Warbird Information Exchange

Since some years back they grounded recip fire planes, just wondering if there are any large recip planes still in service on the forest fires? And what about the martins in Canada?

The US federal government stopped contracting for piston-powered airtankers. Individual states are still using their services. Neptunes and big Dougs are still working fires in the USA on state contracts. Not sure about Canada.

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

Neptunes' P-2s are still on "Legacy Contracts" with the U.S. Forest Service until they can be replaced by "Next Generation Air Tankers", whatever that means. Erickson Aero Tankers still has two DC-7s on ODF (Oregon Department of Forestry) contracts and a DC-7B on a contract with Cal Fire (State of California).

There is the CL-215's and don't forget the DC-4's from Canada

There is a Facebook page under "Firebombers" that has lots of those folks posting in it. Hourly updates on fires, gazillions of pictures and chat among them all. There was actually a crash while scooping today somewhere. Plane gone, pilot off to hospital. You have to "Like" the page to get access, but it is an awesome group of people over there. ...and lots of prop pictures too.

I don't do face book. And what does the fed have against recips? The worse crash was a turbine! Wings ripped off Hawkins and Powers plane.

Exhaust, there have been accidents with both piston and turboprop aircraft.

http://spreadsheets.latimes.com/firefig ... er-safety/

This above list seems to show 16 losses between 1993 and 2013, 6 were "turbine", 9 piston. Neptunes seem to make up the majority on the list.

It appears you are citing the "worse" as the C-130 crash at Walker in 2002 that is widely available on video, but please remember a piston P4Y Privateer operated by the same operator was lost within a month of that crash due to structural failure as well- the difference was no video on the nightly news.

Federal oversight seems to include airframe age, cycles, type of prior use, maintainence (and how verified/certified), the operators, and other factors, not just method of propulsion.

Tanker 43 on the Butts Rd fire in Pope Valley Ca back in July. There are still a few big piston engined tankers out and about. It was fantastic hearing this thing appear from the smoke on what was the last drop of the day.






There are several P2Vs and DC6s that have been on call. One came all the way down here from Madras Or for a fire.

Will