  | The rain that so kindly held off yesterday couldn’t contain itself any longer and thrashed down on our journey to the former McClellan AFB to visit the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Aviation Management Unit. It seemed ironic to be visiting the CDF on such a foul day but from the moment we were met by Bill Mason the Air Operations Officer we knew we were in for a treat, and what a treat. At McClellan, all major maintenance work for the CDF’s fleet of 23 S-2T air tankers, 11 UH-1H Super Hueys and 14 OV-10A’s is undertaken and the standards the aircraft are maintained to are second to none. As commented at the time, you could be forgiven for thinking they were all new build airframes, the engineering shop controls all aspects of fabrication and assembly of new parts which are finally finished to an exacting standard in their own paint shop. |
| The S-2T’s started out as US Navy Grumman Aerospace S-2E/G Tracker’s, carrier based anti submarine crates, operational between 1958 and 1975 and in 1996, 26 airframes were acquired by the CDF who have completed an air modernization programme, retrofitting newer S-2E/G’s into a fire fighting configuration. Now fitted with more powerful turboprop engines and 5 bladed props the completely reconditioned S-2T’s are faster, safer, more maneuverable and carry a larger retardant payload than the S-2A air tankers used since the 1970’s. With a crew of one pilot the CDF uses the S-2T for fast initial attack delivery of fire retardant on wildland fires. The UH-1H Super Huey’s began their long career with the US Army where the ubiquitous Huey was ever present between 1963 and 1975 as troop and cargo transport and specialized operations. CDF acquired 12 Bell UH-1F’s in 1981, they were modified for fire fighting and used until 1990 when they were replaced by newer, highly modified, Vietnam-era UH-1F’s. The Super Huey’s are used for fast initial attack on wildfires with water/foam drops and are able to quickly deliver a nine person fire crew wherever needed. The original owners of the strangely beautiful OV-10A’s were the US Navy and US Marines, where they were used in counter insurgency and close air support roles between 1968 and 1993. Bill told us that in one particular covert operation, 5 marines crammed themselves into the very small cargo hold of a Bronco, and were dropped into the battle zone, I kept looking at the space he was talking about and to get one person in there they would have to be a highly trained contortionist. |
| In 1993 CDF acquired 15 OV-10A’s from the department of defense, 14 of which have been converted for use as air attack planes replacing the original Cessna 0-2A’s. Used for command and control of aircraft, the crew of pilot and observer provide tactical coordination with the incident commander on the ground, forwarding information on the movement and spread of the fire. With the responsibility of protecting an area covering more than 31 million acres and averaging over 5,600 wildland fires each year, my hat is off to these guys and the outstanding job they all do. Sincere thanks to Bill and his team for an amazing tour of the facility and for the insight into a region of aviation we rarely have the opportunity to witness. |
| | words by
Brian Clark
images by
Matt Critchley
special thanks to
Bill Mason
Air Operations Officer |
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