Posted on 08/25/2013 8:21:38 AM PDT by KeyLargo
MUST SEE MAFFS 6 146 AW CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD ON THE #RIMFIRE AUGUST 22 6 P.M. HI-DEF VIDEO WATCH FULL SCREEN
MUST SEE MAFFS 6 ON THE #RIMFIRE 22 Aug 13 1750
Video Description: MAFFS 6 146AW Channel Islands Air National Guard working the #RimFire for US Forest Service and CAL FIRE
View Full Screen
A couple more videos:
http://www.news10.net/news/article/2...e?sf16374619=1
A California Air National Guard C-130 pilot who got special permission to shoot video in the cockpit has documented the aerial fight against the massive Rim Fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=c_eGiGG1B-Q
I took this over my house a few years back during the Texas wildfires. It's a P2 converted to firefighting. I wish I had pics of the DC10 but I did get to see it make passes. I believe this P2 is operated by the same company.
I don’t understand why they don’t have a fleet of 20+ year old 747-200s converted into water bombers with a capacity of 20,000 gallons each. They could put out a fire in quite a hurry with kind of capacity.
for later
i suspect the 747 firebomber is working spain right now
Sure looks like an old B-25...
The main problem is the Gov moves slow and the USFS is no exception. They mismanage and then are slow to correct the problem.
Here is a great article that goes into detail.
“When questioned why the 747 and other assets were not called into service, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told KUSA, “This is complicated.”
Of course it is Tom! You work for the US Gov and you cant do a thing without a host of regulation and red tape.
It kind of does and at first I thought it was a WWII era bomber that was converted.
Here’s a great link with a video of the plane plus an interview with the pilot.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/07/firefighting-plane-makes-first-flight-chattanooga/
Talk about a bad ass, the pilot being interviewed managed to fix the nose gear on a P2 in flight! Here is a cut an paste of the story.
In the style of Hollywood, this event was acted out for
real the morning of August 6, 2000. Captain Gene
Wahlstrom and Co-pilot Dale Dahl, the crew of a Neptune
Aviation Lockheed P2V, had just completed dropping a
load of retardant on the High Ore fire and were heading
back to Helena, Montana for a load-and-return to the fire
when they had a problem with their nose landing gear.
They were approaching the airport for a landing when
they noticed the nose landing gear would not extend
when selected to the down position. Knowing that your
nose precedes your face in anything that you do, another
attempt to cycle the landing gear commenced, producing
the same results. An examination of the nose wheel
gear, from the crawlway to the nose compartment,
revealed that the ¼” bolt connecting the hydraulic
actuator to the up lock mechanism was sheared. In true
“McGyver” fashion, they located a bolt and nut of the
required dimensions in amongst the spare parts located
in the aircraft, and installed them! The gear lowered, and
a “normal” landing at the maintenance base in Missoula
was executed. They certainly earned their pay that day,
and Airwards too. A job well done!
i suspect the 747 firebomber is working spain right now
What he is saying is that there are entrenched interests that are corrupted but he won’t explain lest he be taken down.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.