T-912 after arrival at Albuquerque. Photo by 10 Tanker Air Carrier.
A third DC-10 air tanker is expected to become available in the very near future. 10 Tanker Air Carrier has announced that the conversion of their third Very Large Air Tanker is complete and they expect to receive it at their company headquarters this week in Albuquerque. The final step will be certification by the Forest Service, after which it will be dispatched where requested by fire managers. It will be designated as Tanker 912.
The DC-10s always carry 11,600 gallons of fire retardant unless a smaller load is requested by fire managers. That is three to six times more than conventional air tankers.
(Originally published at 11:24 a.m. MDT, August 3, 2014; revised August 4, 2014)
The issues that kept one of the DC-10s and all three of the MD-87 air tankers grounded for a while have been partially mitigated for the MD-87s, and totally fixed in the case of the DC-10.
DC-10
Tanker 910, a DC-10 operated by 10 Tanker Air Carrier, suffered some damage to a wing on July 19 as it was taxiing at the air tanker base at Moses Lake, Washington. While relocating in the loading pit area the aircraft struck a portable “air stair”, a structure that can be pushed up to the aircraft door. Two people on the ground were marshaling the DC-10 as it slowly moved, directing it where to go and supposedly watching for obstructions. Rick Hatton, President of 10 Tanker, told us that the air tanker was back in service on July 28.
Mr. Hatton said their second DC-10, Tanker 911, has been busy on fires. The third one being built now, Tanker 912, was test flown on August 2. It will enter service later this month, perhaps as early as August 11.
MD-87s
On June 27 Erickson Aero Tanker recalled the three MD-87s they were operating, tanker numbers 101, 103, and 105, “due to intermittent engine surges when dropping [retardant at] high coverage levels”, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Oregonian later reported that retardant was being ingested into the engines. On June 30 Tanker 101 returned to service, but with restrictions. Tanker 105 should be in service the week of August 4, but with same restrictions.
We have confirmed that the air tanker is limited to no more than coverage level four, which is four gallons per 100 square feet — about half of the maximum coverage level for fully capable air tankers. Our understanding of the issue is that the MD-87s have two retardant openings on the belly. On most air tankers they are called “doors”, since they operate much like a door on a hinge, swinging down on some air tankers. But the MD-87 has two “spades”, which function like a stopper in a bathtub. The spade in the aircraft normally plugs the hole, but raises, in a constant-flow manner, to allow retardant to flow around it and exit the aircraft.
Tanker 101 is using just the left spade instead of both. That spade now has half a funnel at the leading edge to get the retardant moving backwards as it comes out. There is a report that a slight mist was still contacting the wing but it appears that retardant is no longer going into the engines. The leading edge slats make that small amount of retardant that touches the wing look worse than it is.
One of the MD-87 pilots is qualified for initial attack.
Phone calls to Erickson Aero Tanker requesting comments on this issue were not returned.
(UPDATED, July 25, 2014: excerpts from SAFECOMS are at the end of the article. UPDATED September 3, 2014: a lessons learned report can be found HERE.)
One of the DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers incurred some damage to a wing July 19, 2014 while it was taxiing at the air tanker base at Moses Lake, Washington. While relocating in the loading pit area Tanker 910 struck a portable “air stair”, a structure that can be pushed up to the aircraft door. Two people on the ground were marshaling the DC-10 as it slowly moved, directing it where to go and supposedly watching for obstructions.
The “air stair” that was struck by the wing.
The wing was damaged on the front and back sides –the aileron and the slats. Rick Hatton, the President of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, said on Sunday that parts to repair the damage were en route to Moses Lake. The company’s other DC-10, Tanker 911, was also at the tanker base when the accident happened.
Mr. Hatton said retardant systems tests on their third DC-10 which is being converted now into an air tanker will begin the week of July 28. In a month or two they hope to have it fully operational. It will be designated as Tanker 912.
Below is a copy of a portion of SAFECOM 14-0491 about the incident. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Below is a copy of a portion of SAFECOM 14-0446 about the incident. Click on the image to see a larger version.:
These photos of a DC-10 air tanker dropping on a fire near Twisp, Washington were no doubt taken with a telephoto lens with the aircraft on the other side of a ridge. From the vantage point of the camera it appears that the aircraft was very low, but camera angles can be deceiving. Regardless, the photos are interesting.
About one-third of the retardant tank that will be fitted onto Tanker 912, the DC-10 that is being converted for 10 Tanker Air Carrier.
10 Tanker Air Carrier has posted some photos on their web page of their third DC-10 air tanker that is under conversion. They expect it will be complete by mid-summer. The aircraft has been added to the exclusive use contract, along with Tankers 910 and 911.
Below is a really shaky cell phone video of one of the DC-10s dropping on the Miguelito Fire at Camp Pendleton in southern California, May 16, 2014.
One of the recommendations from the first report on the Yarnell Hill Fire that killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30, 2013, was:
The Team recommends that the State of Arizona request the WFLC/NWCG to develop a brief technical tip for fire supervisors/agency administrators on the effective use of
[Very Large Air Tankers] VLATs. These are new, emerging fire suppression tools that the ground-based fire supervisors may be utilizing regularly in the future.
Before that report was made public, the state of Arizona released information on July 16, 2013 about the resources deployed on the Yarnell Hill Fire, saying in part, that a DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT) was in Albuquerque and available on June 29 (the day before the fatalities), but was not ordered then due to Air Attack’s concern about its effectiveness in steep terrain and inability to deliver retardant before cut-off time. Dispatch offered the VLAT, a DC-10, to air attack at 5:43 p.m. Few people with knowledge of the terrain on the fire and the capabilities of the DC-10 VLAT would conclude that the terrain was too steep for the DC-10. In fact the next day both DC-10s were used on the fire, making 8 sorties and dropping over 88,000 gallons.
Albuquerque is 308 nautical miles away from the fire, and sunset that day was at 7:47 p.m. The DC-10 cruises at around 370 knots (TAS), so it seems likely that the VLAT could have easily made one drop, 11,600 gallons, before cutoff time of 8:17 p.m., 30 minutes after sunset. The Yarnell fire was not doing too much that day, so a VLAT load of retardant might have made a difference. At 5:30 p.m., before a slopover occurred, there were 13 firefighters working on the fire and only six acres had burned. The fire was not staffed that night, so taking advantage of the drop by ground personnel may have been problematic.
In response to the suggestion in the report about “a brief technical tip” for the use of VLATs, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group distributed the below information to the Geographic Area Coordinating Groups on March 27, 2014. One interesting fact that the USFS developed — for a 100 nm dispatch it costs more than twice as much per gallon (the “user cost”) for four P2V air tankers to deliver 8,320 gallons of retardant than it does for a DC-10 to deliver 11,600 gallons.
****
“US Forest Service Fire & Aviation Management DC-10 Briefing Paper
Updated May 1, 2014
Topic: Follow up – DC-10 Very Large Airtanker (VLAT) Operational Considerations
Issue: The DC-10 has unique operational considerations including low level supervision, terrain, facilities, and cost.
Background: 10 Tanker Air Carrier was awarded a line item for a DC-10 on the Next Generation Large Airtanker Exclusive Use contract and a line item on the Very Large Airtanker (VLAT) Call When Needed contract. These aircraft remain a VLAT in category and require special considerations for use.
Key Points: Low Level Supervision: Aerial supervision is required for this aircraft while dispensing.
The 10 Tanker flight crews will not be issued an initial attack (IA) approval card, so a Leadplane or Aerial Supervision Module must be on scene to direct the resource to the intended dispensing locations.
The cruising speed of the DC-10 is around 370 knots (TAS) which is greater than Large Airtankers (LATs) and leadplanes. Users/ dispatchers need to insure that a LP/ASM will arrive in time to provide aerial supervision.
Trainee Leadplane Pilots (LP) under the supervision of an onboard Leadplane Pilot Instructors (LPI) may conduct VLAT operations. All LPIs are now qualified for VLAT operations and will supervise the trainee during these missions.
Terrain: VLATs are less maneuverable than LATs and should be used in less challenging terrain that affords better maneuverability for dispensing.
The DC-10 is relatively agile for its size; however the momentum is greater and requires planning by the supervising aircraft to provide a stabilized path for delivery.
The VLATs minimum drop height is 200 feet above the top of the vegetation with a target height of 250 feet.
Facilities: The DC-10 weighs between 340,000 and 400,000 lbs. in contract configuration. It has a Dual Tandem wheel configuration.
Tanker Base and parking ramps must have a weight bearing capacity sufficient to support the DC-10. Local bases need to insure both the airport and agency engineering have information indicating ramp capacity. Letters documentation and drawings of the ramp structure must be on file at the airtanker base.
Congestion at a base may preclude operations due to conflicts with other aircraft types.
Air stairs are needed for the crew to enter/exit the aircraft. 10 Tanker is responsible for the payment of the stairs and airtanker personnel are not to operate the equipment.
Loading the aircraft will take anywhere from 12-15 minutes with a three pump/hose configuration or 25 minutes with a one pump/hose setup.
Simultaneous Loading and Fueling and/or Hot Retardant Loading (HRL) is acceptable only after approval of the corresponding Regional Aviation Officer and the local line officer and being added to the base operations plan. The local airtanker base manager (ATBM) is delegated the decision authority once this is in the base plan.
Facilities that accept the DC-10 will need to provide offload capacity of at least 10,000 gallons.
Cost: The FS funds the availability of $27,285 per day. The rate is on par with Next Gen LATs awarded under this contract.
The dry flight rate is $12,750/hour when the aircraft is fully loaded with retardant to 11,600 gallons. When the aircraft is carrying 5500 gallons or less the rate drops to $4598/hour. After 150 hours of use, a further price adjustment occurs.
The DC-10 has an hourly fuel consumption of 2275 gallons when carrying 5500 gallons or less and 2550 gallons per hour when fully loaded. The Forest Service utilizes the Aviation Into-plane Reimbursement (AIR) cards sponsored by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for purchasing fuel. This provides the government a cost savings of about $1.50 per gallon from the retail rate.
Contact: Scott Fisher, WO-FAM National Airtanker Program Manager (208) 387-5968.”
In the May 15, 2014 video below, CNN reporter Ted Rowlands goes on a ride along in one of Neptune’s BAe-146s, and talks to Rick Hatton about his DC-10s.
Tanker 910, a DC-10, at Rapid City, April 23, 2013. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
The U.S. Forest Service has added a second DC-10 on the exclusive use “next-gen” air tanker contract. Rick Hatton, the President and CEO of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, told Fire Aviation that their second DC-10 very large air tanker, Tanker 911, has been added to the exclusive use fleet. It had been on a call when needed contract, and would only be activated occasionally, and only if it was available.
Mr. Hatton said their third DC-10 which is being converted now, Tanker 912, should be airborne “by mid-season”, and it is also is being added to the exclusive use contract. So by sometime this summer, there will be three DC-10s available to fight fire.
10 Tanker owns three other DC-10s that are awaiting modification, Mr. Hatton said.
The video shows one of the DC-10 very large air tankers making a drop on the San Miguelito Fire south of Lompoc, California. More information about the fire can be found at webpronews. The DC-10 carries 11, 600 gallons of retardant.
UPDATE: in response to some of the comments, below is a video of the DC-10 making a drop on what is definitely not a long, flat flank.
And another, suggested by “R”:
And, by Steve:
This next video is from the Falls Fire on the west side of Lake Elsinore in southern California, August 5, 2013. Photos taken at the fire, including one from overhead as the DC-10 made the drop, are at Wildfire Today.
A freight train spraying sparks along railroad tracks in southern Maine started multiple wildfires in five cities on Thursday. Firefighters responded from 20 communities to the five alarm incident to battle fires in South Portland, Scarborough, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, and Biddeford. The worst hit area was the Wagon Wheel RV Resort and Campground, at 3 Old Orchard Beach Road. Firefighters said 10 campers were destroyed and another six were damaged.
Veterans hired as firefighters in New Mexico
A state-funded program in New Mexico called “Returning Heroes” is putting 46 veterans to work as wildland firefighters. More information can be found at KOAT.
Rain on the fires in Oklahoma
About an inch of rain Wednesday night is helping firefighters in Oklahoma suppress and mop up the fires near Guthrie and Woodward.
Air tanker arrives early at Santa Maria
A DC-10 and other firefighting aircraft are stationed at the Santa Maria airport in California about a month earlier than normal. A spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service said the planes were brought to Santa Maria early because of recent red flag warnings for extreme fire danger in the area.
Prose in a Police Log
The Police Log published in the Georgetown Record in Massachusetts does not waste any words. An entry about a vegetation fire on April 25, for example:
9:48 p.m. Services were rendered for a brush fire on Nelson Street.
Other services “rendered” included “a utility emergency on East Main Street”, “a disabled motor vehicle on Andover Street”, and “an animal complaint on Central Street”.
It takes years of experience and training to write an official report in the style of a firefighter or police officer.
