Take a ride in a turbine powered S2 Tracker fire bomber

[maxum96]

Cool video of a warbird in it's second life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV4TC3hke6w

[Dave Hadfield]

Long takeoff run -- heavy load I guess.

[junkman9096]

Long takeoff run -- heavy load I guess.

That looks like Hemet Air Attack Base in Riverside County, California. Basically the desert. We also have an AAB in Ukiah, CA. Even on hot days (100-110 degrees) they use about 2/3rds of a 6000 ft runway. We normally have 2 S-2T's assigned along with an OV-10 for overall control but the past couple of weeks I've seen 4 coming and going. Along with that, they've set up a temporary heli-port and are working a number of Blackhawks and at least one Chinook with water (Bambi buckets) attached. Great variety for plane spotters.

[Larry Kraus]

How I remember Hemet Tanker Base. These shots are from 1982 when I flew B-17 Tanker 65 on a CDF contract out of Porterville.

7C875050-CF5E-48DB-ADE8-8E9D9B73EBED by tanker622001, on Flickr

A828809C-9B85-4881-9ADF-EC8018190520 by tanker622001, on Flickr

C6C73E82-9D1A-4253-A82C-70557D7D3416 by tanker622001, on Flickr

BF58591A-DACB-47A8-BDAB-58C2B2C187B4 by tanker622001, on Flickr

7770FE7C-9A5B-4823-A357-1D62EEB43050 by tanker622001, on Flickr

[steve dickey]

Larry I absolutely love pic no. 2!! Love the variety of the heavy iron there! WOW! Thank you

[Avnut]

I thought the S-2/C-1 family required 2 pilots to fly. The video only shows 1 at the controls.

[junkman9096]

I thought the S-2/C-1 family required 2 pilots to fly. The video only shows 1 at the controls.

I'm not certain regarding the old recip powered planes (I think 1 pilot then also) but I've talked with pilots at our local base. With the S-2T version its just one. Same with the Broncos, although both have seats for passengers.