We weren’t able to attend the Aerial Firefighting Conference at Sacramento last week, but Ryan Grothe was there, and he sent us some notes and photos.
Coulson Aviation president Britt Coulson spoke at the event; he said this summer Coulson plans to take delivery of a 737-700 series aircraft from Southwest Airlines.
The 737 will have multiple cabin configurations, including head of state, business class, and standard seating. Leveraging off the already successful 737-300 platform, the prototype 737-700 will begin its modification this summer with an expected certification date by the end of 2025.
This will be the first 5000-gallon Large Air Tanker ( LAT ) to enter service. It will be equipped with the RADS-XXL tanking system.
The RADS – XXL systems have also been selected for the tanking of the CAL FIRE C-130s. Coulson has also added more C-130s to its fleet, along with two Citation 500 aircraft for intel and lead operations and a Bombardier Challenger.
The California National Guard operates aerial firefighting helicopters that can be activated from 5 bases:
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- Los Alamitos: UH-60 Black Hawks
- Fresno: CH-47 Chinooks / UH-60M Black Hawks.
- Stockton: Uh-60M Black Hawks / UH72A Lakotas
- Mather: UH-60M Black Hawks
- Moffett: HH-60G Pave Hawks
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Los Alamitos: UH-60M Black Hawks
Fresno: UH-60M Black Hawks.
Stockton: CH-47F Chinooks / UH72A Lakotas
Mather: UH-60L Black Hawks
Moffett: HH-60G Pave Hawks
This is the correct CA National Guard aircraft available for firefighting at the 5 bases.
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