Final Flights of the last P-2 Air Tankers

[Larry Kraus]

Sorry about just posting a link again, but I still haven’t located my Flickr login and I’m heastitant to post too much via Photobucket in case they decide to give me grief.

There are some links to news stories and videos on this article from Fire Aviation on the individual aircraft that are worth checking out.

https://fireaviation.com/2018/10/08/fin ... -retirees/

[sandiego89]

Thanks for posting Larry, sounds like they found some good homes for them.

[thundergull pilot]

Larry, What is the status of Butler Aviation's DC-7 air tankers?

[Larry Kraus]

Tanker 62 is still on a State of Oregon contract based in Medford, although that contract has ended for this fire season due to changes in the weather. It is only a 75 day contract that begins somewhere around the middle of July. It can be extended as fire conditions dictate. T62 was released to the company maintenance base on September 28th.

Tanker 60 is available for Call When Needed, but mainly for the State of Oregon or for Cal Fire in California. It wasn’t used this year other than for crew training.

Tanker 66 is currently functional, but inactive at this time. All three DC-7s are currently at the Madras Airport (S33).

Incidentally, Butler Aircraft sold the tanker operation along with the Madras maintenance facility (and flight crews along with mechanics) to Erickson Aero Tanker (a division of Aero Air) 6 years ago. Erickson currently has two MD-87 tankers on Federal contracts (Tankers 101 and 103) and also has Tankers 102, 105 and 107 on Cal Fire Call When Needed contracts.

[Left Seat]

I was passing through K-Falls on the way to my monthly Bluegrass jam last Sunday ...

I thought that familiar looking "red tail" was PV2 Tanker 06 (caught it out of the corner of my eye while driving past the airport).

I probably have video of it somewhere (along with that 3-engline landing you did in Tanker 62 at MFR a few years back).

The Neptunes and DC-7s were a familiar sight over the house for many years. While not as slick looking as the DC-7, the sound of the PV2's radial engine will be missed.

I wish I had known about the decommissioning and dedication ceremony last month.