Air Operations


				*NJFFS Division A Section 2* *Air Operations*



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The New Jersey State Forest Fire Service awards a statewide AirOps contract every three years. Downstown Aero has had the contract since 1968. As a result, Division A has 2 FireCat aircraft in position at Aeroflex Airport for a window of 42-52 days, beginning sometime in March. Fire conditions may dictate that these aircraft be available for an additional window during the rest of any year.

Statewide, Downstown Aero assigns nine FireCats, eight of their own and one plane/pilot leased from Merv Lewis of New York state. Ten fire fighting pilots are assigned duty with an additional pool of 10 part time pilots on standby for fill-in if needed. The FireCats are loaded with 300 gallons of water containing one-half gallon of Firetrol foam additive. The Dromader is loaded with 600 gallons of water containing one gallon of Firetrol.

In addition to these FireCats from Downstown Aero, the NJFFS has 2 FEPP Huey helicopters available for firefighting purposes. The Hueys, labeled Delta 5 and Delta 6, are extremely valuable in Section 2. These aircraft, carrying "Bambi Buckets", make excellent use of the many lakes in our response area.

Should Division A require an observation platform, the State of NJ has various fixed wing and rotorcraft resources available.

(Information & some photos courtesy of Downstown Aero)

Click on photos for larger image

FireCat at Strawberry Field

Dromader

Training Session

Delta 3

Observation Copter

Dromader 600 Gallons

FireCat 300 Gallons

FireCat

FireCat at Strawberry Field

Dromader

Delta 10

Delta 5

Delta 5

Dromader Special Delivery

Delta 5 Drop

Delta 5 & Bucket

Erickson Fire Tanker

Wish WE had one!

The Erickson S-64 Aircrane Helitanker is built by attaching a 2,600 gallon (9,800 litre) firefighting tank system to the fuselage of the S-64 Aircrane. The tank system consists of a high volume "Hover Snorkel" that can fill the tank in 18 inches (45 cm) of water within 45 seconds. A special "Sea Snorkel", designed for the tank, augments the freshwater hoverfill capabilities of the hover snorkel by allowing for 45 second refill in nearby saltwater sources. The doors of the tank are controlled by a microprocessor that adjusts for the groundspeed of the helicopter to deliver 8 different coverage levels of water, foam mix, or retardant. The pilot selects a coverage level from 1 gallon per 100 square feet to 8 gallons per 100 square feet. (~4 liters per 10 sq meters ~30 liters per 10 sq meters) If required, the pilot can dump a salvo of the entire 2,500+ gallon (9,500+ liter) load in less than 3 seconds.

Click photo to visit ericksonaircrane.com

Aeroflex WISH list?

2600 Gallons--Give or take a few!

Sikorsky S-64

Sikorsky C-65

For more info, please visit DownstownAero.com

and/or ericksonaircrane.com

NJ Aircraft

Coyle

Delta-1 N101MF Bell47-G2

Delta-2 N102NJ Bell206B

Delta-3 N103NJ Bell206A/B

Delta-5 N105NJ Bell UH-1H

Delta-10 N10NJ Cessna 206

Aeroflex

Delta-6 N106NJ Bell UH-1H

Delta-15 N12854NJ Cessna 182