must concurrently be willing to ask if there are
attitudes, expectations, and stereotypes present in the aerial firefighting
community which can be barriers to honest assessment and discussion. Do
the well-known and documented dangerous pilot attitudes in aviation apply
only to fire pilots whom have a financial and heroic motivation to drop the
wet stuff on the red stuff?

U.S. AERIAL FIREFIGHTING CREW

DUTY STANDARDS

What if I told you U.S aerial firefighting crew duty and rest standards are

112 AIR ATTACK

 Photo by Steve Whitby.

taken from commuter and on-demand airline policies? Well, I am telling you
this is true. U.S. federal and state forestry aerial firefighting agencies generally
accept and adopt (whether they know it or not) 14 CFR 135.267 Federal
Aviation Regulations (FARs) commuter airline operations crew endurance
standards (duty, rest, and flight hour limitations) for airplane and helicopter
pilots engaged in aerial firefighting (Veillette, 1999, IHOG, 2016)? During
the evolution and expansion of aerial firefighting operations and policy
development in the last half of the 20th century one of the available crew duty
standards in the FARs (Part 135) was simply adopted into aerial firefighting
and by the 1990’s they had become the foundation to U.S. crew duty
standards for the DOI and USFS. State agencies generally accept (sometimes
restrict farther) the federal agencies’ policies published through the IHOG in
order to maintain agency interoperability.
Let’s now look at what these standards are and at what they mean. The
DOI, USFS, and most state agencies aviation firefighting crew duty day general
standards which are adopted from FAR 135.267 are: limits duty to 14-hours of
duty with 10-hours of rest within a 24-hour period; no more than 8-hours max
flight time (reduced to 7 for California’s CAL FIRE) in a day; and cumulative
work day limitations requiring 2-days off in a 14-day period (Part 135 wording

AIR ATTACK 113

Photo courtesy Dauntless Air.

114 AIR ATTACK

AIR ATTACK 115
 Photo by Greg Doyle.

is 13-days off in three month period) (IHOG, 2016. Form HCM-12). The agency
policies provide cumulative flight time limitations over periods for aerial fire
pilots which are also tied the FAR 135 cumulative hour limits, but our focus for
this talk will be on extended shift work and fatigue in helicopter pilots.
Let’s ask some questions. What is the reality of these policies on the fire
lines? The reality is fire pilots can and frequently do work 12-days straight,
often while chasing hot fires and in transient field and hotel conditions. Are
the commuter airline flight, operational, and living environments similar
enough to air tanker operations? What are the conditions and readiness
posture of air tanker pilots versus helicopter pilots, especially for the contract
vendors chasing fires? The same as helitanker and helitack operations?
Aside from a few minor similarities, the answer is unequivocally - NO. The
operational and flight environments are very dissimilar.

BACK TO OUR UNDERLYING QUESTION,

ARE CREW ENDURANCE POLICIES
APPROPRIATE AND EFFECTIVE?

The question really becomes rhetorical. Those pilots for whom it did not
work really do not have a voice, and therefore the answer is, - yes- it works,
mostly. As with most rules in aviation, FAR Part 135 crew endurance standards

116 AIR ATTACK

Photo by Ned Dawson.

AIR ATTACK 117

Photo by Ned Dawson.

118 AIR ATTACK

AIR ATTACK 119
 Photo by Ned Dawson.

are derived from the accidents, history, and studies related to the airline
industry. Whether you are a pilot or not, the fact aerial firefighting standards are
based on commuter and on-demand airline regulations should raise several
questions regarding how well they work and whether we could do better.
The argument that the current rules and policies are fine are based on
anecdotal comments, agency self-reported safety records, or just not seeing a
need for change. The U.S. fire industry may be known for resistance to change,
so who is the advocate? Let’s find one – research and data. To continue to
tackle the problem it becomes necessary to determine what the safety record
is, to analyze the fire aviation environment, to probe the question whether
aviation accidents are effectively tracked and reported in U.S. public aircraft
operations (forestry), and to determine again if FAR Part 135 crew endurance
rules are appropriate as foundational policy for fixed and rotor wing aerial
firefighting in the U.S.

HELICOPTER ACCIDENTS IN THE

FORESTRY FIRE INDUSTRY

As man first learned to operate equipment, drive vehicles, and fly, human
(pilot) errors have been the leading cause of accidents in multi-modal

120 AIR ATTACK

 Photo by Greg Doyle.

transportation systems of the world. Let’s start big picture concerning leading
causes of accidents. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
(1989) report found 80–85% of the general aviation accidents in relation to
“pilot error” (Rogers, Logan, & Boley, 1989). A study conducted by Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2000 reported 70–80% of all civilian and
military accidents were related to human error (Shappell & Wiegmann,
2000). In 2014, the FAA again reported seven of the ten top accident causes
as human error or related to human error (FAA, 2014). A current search on the
Internet will reveal the reality - pilot error has been, and will continue to be,
the primary cause of aviation accidents and fatalities. This fact is not new to
aviation, to the fire line, or to many industries, but restating it is necessary as
we look at the prevalent contributing factor to pilot error.
A significant amount of scholarly and scientific literature on pilot error
studies confirm fatigue as one of the largest contributing or causal factors
of pilot error. National Transportation Board (NTSB), FAA, and other studies
substantiate 77–85% of aviation accidents are attributable to human errors,
with over twenty 20% of those being fatigue related (Marcus & Rosekind, 2016;

AIR ATTACK 121

Photo by Mike Gilbert.

122 AIR ATTACK

AIR ATTACK 123
Photo by Mike Gilbert.

124 AIR ATTACK

 Photo by Greg Doyle.

NTSB, 2015; Moore, 2012; Rogers, Logan, & Boley, 1989). NASA states over
21% of all accidents attributable to fatigue as a causal factor to human error
(Lyman & Orlady, 1980). Rosekind et al. (2000) found 85% of the participants
in a study on commercial/executive operations believed fatigue to be a
moderate or serious safety issue. A 2008 Department of Interior (DOI) U.S.
Forest Service (USFS) Inter-agency Safety Alert cited 80% of accidents were
related to human error, with fatigue cited as a critical factor. For the sake of
argument and to establish a shared terminology foundation, let’s select a
definition for fatigue: the time-dependent summation of internal and external
influences, which adversely affects human performance irrespective of any
subjective awareness, either of the influences or of the impairment (Bonger et
al., 1990). Expanding further, a 2010 FAA Advisory Circular 120–100 states:
‘Fatigue associated with aviation operations is a risk factor for occupational
safety, performance effectiveness, and personal wellbeing. The multiple flight
legs, long duty hours, limited time off, early report times, less-than-optimal
sleeping conditions, rotating and non-standard work shifts, and jet lag
pose significant challenges for the basic biological capabilities of pilots,

AIR ATTACK 125

 crewmembers and shift workers. Humans simply are not designed to operate
effectively under the pressured 24/7 schedules that often define aviation
operations, whether the operations are short-haul commercial flights,
long-range transoceanic operations, or around-the-clock and shift work
operations. (p. 3)’
How much do the descriptions above sound like actual conditions
in forestry fire aviation operations, especially those encountered at
remote helibases (we will look at these conditions later)? I would claim
strikingly similar.
Thus far we walked through where the current U.S. crew endurance
policies come from to establish the big picture, we refreshed on pilot error
and fatigue as leading cause to have a basis for comparing and contrasting,
and now we will walk through U.S helicopter accidents in hopes to reveal
meaningful information about the HFF industry.

HELICOPTER FORESTRY
FIREFIGHTING ACCIDENTS

A global look at helicopter accidents from January 2000 to December

2013 showed there were a total of 2,812 international helicopter accidents,
including 2,404 in the U.S. Of the 2,404 U.S. accidents, 380 accidents resulted
in at least one fatality. Over this period, 23% of international and 16% of
U.S. helicopter accidents resulted in at least one fatality (NTSB, 2015).
Demonstrating potential helicopter accidents from 1983 to 2012, there
were 148 U.S. helicopter accidents (fatal and non-fatal) on average annually
(NTSB data as of 8/1/2012). Simply stated, helicopter accidents frequently
happen. This is nothing new and an issue international and U.S. helicopter
associations and safety teams have been addressing over the past twenty plus
years. Unfortunately, one cannot go the NTSB, FAA, or any other database on
U.S. public aircraft fire operations to find HFF accidents to get and idea.
Let’s look at the largest U.S. fire aviation operator to see what can be
found. For a ten-year period ending 2007 the DOI/USFS reported a helicopter
accident rate of 6.97 accidents per 100,000 hours flown (DOI, 2007). Many DOI
annual safety reports actually combine fixed wing and helicopter accident
rates, so getting a concise number is difficult following 2007. A 2012 DOI report
stated a historical 38-year helicopter accident rate of 7.92 per. During these
periods there are no individual state agency accident data readily available.
Finding good national level data is difficult. From the limited reports available

126 AIR ATTACK

an estimate for HFF accidents over the past twenty years is hovering at or
above 7 per 100,000 hours.
Complicating the accident information problem one should understand
federal and state agencies mostly use their own definitions of accidents,
incidents, and use different safety management and database systems.
So how can we compare NTSB/FAA industry apples to fire agency industry
oranges? It is not easy. NTSB typically does not collect or investigate public
aircraft fire aviation accidents unless there is a fatality or public pressure to
do so. The FAA did not categorize “aerial firefighting” operations accidents
until 2007 and those reports only include agency data if they elect to
self-report (what would be the motivation?). The disparate and decentralized
reporting system under public aircraft use operations leads to potentially
poor collection, reporting, and analytical value of reports and data. Therefore
the available HFF accident rate information should be under suspicion the
numbers are under-reported (Butler et al., 2015; Viellette, 1999; Bushey,
1997). Fire agencies typically do not use the same accident root cause
analysis framework the NTSB and FAA does. Even more, agencies typically
to not report accidents of contract aircraft which are under the operational
control of another agency at the time of accident. Instead of being able to
readily query aviation accident data such as can be found internationally and
nationally, the fire aviation industry must rely on studies.
Such studies requires a person or team to collect and open accidents
reports of several agencies in hopes there is a complete accident report using
current aviation accident investigation and standards. Since HFF operations
mostly fall under public aircraft operations there are not many proponents
for collecting and completing such a look and the public most likely will not
demand one without a catastrophic accident. However, one such study exists.
A study by Dr Patrick Veillette and published by the Flight Safety Foundation
collected HFF accident data from 1961–1998 from several U.S. agencies. The
study, though old now, alarmingly reported one of highest accident rates
in the aviation history at an average of 26.9 accidents per 100,000 hours
of flight (Veillette, 1999). Even more than the high accident rate, the study
revealed even more alarming findings on fatigue. In addition to the high
accident rate, Viellette analyzed 97 state and federal HFF accidents which
took place between 1974 and 1998 (accidents prior to 1974 excluded due
to inadequate accident report detail). Viellette made the following salient
points central to this article topic: human error was the chief accident cause
of all non-mechanical accidents; pilots (still alive) cited fatigue as a factor in
11 (11%) of the 97 accidents, and evidence showed fatigue factors appeared

AIR ATTACK 127

Photo by Ned Dawson.

in 20 (21%) of the accidents, all fatigue-related accidents occurred between

the hours of 1500–1900; all 11 fatigue-related accidents took place on or after
the seventh day of duty, and no accidents occurred on the first few days after
return of a pilot from two days of rest.
Viellette’s findings suggest performance reduction and appearance of
increased pilot error risk due to fatigue on or after seven consecutive days
of duty. This finding is further supported by the fact none of the accidents
happened when pilots returned from two days off and not before working
seven straight days. Again, it is normal and acceptable for pilots to work up
12-days straight without a day off in the forestry fire industry. A more recent
2015 study of 19 federal fatal HFF accidents 2000 to 2013 found 11 of the
19 (59%) fatal helicopter accidents were human/pilot error related (Butler,
O’Connor, & Lincoln, 2015).
The limited information on the HFF accident provides historical and recent
evidence that HFF operational accidents typically occur twice that of general
aviation and other helicopter operations for similar periods, excluding a few
bad years in the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) industry.
The high number of HFF accidents are underpinned with human error and

128 AIR ATTACK

fatigue as a contributing or causal factor, highlighting the need to understand
HFF pilot performance issues. Furthermore, the few studies which exist on
HFF operations support fatigue and crew rest/endurance is a significant issue
in HFF operations especially on extended shift work. Without more recent
or detailed intervening data and studies there is no reason to believe the
fatigue issue has changed significantly, especially when one considers the
same endurance policies that where in place during the Viellette and Butler
studies are in place today. Some risk mitigation progress has been made as
aviation departments within respective fire agencies have professionalized
and adopted risk and aviation operations management models from the
commercial aviation industries, but the fire and operational environment
impacting fire pilots is still the same if not more dynamic and dangerous
as a result of the changing fire environments. Where does your answer lay
concerning question of effectiveness and appropriateness? Come back next
article as we will dissect the HFF fire and operation environment to get a
better understanding of the realities as well as look at related helicopter
fatigue studies which can be connected to the brave and focused HFF pilots
operating around the world. n

AIR ATTACK 129

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132 AIR ATTACK