The CAL FIRE Broncos fly with a crew of two, pilot in front and air attack officer in the back. The pilot maneuvers the aircraft to give the air attack officer a clear view, while the air attack coordinates all aerial assets with the Incident Commander on the ground. Navy in 1993, to replace their aging Cessna O-2 Skymasters as air attack aircraft. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF or CALFIRE) acquired a number of OV-10As, including the six surviving aircraft from the BLM and 13 from the U.S. CalFire OV10's have also been totally rewired to accommodate up to date avionics and navigation systems, as well as all of the radios required for airtactical control of the fire. There is an additional 125 gallon fuel tank in the cargo bay, allowing us to stay over a fire for over 5 hours. Current CalFire aircraft have had all of the armor and weapon systems removed. It could carry up to three tons of external munitions and easily loiter for three hours. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for COIN (counter insurgency) combat and one of its primary missions was a forward air control (FAC) aircraft. The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is a turboprop-driven light attack and observation aircraft. CAL FIRE has 23 S-2T airtankers, one of which is in Sacramento at CAL FIRE’s Aviation Management Unit (AMU) as maintenance relief - Tanker 100. The final three S-2Ts were completed and delivered in 2005. The completely reconditioned S-2Ts are faster, safer, more maneuverable and carry a larger retardant payload than the original S-2A airtankers CAL FIRE had used since the 1970s. CAL FIRE firefighters and helitack crews battled a two acre wildland fire inside Henry Cowell State Park north of Santa Cruz early Wednesday morning. Marsh Aviation converted the planes to a firefighting configuration and were retrofitted with modern, powerful turboprop engines. In 1996, CAL FIRE acquired 26 S-2E/G planes from the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) program. These will replace its aging fleet of 12 Super Huey helicopters. A year ago the agency received approval to purchase up to 12 new firefighting helicopters, Sikorsky S-70i (Firehawks) from United Rotorcraft. These airtankers are strategically located throughout California and can respond to the most remote State Responsibility Areas (SRA) within approximately 20 minutes. CAL FIRE posted these photos today of a new addition to their fleet of helicopters. The CAL FIRE S-2T airtankers set the standard for initial attack to deliver fire retardant on wildland fires. Retardant Payload: Up to 1,200 gallons (1,000 gals standard for IA)Įngines: Two 1,650 horsepower turbine engines Work will be performed at McClellan Park in Sacramento, California and aircraft are deployed across 13 air tactical and 10 helitack bases throughout the State. MISSION: CAL FIRE uses the S-2T airtankers for fast initial attack delivery of fire retardant on wildland fires. DynCorp International (DI) has been awarded a new contract to continue supporting the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) aviation program.
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