--@--0--@-- "THEY DO IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO" * |
June 04, 2012 AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY 2 BOISE MEN KILLED IN CRASH OF MISSOULA-BASED AIR TANKER" |
(caption) The crash scene of a heavy air tanker is seen from the air Sunday, June 4, near Hamblin Valley Utah. The P2v Heavy air tanker crashed Sunday afternoon, June 3, as it dropped retardant on a 5,000-acre wildfire, killing pilots Todd Neal Tompkins and Ronnie Edwin Chambless, both of Boise, Idaho. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News) |
(excerpt)
A Neptune Aviation P2V tanker crashed Sunday afternoon while fighting a forest fire in Utah, killing both crew members.
"It‘s a tragic afternoon for the entire fire and aviation community," said National Interagency Fire Center spokesman Don Smurthwaite in Boise.
The heavy air tanker was piloted by Capt. Todd Neal Tompkins and co-piloted by First Officer Ronnie Edwin Chambless, both of Boise, Idaho, according to the sheriff‘s department of Iron County, Utah.
The Missoula-based Tanker 11 was flying near the head of the White Rock fire on the Utah-Nevada border west of Cedar City, Utah, when it crashed at 1:45 p.m.
Smurthwaite said the intense fire activity made it impossible to reach the Hamblin Valley crash site for much of the day. Iron County sheriff‘s personnel said other firefighting aircraft dropped retardant around the crash scene to help emergency crews reach the plane.
"The plane and crew were on their second run of the day, and it was estimated that the plane held approximately 1,600 gallons of fuel on board as well as over 2,000 gallons of fire retardant," according to a sheriff‘s department news release.
White Rock fire spokesman Chris Hanefeld said all air tankers returned to their home bases Sunday. Neptune Aviation officials could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.
The White Rock fire started with a lightning strike on Friday in Lincoln County, Nevada. On Saturday, winds expanded it from 15 acres to almost 5,000 as it burned across the state line into Utah‘s Iron County.
On Sunday, the fire had 135 personnel on hand. In addition to Neptune‘s Tanker 11, one other P2V tanker, two single-engine tankers and one helicopter were assigned to the fire.
Iron County Sheriff‘s Sgt. Del Schlosser told Fox 13 News that a witness saw Tanker 11 go down, and other aircraft crews may also have seen the plane crash.
P2Vs are Korean War-era submarine warfare planes that have been converted for firefighting. Neptune Aviation had eight P2Vs on Forest Service contract this year along with one BAe-146 jet air tanker.
DEADLY CRASH OF AIR TANKER FIGHTING UTAH FIRE PROBED By Jennifer Dobner and Zelie Pollon Reuters – Tue, Jun 5, 2012 (exerpt) |
(Reuters) - Officials opened an investigation on Monday of an airplane tanker crash in Utah that caused the year's first two deaths among crews fighting U.S. wildfires. The firefighting plane went down on Sunday afternoon on a forested mountainside in the Hamlin Valley area of southwestern Utah while on a mission to drop chemical fire retardant on an 8,000-acre (3,237-hectare) blaze along the Nevada-Utah border.
Firefighters who accompanied a search team to the crash site hours later battled flames roaring 100 feet in the air as sheriff's deputies extricated the bodies from the wreckage and collected crash evidence, said Detective Sergeant Jody Edwards of the Iron County Sheriff's Office.
The charred ground at site was so hot that "the soles of our investigators' boots were melting, and there were places where the aluminum from the plane had literally turned to liquid and was running downhill," Edwards told Reuters.
Debris was scattered across the mountainside, with large pieces of wreckage about 500 yards from the last spot where the plane appears to have dropped retardant, he said.
Based on damage to the trees and marks left in the ground, sheriff's deputies on the scene surmised that the plane may have clipped some trees with its left wing on a low pass toward the mountain, sending the aircraft into a cartwheel, Edwards said.
The dead were identified as pilot Todd Tompkins, 48, and his co-pilot, Ronnie Chambless, 40, both of Boise, Idaho. The two men were employees of a Montana-based aviation company that supplied the plane, a Lockheed Martin P2V, and crew under contract with the U.S. Forest Service for firefighting.
Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, said Tompkins and Chambless were the first firefighting personnel to die in fires that have consumed more than 1,200 square miles (3,108 square kilometers) of forest, brush and grasslands nationwide so far this year, most of it in western states.
The U.S. Forest Service currently has nine operational large air tankers on exclusive use contracts. "The loss of the two aerial firefighters has reverberated through the fire service community and our thoughts are certainly with their families and coworkers as they grieve," said Chief Ken Pimlott, Director of CAL FIRE.
Air tankers play an important role in wildfire suppression, particularly during the early stages known as "initial attack," by dropping retardant that reduces the intensity and rate of spread of wildfires, enabling firefighters on the ground to safely construct fireline.
###
MEMORIAL SET FOR THURSDAY |
The flag is lowered to half staff at the interagency fire center in Cedar City Monday, June 4, 2012. A P2V heavy air tanker crashed, killing both Boise crew members Todd Tompkins, 48, and Ronnie Chambless, 40. (Deseret News photo/Scott G Winterton) |
- - Idaho Press-Tribune - -
Posted on June 15, 2012
by Torrie Cope
BOISE — The ladders of two firetrucks stretched high above Grove Street with an American flag flying in the middle near the Linen Building in downtown Boise Thursday night where hundreds gathered to honor two fallen firefighters.
Capt. Todd Neal Tompkins, 48, and co-pilot First Officer Ronnie Edwin Chambless, 40, both of Boise, were killed in a plane crash in Utah June 3 as they worked to fight the White Rock Fire.
The men were many things to many people, but at the memorial service they were honored as heroes who died protecting all of us.
Tim Murphy, director of fire and aviation for the Bureau of Land Management, said the men were dedicated to their jobs, even when things could get tough and risky at times. He reminded the audience that firefighters are protectors. They save lives, homes and even irreplaceable natural resources.
Tom Harbour, director of fire and aviation for the U.S. Forest Service, said three words came to his mind: Freedom, choice and honor. "In this country", he said, "people have the freedom to choose what they want to do and Tompkins and Chambless chose to do honorable work ".
Tompkins‘ longtime friend, Pete Martenson, who he grew up with, spoke about the new descriptor Tompkins had earned. He said Tompkins was a husband, father, son, brother, friend and now, a hero too.
The services were led by Larry Zajanc who also spoke about his friend and fellow firefighter Chambless. As a teenager, Chambless worked at Witchita Valley Airport in Texas to pay for flying lessons. When Zajanc met him years later, he was relieved to discover Chambless was just the type of guy that you could stand being stuck in a small cockpit with for hours.
Tompkins‘ daughters spoke about his love for skiing and his devotion to them over the years. And according to daughter Paige, ―he "put the 'odd‘ in Todd."
Chambless‘ friends said he always had a love of flying that took him around the world to India and Africa. He also enjoyed being a member of the Hash House Harriers running club.
Family members were presented with a letter from Pres. and Mrs. Obama as well as a bronze statue that is a replica of a nine-foot-tall statue that stands at the National Interagency Fire Center.
Today, flags will be flown at half staff across the Forest Service in honor of Tompkins and Chambless.
Published in Idaho Statesman on June 13, 2012:
RONNIE EDWIN CHAMBLESS
Birth: Aug. 19, 1971 Texas, USA
Death: Jun. 3, 2012: Iron County Utah, USA
Age: 40 yrs 9 mos 15 days
1st Officer - Wildland Contract - Firefighter Fire Dept: Neptune Aviation Services, Inc. residence: Boise, Idaho
~~~~
RONNIE EDWIN CHAMBLESS died Sunday, June 3, 2012 at the young age of 40 in an air tanker crash involved in a heroic effort to fight the White Rock fire near the Utah-Nevada border.
Ronnie was born August 19, 1971 in Gainesville, Texas. The family moved to Wichita Falls, Texas in 1980. He attended Fowler Elementary, McNiel Jr High, and graduated from S.H. Rider High School in 1989. He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.
Ronnie inherited his grandfather's love for flying and pursued that dream fearlessly and with vigor. As a teenager, he worked at Wichita Valley Airport to pay for flying lessons.
As a pilot, some of his adventures included flying tourists around volcanoes in Hawaii, weather modification (cloud-seeding) in India, Africa, Canada and Boise, Idaho, as well as ferrying a single-engine plane from Florida to Denmark.
His ultimate dream was to be a fire pilot, and he was recently contracted by Neptune Aviation as a co-pilot with their tanker fleet fighting the recent wildfire outbreaks. Ronnie has logged over 4,000 hours of flight time in his career.
In addition to his love of flying, he was an avid traveler, photographer and outdoorsman. He loved camping and hiking, and spent his summers as a boy at Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico.
Ronnie has been an active member of the Boise, Idaho community for many years. He was a member of Hash House Harriers (a running club) and volunteered at the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. His extended family of many friends in Boise will miss him tremendously.
Ronnie is preceded in death by his father Ronnie W. Chambless, maternal grandfather William A. Hitchcock, and paternal grandmother Idell Chambless. He is survived by his mother Paula Chambless of Wichita Falls, sister Jennifer Chambless Conner of Ft Worth, TX, sister Kirsten Chambless Jenkins of Wichita Falls, maternal grandmother Genevieve Hitchcock, as well as a niece and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Services in Boise, Idaho with family and friends will be held on Thursday, June 14 at 7pm at The Linen Building (1402 W Grove Street) A memorial service was also held in Wichita Falls, TX on Sunday, June 10 with honors.
**************
TODD NEAL TOMPKINS
Birth: unknown Death: Jun. 3, 2012: Iron County Utah, USA age: 48 yrs
Capt - Wildland Contract - Firgefighter Fire Dept: Neptune Aviation Services, Inc. residence: Boise, Idaho
FRIENDS AND FAMILY RECALL THE WORK ETHIC AND ACTIVE LIVES OF TWO BOISE PILOTS
By Todd Dvorak and Katy Moeller , Idaho Statesman
via The Associated Press, (excerpt)
THE REWARDS OF FIREFIGHTING
Tompkins loved the challenge of flying over burning forests or rangeland and believed his efforts to slow the spread of wildfires affected lives and the environment, his wife Cassandra Cannon said said.
The 17-year veteran of aerial firefighting was dispatched to the Utah-Nevada blaze early Sunday and immediately added to the flyover rotation. .
"He always grew up wanting to fly," Cannon said. "But he really liked this type of flying because it was always interesting and challenging to him. In the back of his mind, I knew he understood the risks.―But he used to come back and talk about so many instances where he felt like their work saved communities, that they had saved lives. It was powerful to hear him talk about that and recognize (the) value of what he did. "
A NEW TEAM Tompkins and Chambless began working as a duo this season and had flown together just a handful of times, Cannon said. The son of a United Airlines pilot, Tompkins flew a variety of wildfire missions across the West, including retardant dumps last summer on fires in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Tompkins is survived by three children: Phoebe Turner, 16, and Sam Turner, 15, both from a previous marriage; and Paige Tompkins, 10. Cannon last saw Tompkins on May 19, when he returned from flight training in Great Britain. "It‘s very heartbreaking for our whole family. But as this has happened, it‘s become clear to me how important he was to people," she said.
####
_._
- - @ - @ - O - @ - 2 - -
******************
SCHWARTZ & STOLLAK MEMORIAL
2002 Schwartz & Stollak Memorial - Broomfield, CO
in 'Firefighter Memorials' N 39° 54.592 W 105° 06.633 13S E 490551 N 4417759
from: Waymarking.com
Quick Description: Memorial to two slurry bomber pilots who were fighting the Big Elk Fire in 2002 Location: Colorado, United States Date Posted: 1/31/2011 8:36:47 AM Waymark Code: WMAMV6
RICK LEE SCHWARTZ 1963 - 2002
MILTON BERNARD STOLLAK 1946 - 2002
The plaque reads:
Viking Prayer
Lo there do I see my Father
Lo there do I see my Mother
Lo there do I see my sisters and my brothers
I see a line of my people back to the beginning
They do call to me to take my place
In the walls of Vahalla
Where the brave may live forever
_ _ _ .. _ _ _
-- Fallen Air Tanker Pilots Remembered --
July 24, 2002
(excerpt)
The U.S. Forest Service held a memorial service Thursday for the two pilots who died fighting the Big Elk Fire between Lyons and Estes Park, Colo.
Pilots Rick Schwartz, 39, and Milt Stollack, 56 (pictured, left), were flying a 57-year-old PB4Y-2 Privateer firefighting tanker when a left wing tore off and the plane exploded in midair before it crashed into the mountainside last Thursday.
The service took place at the Jefferson County Airport tanker base where the pilots refueled each day while they were fighting the fire.
"We're talking about two brave individuals and men that did a job that they loved and cared about," said Mike Stubbs, cousin of one of the victims. "They knew that there were risks, but their sense of honor ... their sense of service and their sense of duty made them take those risks."
"It takes a lot of courage for a tanker pilot to go out there and get in a 50-year-old airplane and put it in the air," Brandi Stollack said.
"And you do your job. You do brave things.
They're saving houses and lives.
And they do it because they love it.
They do it because they have to."
*****************
--@--0--@--
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress] 107th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 457
Honoring Rick Lee Schwartz and Milt Stollak, who died in a plane crash on July 18, 2002, while fighting the Big Elk fires near Estes Park, Colorado.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 26, 2002 Mr. Schaffer submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Honoring Rick Lee Schwartz and Milt Stollak, who died in a plane crash on July 18, 2002, while fighting the Big Elk fires near Estes Park, Colorado. Whereas Rick Lee Schwartz was born in Choteau, Montana, was raised in Cascade, Conrad, and Fairfield, Montana, and attended the Emery School of Aviation in Greeley, Colorado;
Whereas Mr. Schwartz was the loving father of two stepchildren with his former wife, Brenda Cook, and the newlywed husband of Liz Schwartz, who is expecting their child in November of this year;
Whereas Mr. Schwartz was a life member of the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star in Lewistown, Montana, and was working as a pilot for Hawkins and Powers Aviation, Inc. at the time of his death;
Whereas Mr. Schwartz was tragically killed in a plane crash on July 18, 2002, while fighting the Big Elk fires near Estes Park, Colorado;
Whereas Mr. Schwartz is survived, among others, by his wife, Liz Schwartz; his father and stepmother, Stew and Delores Schwartz; his mother, Shirley Cheek; his two brothers, Jim and Scott Schwartz; and a baby due in November;
Whereas Milt Stollak was born in Los Angeles, California;
Whereas Mr. Stollak also died in the aforementioned plane crash, and was, at the time, still working with Hawkins and Powers Aviation, Inc., even though his contract with them had already expired, due to the desperate need for pilots able to perform firefighting duties;
Whereas Mr. Stollak is survived by his wife, Shannon Brumley; his daughter, Brandi Stollak; and his sister, Tina Craddock;
Whereas Clear Channel of Northern Colorado is gathering funds to erect a memorial to the sacrifices of Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Stollak, pilots of the Air Tanker 123 who gave their lives to protect others and America's forests;
Whereas firefighters across the Nation risk their lives and put themselves in harm's way everyday in order to protect life and property;
Whereas, in this year alone, 11 firefighters have died while fighting forest fires; and
Whereas the American public owes this Nation's firefighters a tremendous debt of gratitude: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That--
(1) the Congress honors the late Rick Lee Schwartz and Milt Stollak, recognizing that they were truly remarkable Americans who exemplified the gallantry, honor, duty, virtue, and determination held in such high esteem by the people of this Nation; and
(2) it is the sense of the Congress that--
(A) the people of this Nation should celebrate, and remember Rick Lee Schwartz's and Milt Stollak's extraordinary bravery and service;
(B) the President should take appropriate measures to encourage efforts to honor, celebrate, and remember Rick Lee Schwartz's and Milt Stollak's extraordinary service to the United States, and to commemorate the contributions and service of all firefighters to the people of this Nation; and
(C) individuals are encouraged to contribute to the Air Tanker 123 Memorial Fund honoring Rick Lee Schwartz and Milt Stollak.
--all-- |
This resolution was introduced July 26, 2002, but died in committee and was not enacted. It becomes a purpose of the Fire Aviation Tribute to revive this bill for passage this year and append to include pilots of Tanker 11 and also four crew members of C-130 MAFFS gone down 1 July 2012:
__________________________________________________
Dead are Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, 42, of Mooresville, N.C.;
Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36, of Belmont, N.C.;
Maj. Ryan S. David, 35, of Boone, N.C.; and
Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, 50, of Charlotte.
The crew part of the 145th Airlift Wing with the North Carolina Air National Guard .
- - AirForceTimes.us - -
(Readers are reminded that Air National Guard are "Citizen Soldiers")
___________________________________________________
MISSING MAN FORMATION
--@--0--@--
MISSING MAN FORMATION
Description: The formation most commonly used in the United States is based on the "finger-four" aircraft combat formation composed of two two-aircraft elements. The aircraft fly in a V-shape with the flight leader at the point and his wingman on his left. The second element leader and his wingmanfly to his right. The formation flies over the ceremony low enough to be clearly seen and the second element leader abruptly pulls up out of the formation while the rest of the formation continues in level flight until all aircraft are out of sight.
In an older variant the formation is flown with the second element leader position conspicuously empty. In another variation, the flight approaches from the south, preferably near sundown, and one of the aircraft will suddenly split off to the west, flying into the sunset. In all cases, the aircraft performing the pull-up, split off, or missing from the formation, is honoring the person (or persons) who has died, and it represents their departure to the heavens.
History
In 1936, King George V received the first recorded flypast for a non-RAF funeral. The United States adopted the tradition in 1938 during the funeral for Major General Oscar Westover with over 50 aircraft and one blank file. By the end of World War II, the missing man formation had evolved to include the pull-up.
In April 1954, United States Air Force General Hoyt Vandenberg was buried at Arlington National Cemetery without the traditional horse-drawn artillery caisson. Instead, Vandenberg was honored by a flyover of jet aircraft with one plane missing from the formation.
In December 2004, as a final tribute to Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands's former military role in the Royal Netherlands Air Force, three modern F-16 jet fighters and a World War II Spitfire performed a missing man formation during his funeral.
*********************
"The History of The Missing Man Formation".
. The History of The Missing Man Formation
This formation has been rumored to have begun when British fighter pilots flew over the funeral of Manheim "The Red Baron" von Richthofen as a sign of respect by his fellow aces.
The formation does find its birth in World War I. It is British in origin and it was used infrequently and privately during the War. The first written account of the maneuver shown publicly is by the RAF in 1935 when flying over a review by HRH (King) George V.During World War II, it evolved into a ceremonial traditions as part of RAF programs.
The United States first began the tradition in 1938 during the funeral for MG Westover with over 50 aircraft and one blank file. The USAF Thunderbirds were the first military aerobatics unit to ever perform the maneuver. They flew it for the first time to honor the men and women who were then POWs in Vietnam.
Aerial demonstration squadrons have now adopted the formation and perform it during ceremonial events such as National POW-MIA Recognition Day, Memorial Day, during funerals and at interrment of repatriated remains of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action.
Several movies and TV series show the missing man formation. * Courage Under Fire, with four fighters for a helicopter pilot * The McConnell Story: Squadron with blank * Several episodes of JAG (in the US Navy) * Iron Eagle, requested over radio by the friend of a missing pilot * Heroes: Season 4, Episode 14, "Upon This Rock", ends with a missing man formation over a funeral * Babylon 5: The episode "Legacies" directly refers to the human traditions of the riderless horse and the missing man formation * The Right Stuff * Armageddon: Flyby at the end of the film. 6 fighters with 1 peeling away * Transformers: Beast Wars: Flying Maximals after Dinobot's death (Code of Hero) * Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War: 4 fighters with 1 peeling away following Captain Alvin "Chopper" Davenport's demise. * The Red Baron (movie): The "Red Baron" does a fly-over for an enemy funeral, along with several of his friends.
Missing Man Foundation (MMF)
The Missing Man salute: retired military aviators perform symbolic flyovers as final tributes to veterans and their families
On a recent hot summer day, nearly a dozen members of the Missing Man Foundation (MMF) gather on the flight line at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., for a short flight in their matching T-34s, Korean War-era trainers. All of the members, clad in their crisp, black flight suits, stand ramrod straight at attention by their planes while they are briefed on their mission: to honor a recently deceased Air Force flyer with a distinctive feat of precision flying--the `Missing Man' formation. As soon as the honoree's biography is read, the order is barked, and the pilots--all seasoned combat veterans--climb into their cockpits and strap themselves in, ready to fly.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Don "Big Heart" Goodin, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, began the Foundation nearly five years ago. "We started as just a bunch of good American boys who love to fly and have a good time together," he explained. "We are all members of the March Aero Club, so we frequently fly together just for fun. "Several years ago we started getting requests from friends and relatives to perform the `Missing Man' formation for their loved ones who had passed away. We never charged for our services, but these families started sending donations to help us defray our costs and to thank us for what we had done. We don't pay ourselves, so the problem quickly became--what do we do with the money? That's when the Foundation really began."
The `Missing Man' Formation: The `Missing Man' formation had its earliest known beginnings during the world wars when observers would watch for returning aircraft to see empty positions in formations. During the Korean War, when one member of the 35th Fighter Group was killed, a formation of three Mustangs flew over the pilot's funeral ceremony. By the war's end, the `Missing Man' had become a military tradition. In April 1954, Air Force Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with several departures from the prescribed military funeral. Among these: the traditional horse-drawn caisson was eliminated.
Instead, Vandenberg got a flyover of jet aircraft with one plane missing from the formation.
The `Missing Man' is usually flown by four to six aircraft in a V formation with the left leg longer than the right (viewed from below) and the flight leader at the point of the arrowhead. As the formation approaches the gravesite or other ceremony area, the wingman following to the leader's right (left from below) leaves the formation in a spectacular pull-up, suggesting the hero's soul going up to God.
"In keeping with tradition, the `Missing Man' flight is reserved for anyone who was a flight crew member in any service. This would include navigators, flight engineers, load-masters, bombardiers, etc. The board of directors (ofMMF) can authorize the `Missing Man' formation for someone who in their opinion deserves this tribute. MMF has performed more than 200 of the formations since its beginning, not including flyovers and flybys at air shows, parades and other events.
To learn more about the Missing Man Foundation, visit
or write to MICHAEL W. MICHELSEN, JR., is a freelance writer who lives in Riverside, Calif. COPYRIGHT 2002 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning |
-@-/O\-@-
--------------------------------
- -THE P2V NEPTUNE - -
P2V Neptune in Navy Service circa 1954. Extended tail section houses a Magnetic Anomoly Detector which could locate darkended ships at night and/or submerged submarines. |
The P2V Neptune is an evolution of the twin engine Lockheed Vega design format pioneered in 1935 with the Model 10 Electra made famous by Amelia Earhart and the Model 18 Lodestar (C-60) of the Air Transport Command. The parallel application of these Transport designs to military needs produced the PBO Hudson, the PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon coastal patrol and antisubmarine medium bombers of WW2. This heritage of proven reliability doubtless contributed to the 31 years that the P2V Neptune remained in active and reserve service in the United States Navy. (1947-78).
Long range was a critical demand for ASW hunting and the P2V's rated range of over 3500 miles was more than twice that of any of its predecessors or any other Twin Type of its era. One specially outfitted P2V ("the Turtle") set the all time distance record of 11,236 miles which still stands today for piston aircraft.
P2V Neptune "Turtle" during its record setting 11,236 mile flight Sept 29-30 1946. The flight required over 5000 gallons of extra fuel stowed aboard in various tanks that had to be hand pumped to main tanks during the 55 hour flight. |
P2V Neptune of VXE-6 during Operation Deepfreeze, Antarctica, where their long range handled the Supply Transport from New Zealand and Continent - spanning mapping missions. |
P2V in FIRE AVIATION
Heavy air tankers had been in use in wildlands fire fighting since 1960, first employing WW2 surplus B-17 and B-26 bombers and PB4-Y maritime patrol bombers. These were expensive to maintain and limited maneuverability at low altitudes. So when the P2V Neptunes, designed for close-in work, started to become "surplus" from the U.S. Navy and RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) in the early 1970's, they became the flagship of Fire Aviation. The first fleet of 11 was developed by fire aviation pioneer Black Hills Aviation in 1974 operating from Almagordo, NM until acquired en-Toto by Neptune Aviation in 1993 and moved to Missoula. Several other operators also adopted the Type in smaller numbers. Many of these planes were equipped with JATO engines:
--@--0--@-- OPERATION OF AUXILLIARY JET ENGINES ON P2V NEPTUNE FIRE BOMBERS "According to Neptune Aviation Services, the two J34-WE-36 jet engines on their P2Vs are normally only used for takeoff and for retardant drop runs. The jet engines are normally set for takeoff power at 100 percent, then set at METO (maximum except takeoff) power (95 percent) for climb. After the airplane is leveled off at cruise altitude, which is usually around 4,000 to 5,000 feet above ground level, the jet engines are brought to idle, and after stabilizing there, are shut down by bringing the throttle to the OFF position. After the throttle is brought to the OFF position, the pylon air inlet doors remain open for 90 seconds, and then are hydraulically closed. During that 90-second pre-closing delay, the airplane is normally at a cruise speed of about 170 knots. For retardant drops the jet engines are normally restarted about five miles from the drop zone, and remain at idle until the beginning of the drop run. At the beginning of the drop run the jet engines are set at 50 percent power, and are then pushed up to METO power immediately after the drop. They stay at METO power during the climb to the altitude at which the airplane will return to its base. Once the airplane is at cruise altitude, the jet engines are shut down, and again go through the 90-second air inlet door closing delay. If multiple partial-load retardant drops are made on the same sortie, after the first drop the jet engines are brought back from 50 percent to idle at a point in time left to the pilot's discretion. They then remain at idle until the beginning of the next drop run, when they are pushed back up to 50 percent power. After the second drop run they are either set to METO or idle, depending upon whether or not there will be an additional run." -@-@-O-@-@- SEA08GA194 ntsb report 2008
|
Video Links:
Patrol Squadron 8 Tribute shows P2V Neptune in action in U.S. Navy showing many of its varied versions and color schemes
--@--O--@--
P2V Neptune Tanker 11 taking off at Paso Robles 2008
AS WITH MOST FLIGHTSPIRIT ARTICLES, THIS IS
"TO BE CONTINUED"
READERS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONTINUATION AT THE FIRE AVIATION TRIBUTE FORUM PAGE BY CLICKING ON THE BUTTON BELOW
FlightSpiritMagazine is not affiliated with or
agent for Wildlands Firefighter
Foundation or Missing Man
Foundation. Coverage is provided as a
public service for those who may
respond to the request of pilots and
learn more about commemorative. Links go directly to their websites All import copy and image are incorporated here as fair use, and we encourage owner inquiries to [email protected] All other ©ParadigmProductions 2012
|