Which aircraft are best for Firespotting and Aerial Survey?
Cessna C172 ideal if operating over low terrain, Cessna 182 if operting around high terrain and need a bit more performance and if in tiger country a C337, AC500 or P68 are my choice.
Done well over 500 hours in the trusty C172 on firespotting and it does a pretty good job, with two people on board and six hour endurance.
Done well over 500 hours in the trusty C172 on firespotting and it does a pretty good job, with two people on board and six hour endurance.
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And once the fire has been spotted call in the cavalry...
YouTube - DC-10 Air Tanker Drop Over Humboldt Fire
YouTube - DC-10 Air Tanker Drop Over Humboldt Fire
Heck, 3 years already..
Wondering how they is gettin on with the gimbal FLIR/SWIR mounted Seabird demo'ed to some govmint departments recently..?
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Ever thought of A Seabird Seeker...
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We have a DA42M in our survey fleet in Africa and it is my favourite survey aircraft. First, it has a stick and levers to ailerons and elevator so is very crisp and precise to control in turns and on the lines. Also, as somebody else pointed out, fantastic visibility in the turns, and also good ground visibility on the lines. It runs on Jet A1 which is widely available, can cruise to the survey ground at 160-70 knots TAS, and then loiter there for hours at speeds as low as 65 knots comfortably.
Ever thought of A Seabird Seeker, at Patrol Speed (65kts) can do 6hrs endurance or normal speeds about 4.5 hours endurance.
DA42? Little company called Airborne Technologies in Austria is run by Diamond's former Manger. Sure his opinion is qualified. They have a (severance) DA42 Guardian that has big label on the nose saying "Airborne Technologies prefers Technam."
(They are developing a specialised 2006 surveillance platform.)
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Bae has a tecnam they brought for fire work. Trouble is with all the gear in it it's over weight pmsl. Spent a cool $1mil on it. Think it's done less than 10 hours. Then had a nose gear that would not retract and done a nose scrap at Tamworth. Sat in the hangar since. Has two electrical systems. One 12 v and one 24v what a cock up. Two of everything including battery's.
Cheers
Cheers
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I know a pilot who flew a P-51 in fire spotting duties in Alaska many many years ago. I was surprised to hear that fire spotters were needed way up there. Apparently, the Black Spruce forests were quite flammable at times.
Fire spotting in a Mustang - beats instructing or meat bombing...
Fire spotting in a Mustang - beats instructing or meat bombing...
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One important part of survey aircraft selection is influenced by the system being installed. One company is limited to below 125kts for 90% of their survey work. That speed restriction is due to Lidar system requirements which all boil back to accuracy and content of data. PN68 seems to be ideal due to it's size/endurance/speed range. Next to zero ventilation makes it hard work though in summer!
Tecnam has the MMA. Not enough useful load or size in my opinion to fit in a lot of the survey systems out there + an operator + have mission endurance. Especially if you are off on tours for days/weeks.
http://www.f-air.cz/data/mma/tecnam_mma_folder.pdf
Looks neat though!
Tecnam has the MMA. Not enough useful load or size in my opinion to fit in a lot of the survey systems out there + an operator + have mission endurance. Especially if you are off on tours for days/weeks.
http://www.f-air.cz/data/mma/tecnam_mma_folder.pdf
Looks neat though!
Sprucegoose
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Holy thread resurrection Batman!
Only aircraft for fire spotting is the Edgley Optica, good luck finding one though!
Only aircraft for fire spotting is the Edgley Optica, good luck finding one though!
I have flown the C-182, ACA Scout and PN-68 on aerial spotting and firespotting/air attack sorties. IMHO the Scout was by far the best for low-level stuff. Good power to weight and endurance, fast (?) enough for the area covered while capable of very slow speeds when required to loiter. It's also able to land just about anywhere and is very, very cheap.
That said, It did get very crowded at LL over a fire sometimes, particularly when trying to work under a step in suburban interface areas. You'd often have orbiting and/or streams of fixed wing bombers, helitaks and firebirds, bird dogs and news helicopters all sharing the same patch of sky with minimal, visual separation. I think it's time we moved beyond that and into high-level detection and attack supervision platforms. Aircraft fitted with EO sensors and voice/data link back to a command centre. That way fire commanders can be kept entirely in the loop, in real time, with a minimum risk to combat agency personnel.
The DA-40 can do it, but it's endurance is not great once you put some payload aboard and it's not the most reliable machine. I know someone had a BN-2T Islander fully equipped but I'm not sure if thats still running. Maybe a PC-12, 'van or PAC-750 if you can go SE?
That said, It did get very crowded at LL over a fire sometimes, particularly when trying to work under a step in suburban interface areas. You'd often have orbiting and/or streams of fixed wing bombers, helitaks and firebirds, bird dogs and news helicopters all sharing the same patch of sky with minimal, visual separation. I think it's time we moved beyond that and into high-level detection and attack supervision platforms. Aircraft fitted with EO sensors and voice/data link back to a command centre. That way fire commanders can be kept entirely in the loop, in real time, with a minimum risk to combat agency personnel.
The DA-40 can do it, but it's endurance is not great once you put some payload aboard and it's not the most reliable machine. I know someone had a BN-2T Islander fully equipped but I'm not sure if thats still running. Maybe a PC-12, 'van or PAC-750 if you can go SE?
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Interesting thread.
I think our experts over five years have recommended every aircraft type ever built, except the Wright Flyer, a Supermarine S.5 and Concorde.
I think our experts over five years have recommended every aircraft type ever built, except the Wright Flyer, a Supermarine S.5 and Concorde.
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spotting platform
well on one fire someone used an F111 at night. very good imagery but a bit hard to get the DACC request signed.
337 is pretty good for fixed wing and the mighty 500 for rotary.
337 is pretty good for fixed wing and the mighty 500 for rotary.
Funny how this discussion has re appeared. Couldn't have something to do with the current NAFC tender due on Tuesday.
As a tip, have a look at the AC 685, with the extra fuel tanks.
Can do 200kts to get to task, then loiter for around 7 to 8 hours at 45% power. The only problem you end up with is crew duty time and crew BLADDER time.
As a tip, have a look at the AC 685, with the extra fuel tanks.
Can do 200kts to get to task, then loiter for around 7 to 8 hours at 45% power. The only problem you end up with is crew duty time and crew BLADDER time.
