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The CAL FIRE Aviation Management Program is a branch of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (known also as CAL FIRE). Due to the frequency and severity of wildfires in California, the state has elected to establish its own aerial firefighting force rather than rely solely on contract or national resources.
The pilots who man these aircraft are known as aerial firefighting pilots, or waterbombers. Mixon says pilots are from different backgrounds, but many previously served in the military.
Mike Schanley, a contract forestry fire pilot at Cal Fire’s Boggs Mountain helitack base, said the introduction of the Fire Hawks and their huge water tanks have been a game changer for aerial ...
Neptune chose the BAe 146 as its primary aerial firefighting aircraft because of the 146's reliable slow flight characteristics, high cruising speed and outstanding maneuverability. Neptune Aviation was the first US operator to contract with the USFS in 2011 for a next-generation aircraft in the form of Tanker 40, a converted BAe 146.
Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters . Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing aircraft , or ...
Aerial firefighting is "the closest thing to combat flying you'll find in civilian life," says Montie Vanlandingham, a retired chief pilot for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District who spent ...
Since 1974, using the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) units supplied by the U.S. Forest Service and mounted in four C-130s, the wing's aerial fire fighting crews have been credited with saving many lives and countless millions of dollars worth of structures, forests, and brush land in California, and many other States and ...
Why won't the U.S. Forest Service allow a fire fighting helicopter to fly at night? California firefighting aircraft stymied by U.S. Forest Service policy, local chiefs say Skip to main content