Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:22 am
man.......... just from that clip you can tell it's dryer than a popcorn fart out their!! 
TO Cal fires
Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:07 am
Thanks for the video links,Martin.I notice that in the Martin Mars overflight somebody's car alarm gets set off by the noise/vibration.We sometimes have this problem at Redmond since the new fairgrounds were built almost at the end of our default Runway 22.When the parking lot is full of cars and RVs,we sometimes set off multiple car alarms when we pass a couple of wingspans to the side at a few hundred feet on loaded take-offs.The C-130 was even worse at doing this because of prop vibrations,I suppose.That,of course,is no longer a problem.
Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:44 pm
Martin Mars water bomber is flying
Posted @ 8:57 AM
After first having to wait for customs clearance at the Canadian border and then held up by poor visibility due to smoke, the giant Martin Mars water bomber is now fighting fire in San Diego County.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department officials confirm that the World War II-era flying boat, named Hawaii Mars, flew threw missions Friday, dropping a total of 10,000 gallons of water on the Harris and Witch Creek fires. It is expected to remain in the area to assist firefighters in San Diego County and elsewhere in Southern California.
--Greg Gross, Breaking News Team
Posted by Union-Tribune at
Posted @ 8:57 AM
After first having to wait for customs clearance at the Canadian border and then held up by poor visibility due to smoke, the giant Martin Mars water bomber is now fighting fire in San Diego County.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department officials confirm that the World War II-era flying boat, named Hawaii Mars, flew threw missions Friday, dropping a total of 10,000 gallons of water on the Harris and Witch Creek fires. It is expected to remain in the area to assist firefighters in San Diego County and elsewhere in Southern California.
--Greg Gross, Breaking News Team
Posted by Union-Tribune at
Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:40 pm
I want to say THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
To Larry and all the other pilots and firefighters. I was let back into my home yesterday and it is still standing. If it wasn't for the fire bomber pilots and helicopter pilots, I wouldn't have a home. I live in Jamul off the 94, and the Harris fire came within 100 yards of my house. They dropped just in time.
No homes where lost in my neighborhood because of them. I was a firefighter back in the early 90's and have worked a couple brush fires and had to save my home in Valley Center CA in the 03 fires. I know how much work and guts it takes to do this kind of work. You guys are very appreciated.
THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To Larry and all the other pilots and firefighters. I was let back into my home yesterday and it is still standing. If it wasn't for the fire bomber pilots and helicopter pilots, I wouldn't have a home. I live in Jamul off the 94, and the Harris fire came within 100 yards of my house. They dropped just in time.
No homes where lost in my neighborhood because of them. I was a firefighter back in the early 90's and have worked a couple brush fires and had to save my home in Valley Center CA in the 03 fires. I know how much work and guts it takes to do this kind of work. You guys are very appreciated.
THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:38 pm
Was I halucinating or did I see a Privateer fly either into, or over Fox Field in Lancaster this evening???
Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:31 pm
A buddy of mine saw the Mars scooping in in Lake Elsinore this morning. He said it was really loud!
Sun Oct 28, 2007 2:44 pm
Flat 12x2 wrote:Video of Larry's Tanker 62 taking off loaded for work. Take care Larry.
Turn the sound UP
http://media.putfile.com/DC-7-Air-Attack-Water-Bomber-takeoff
Also Martin Mars coming in to land in So Cal. Keep the sound up .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JPFVfT5-wo
...and turn it up, I did. While watching the Mars video, I fed the audio through a 9000watt capable studio amp stack
at about 1/3 volume and drove a studio full of musicians outside.
One of them heatedly scolded me exclaiming, "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN"!!!
I replied, "Oh, ya wanna hear it again...OKAY'!!!
Musicians can be such pus*ies...One mans music is anothers pain...
Thanks for the links Flat12x2!!!! Now where did I store that Napier Sabre audio?????
TO Cal fires
Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:06 am
That's great news about Eric's house.I dropped a couple of loads on the Harris Fire,but I was up on the northeast corner by the wilderness.That said,we might have freed up another resource that made the critical drops.As I've said before on this site,firefighting is a team effort on the ground and in the air.We're just a small,but useful element.
Yesterday was interesting.We hauled a load out of out home base of Victorville to the Poomacha Fire near the Mt. Palomar and reloaded at San Bernardino.We didn't start until after 1600 and sunset is around 1800.On the last trip,there was some sort of a back up due to everybody getting back to the fire at the same time.We were in orbit behind T12 (a P-2) while the leadplanes worked through the list.First the Mars dropped on a hotspot,then the DC-10 dropped on a retardant line that was going to be used to reinforce a cat line for a burnout.
After that,four S-2's dropped along another cat line.They were followed by three MAFFS dropping near the Obsevatory.Finally,well after sunset,they got to T12,followed by me in T62,then T07 (another P-2) and a P-3 for the last drop before it really got dark.We ended up back in Victorville for the night.I'm certainly getting current on night landings.Last night was the 5th night landing in the last week.We normally get maybe 5 or 6 for the whole fire season.The fires are all looking pretty well contained and the weather is cooler and more humid.The forecast calls for more Santa Ana winds this weekend.
Yesterday was interesting.We hauled a load out of out home base of Victorville to the Poomacha Fire near the Mt. Palomar and reloaded at San Bernardino.We didn't start until after 1600 and sunset is around 1800.On the last trip,there was some sort of a back up due to everybody getting back to the fire at the same time.We were in orbit behind T12 (a P-2) while the leadplanes worked through the list.First the Mars dropped on a hotspot,then the DC-10 dropped on a retardant line that was going to be used to reinforce a cat line for a burnout.
After that,four S-2's dropped along another cat line.They were followed by three MAFFS dropping near the Obsevatory.Finally,well after sunset,they got to T12,followed by me in T62,then T07 (another P-2) and a P-3 for the last drop before it really got dark.We ended up back in Victorville for the night.I'm certainly getting current on night landings.Last night was the 5th night landing in the last week.We normally get maybe 5 or 6 for the whole fire season.The fires are all looking pretty well contained and the weather is cooler and more humid.The forecast calls for more Santa Ana winds this weekend.