Elvis has left the building

Temperature rising

“We’re in for a long, hot and dry season,” said Cronin. “It comes down to a range of factors including winds, public activity and the effectiveness of total fire bans. We find on those super hot days people tend to go to ground. We can get through a 40-degree day without doing anything. Then you’ll have a screaming south-westerly wind come in, dropping the temperature down to 25 degrees and there will be big fires. ”Gipsy Lady and Ichabod were the first of the Air-Cranes to arrive in country, landing at Sydney Airport on board an Antonov An-124 from Athens, Greece on October 4 to begin what was an unprecedented early start to the NSW fire season. On November 1, while Gipsy Lady was ‘on the drop’ tackling a bushfire at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, the temperature at Sydney Airport soared to 37 degrees, 13 degrees hotter than the average for the time of year. According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), average temperatures across the country in October were 2. 8 degrees above the monthly norm. In nearly 100 years of forecasting, the BOM says this was one of the biggest anomalies the bureau has seen. On November 29 Georgia Peach and Delilah arrived at Port Melbourne, with the latter reassembled and flown to nearby Essendon Airport. At the time of writing Georgia Peach was on the dock awaiting another ship to complete its journey around to Perth and Jandakot. On December 8 Malcolm arrived in Melbourne and flew across to Ballarat the following day. “They all start on contract at various times with the last one, Elsie in Adelaide, starting later on January 1,” said Cronin. “South Australia starts later than the others because they want to finish late. They try and pick the optimum period for their set of conditions and maximise the utilisation of the machine. ”Contract start decisions are based on years of BOM data and long-range forecasts. The state and territory fire services use this data to choose the

You need a good solid package of water to break through the canopy and get to the ground where the problem is. RAY CRONIN

most cost-effective window to have the Air-Cranes on the ground in their part of the country.

Kestrel’s function for the Erickson show is contract manager, interfacing with member agencies, through a sub-contract with Erickson.

“We are as flexible as we can be when a request comes in for an early Air-Crane. We are really constrained by the shipping schedules and the port’s capability of processing the boats when they arrive. The ripple effect for us is we have to make it work. The member agencies have to give us 55 days notice for an early Air-Crane, and once they push the ‘go’ button, we have to get the helicopter here, have it assembled and ready to go by the 55th day. The logistical efforts that go with getting the Air-Cranes here is significant. ” When the Air-Cranes are shipped via Antonov they are considerably dismantled, more than what they would be had they been transported by ship.

“Erickson is a well-oiled machine, they have been doing this for years,” said Cronin. “Their flight and engineering crews are very professional and are experts at what they do. As soon as the Air-Cranes touch Australian soil the engineers get right to re-assembling them and preparing them for operations, which happens usually in about 24 hours after they arrive. ” Kestrel holds a discrete CASAissued Air Operators Certificate (AOC) valid for four months to cover the operation of the Air- Cranes in Australia.

“We have to start the first contract as late as possible. We work it so our discrete AOC starts on the first day of a service being initiated by a state, so it’s about planning closely with all the state member agencies. ”

Are you lonesome tonight?

Notably missing from this year’s lineup is the ever-popular S-64F Air-Crane Elvis, N149AC, whichgained its name from the amount of time spent working for the United States National Guard in Memphis, home town of Elvis Presley for much of his life. Elvis became a household name in Australia following a stellar performance in Sydney during the 2001-2002 season.

Even though the E and F model Air-Cranes outwardly appear the same, the two models have different engines, transmissions, rotor heads and main blades. One of the few parts they do share is the tail rotor blade. “When we tendered for the Air- Cranes on the last round of contracts we tended for all the same model – the E model,” said Cronin. “To bring out Elvis would have meant we had to bring in a completely independent spares package to support it. In trying to get the costs down we said we wanted compatibility across the country, so if we had to, we could beg, borrow or steal spare parts from the storage that each state has. ” With each Air-Crane comes a truckload of gear, rigging and equipment just for the show. Just like a ‘roadie’, Erickson’s six engineers per Air-Crane are kept on their toes to prevent technical faults and carry out any repairs. Back stage, a six-metre shipping container full of spare parts and tooling accompanies each of the helicopters.

“Operating with just the E model is a very good way of keeping the aircraft in the air and getting support,” said Cronin. “We really proved this last year where we had very minimal down hours.

We didn’t lose any days due to unserviceability. The guys who are working on the machines are very professional and very well organised. They have spares in position and in most cases carry one or two spares of everything they need. In the event you need a spare it’s very quick to get someone on a plane with the part from interstate.

If we do have to replace a part then a new part is shipped straight away from Erickson. ”

Flying the Air-Crane

A pair of Pratt & Whitney JFTD12- 4A turboshaft engines drive the S-64E’s six-bladed, fully articulated main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor, generating a combined maximum takeoff rating of 9,000shp (6,700kW).

That’s a lot of power requiring a lot of fuel – around 2,000 litres per hour. And there is the noise, distinct from all other helicopters.

The vibration experienced by the flightcrew when transitioning into a hover is brain rattling. The Air- Crane is a beast.

Captain Mark Jones is an Australian Air-Crane pilot working for Erickson based in Melbourne.

A training captain on the type with more than 2,000 Air-Crane hours, Jones flies all over the world on a three-week on, three-week off roster.

“It’s the size of a Kenworth, but it’s incredibly nimble for thesize and is incredibly powerful,” said Jones. “With every load, the machine is flown at its maximum all-up weight of 42,000lb [19,070kg]. When its full of fuel then there’s less water, but as the fuel burns off we replace that weight by filling it up with water. ” The Aircranes are flown by two pilots, both either a captain, a training captain or a captain-intraining.

The Air-Crane can be flown from either the left or right seat, but typically all the firefighting operations are flown from the left.

Erickson has modified the Air-Crane by moving the left seat tracks closer to the bubble door. An extension adaptor to the collective has also been added.

“When you’re pumping water out of a pond or dam you can see out the left and back towards the tankthrough the large bubble door,” said Jones. “From the left seat your body mechanics feel more comfortable.

With your hands on the collective and the cyclic you can really lean out into the bubble window. ” ‘In the dip’ with the tank’s flexible snorkel in the water, the pilot begins the loading process by activating a rocker switch on the collective. While maintaining a correct wheel height above the water, a good forward and sideward reference ensures an accurate position is maintained over the water source.

During the fill towards a maximum load of 7,500 litres, the aircraft captain in the right seat monitors a quantity indicator on the instrument panel and calls out the rising quantity until a pre-determined limit is reached. With the maximum available load onboard, the pumping stops and the pilot applies enough power to safely fly out without exceeding any limits. During the climb and en route to the fire a retardant can be injected into the tank allowing for maximum agitation.

Able to cruise at 115kt the S-64E’s tank is calibrated to drop at 60kt from 200ft. On approach to a drop, the pilot-in-command requests a coverage and quantity level be selected appropriate for the fire.

“Selection levels 1 through 8 are available,” said Jones. “To put this into perspective, levels 3-5 would typically be selected for a grass fire, with a setting of 6-8 used to penetrate a heavy forest canopy. For multiple drops a 75, 50 and 25 per cent of the tank quantity can also be selected. A salvo setting can empty a full tank in less than two seconds. On salvo, there isn’t a feeling of shooting skyward once the load is released and the weight comes off. We learn to anticipate the drop and reduce power accordingly. ” In the air the right seat captain runs the show including managing the fuel and handles the navigation and communications.

“The fuel cycle during firefighting operations is typically a two-hour duration so changing out on every cycle breaks up the day for everyone. Although it’s much more fun flying than sitting in the right seat doing all the other stuff. ” Cronin said the key to fighting a fire is a good, hard-hitting delivery. “The water has to come out of the tank fast like a waterfall and it needs to stick together. The Air-Cranes carry a retardant to mix in with the water. Thetype of retardant product used is determined by what the individual states are approved to use. ” Observing the Air-Crane coming in for a drop, the water is a consolidated package, falling like a curtain.

“Mist or spray is no good,” said Cronin. “You need a good solid package of water to break through the canopy and get to the ground where the problem is. There are quite a few new retardant products available that are super absorbent polymers to put in with the water. If we inject these products when we’re loading the water and agitate en route to the drop, when you drop those loads its like dropping an egg yoke, the water congeals. ” Additive products are the future area in aerial firefighting. Aircraft are almost operating to the maximum of their capacity, delivery systems are as good as they are going to get and it is down to the additive products to make it better.

“There are public sensitivities to that, because of environmental effects, but the agencies are dealing with that in a very conservative manner,” said Cronin. “Where we might prefer to use a particular product, the agencies will take a more conservative approach and take a closer look at possible environmental factors and effects that may have long-term ramifications. ” Operating the Crane All of the Air-Cranes are fitted with the Sea Snorkel, a ridged boom that hydraulically extends from the tank.

“It’s possible to pick up sea water, but it just means that the clean up

The risks with operating on NVG at night, versus the outcomes, don’t seem to be justified. RAY CRONIN

at the end of the day takes a little longer,” noted Cronin. “The idea of picking water up on the run has two advantages. One being you’re in translational lift and second you’re keeping the salt spray behind you as much as possible. ” Cronin says questions are regularly asked about the ability to operate the Air-Cranes at night on night vision goggles in the event of a campaign fire.

“The risks associated with operating on NVG at night, versus the outcomes, don’t seem to be justified. Add in the complexities of duty times and maintenance of the machines, particularly if you have flown a 10-hour day, these things are maintenance intensive and they need to be worked on. ” Operating during daylight hours only, the best remedy is to get the cranes airborne early in the morning while the conditions are benign. The peak state of readiness for the Air-Crane crews is between 10am to 6pm.

“All of the Air-Cranes have an air attack platform assigned to them. Kestrel provides three air attack helicopters in the form of Bell 206L LongRangers in NSW and Victoria. They carry an air attack supervisor who acts as a director. They basically keep the strategy together to coordinate with the incident command centre, coordinate with the guys on the ground so the crew in the Air-Crane can concentrate on picking up water and delivering where it is needed. ” With its enormous lifting capability, the opportunity to use an Air-Crane while in Australia for purposes other than aerial firefighting is a common request.

“We do get some inquiries for other heavy lifting, but a lot of the jobs people want are time critical and if we’re on contract we just can’t do it,” said Cronin. “We do have some scope for other lifting work, but it’s always at the end of the season when there is sometimes a small window of opportunity. ”

Return to sender

Erickson has 20 S-64E/F Air-Cranes operating worldwide and is currently building a brand new S-64E, N238AC, to join the cast.

“There’s a shortage of Air-Cranes worldwide,” said Cronin. “We are competing with fire agencies from around the world as everyone’s fire season seems to be extending and people are not wanting to release the machines. And that is typically the same here in Australia as well. The gap between the fire seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres is getting tighter and tighter which causes logistic and planning problems for us. ” The Erickson show does not end in Australia, with solid bookings already taken for the Air-Cranes in the northern hemisphere early in the new year. Their departures will be as staggered as their arrivals and are dependent on when each state contract finishes. Some will need to return to Greece and the others will depart back to the US.

If you miss seeing the Air-Cranes this bushfire season, don’t fret. Kestrel will be bringing the Air-Crane gang back in October for yet another tour.

“They’ll be back again and again, said Cronin. “The Air-Crane has proven to be invaluable for aerial fire fighting in this country. The Air-Cranes were first flying in Victoria in 1997 and I dare say they’ll be in our sky for years to come yet – unlike Elvis I don’t think the Air-Cranes will ever leave the building. ”