OK Gordy: own up!

Does anyone know what the 500D (G-BIOA?) was doing in relation to the Manchester Moorland Fire today. BBC news reports show it flying in the area. Was it doing a little aerial spotting for the fire service? Thanks.

500 Fan.

News showed it with long line so presume water bucket only caught a glimpse,
Flown it a couple of times, owner AH helicopters

Thanks. I didn't spot the longline. A Squirrel appeared in later footage too so I guess there are a couple of commercial helicopters involved in the fight. The Chinook is grabbing all the media attention.

500 Fan.

They send me down on Tuesday and I could only do about a hundred loads. It was like fighting a house fire with a tablespoon.
Tueseday the fire line was about 4 miles long.
It is a shame that the Helicopters are called out as last resort. We should be in first. That would safe a lot of taxpayer's money.
@Hughes500: We had Pete's funeral on Friday, so no one was flying that day.

Spencer quite understand, wasnt supposed to be a slur. We were called in on Monday, but stood down by landowner as we were landing up helicopter. Then called in on Tuesday afternoon by United Utilities, arrived Tuesday evening. We dropped around 600 loads times 450 litres seemed to be pissing into the wind at times !

Helicopters can only put out very small fires if the water source is very close by....and the conditions are right. Otherwise at best the fire can be guided a bit.

Where the Helicopter excels is in putting out burning snags and residual fires like stumps and the like.

When a fire grows to be really active and running....there is very little that can be done but get out of its way.

In the USA....one saying re Forest Fires is "Fly Safe, make as much money as you can!".

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...96c93aef77.jpg
While we are talking fires, today is a sad day in our world--5 years ago today 19 Hotshots died on the Prescott fire. RIP my friends. To see what happened, go watch "Only the Brave", if you see people crying they are probably Wild Land Fire Fighters:

Gordy.....I also think back to the Iron 44 crash....as I knew one of the Pilots and thought a great deal of him and very much respected his flying abilities and wonderful sense of humor!


https://www.firefighternation.com/ar...4-tragedy.html

Ahh yes Iron 44 was another bad one. Many lessons learned on that deal. As you know I was on the clean up of that site. took 210 trips at 45 minutes round trip hauling the contaminated dirt at 900lbs a go. The tree behind the cross is the one they hit....

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...731021e54b.jpg

There are 5 or 6 sizeable fires here in Ireland at the moment, thanks to the dry weather, a discarded disposable BBQ and possibly an arsonist too. The IAC have a few 139s with Bambi Buckets as well as one commercial operator with an EC120. Some of the fires seem to be quie big. It might be time to consider leasing in a CL-415 for a week or so to see how that might impact on some of the larger fires.

500 Fan.

I am currently working the County Fire in California--a total of 26 helicopters ranging from a Jet ranger all the way upto a Chinook. Fire is currently 80,000 acres and we are considering a 30,000 acre burnout.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...b632c38de3.jpg

Yea, the fires in Ireland are miniscule in comparison with some of the big fires in Canada and the U.S. Sadly, we seem to have a fairly limited capability in dealing with them, notwithstanding the efforts of the IAC and other operator. Last summer, one third of the country's biggest forest was lost to a fire, sadly.

500 Fan.

Now I am on the Klamathon Fire in Northern California.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...e4bea5c0c.jpeg

That's an impressive list of assets, though I understand it might seem miniscule given how formidable and vast those fires can be. Fly safe and keep up the good work. :ok:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmf...8e7eabf1de.jpg

RBHSL getting ready for previous fire season

Simplex 304 Belly Tank
 

Would any of you fine gentlemen and ladies know where a fellow might find a Simplex 304 to rent? Was thinking there are lots that work from year to year in the southern hemisphere, so maybe the owners of such would be interested in making some money in the off season by renting them to an operator in the northern hemisphere.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

HV

So some will remember the Carr Fire from last year here in California.

You see my girlfriends house at minute 2:59 and my helicopter at minute 3:57..... bear in mind this was at 3pm in the afternoon.... Most have no clue how intense fires are in California....

Gordy,

Thank you for posting that video....it is amazing to me yet how small communities can come together during times of great calamity and how some freely put everything they own including their lives to serve and protect others.