Aussie Bushfire Heli Ops
Just got back from the NSW Bush fires. Amazing amount of helos operating there. From the heli base I was at for the week we had the following.
BK-117 (Powercor Lifeflight) with Bambi Bucket
BK-117 (McIver Aviation) with Bambi Bucket
CHC Bell 212 with Conair Tank
CHC Bell 412 with Simplex Tank
UH-1H (Helipro NZ) with Fire Bucket
BK-117 (Helipro NZ) with Fire Bucket
Bell 206B (Heli Aust) as Air Attack Supervisor
Bell 206B (Commercial Helicopters) with Bambi
* We also had the Air Crane in for a couple of days but it was being tasked everywhere there was property threatened.
For those that were bagging John Eacott and the Lifeflight BK-117 he was actually doing a great job on the fires, as were all the machines. In total there are about 57 helos working the fires.
We were working the Limit Hill (Colo Heights) fire and the Kurrajong Heights fire. I personally watched the helos save 25 hours and buildings from the fires. I was privilieged enough to spend all my time in the back of the air attack machine so it gave a great perspective on what was happening.
To any of you out there who are working on the fires, congrats on a job well done.
Autorotate.