T-42 – Wildfire Today

Photos of some of the first F7F-3 air tankers

(Originally published at 4:17 p.m. MDT June 20, 2019)

Today we have another couple of photos from the Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base — an F7F-3 (N7625C) registered to Fred Arnberg Inc out of Yreka, California. In these photos there is a small “2” on the tail and also on the nose wheel cover.

A photo at Goodall.com.au shows an F7F-3 registered to Fred Arnberg with the same N number but with different livery and a large “22” on the tail. That website says Arnberg operated the first F7F-3 Grumman Tigercats as air tankers for several seasons in the early 1960s. This particular aircraft was purchased February 27, 1962 and by September 24, 1962 had hit trees and crashed near Callahan, California.

In the photo below you can see painted on the underside of the right-side wing.

And here is one more F7F-3 known as Tanker 22. It is N7238C operated by Cal-Nat Airways out of Grass Valley, California. Other owners were Dick Gordon of Santa Rosa, California and Sis-Q Flying Service of Montague, California.

F7F-3 air tanker (N7238C) operated in the 1960s by Cal-Nat Airways and other companies.

(UPDATED at 10 a.m. MDT June 20, 2019)

Bill Bailey sent us an email and the photo below:

N7635C had AERO on the top of the left wing and bottom of the right wing and it has AD on top of the right wing and under the left. There were 2 AERO AD F7F-3s, N7625C , which you posted and N7626C which was later owned by Cal-Nat, still painted all Red and marked as Tanker E-42.

I found the attached photo some years ago and don’t remember who took it.

By the way, that first photo solved a question among modelers that has raged for years ….. was AERO AD painted on top of the wings.

F7F-3, N7626C, operated by Cal-Nat Airways, Grass Valley, California. Purchased around 1960 from Aero Ads Inc. skywriter. Sold to Sis Q Flying Service in 1969. (according to goodall.com.au). Photo by William T. Larkins at Oakland, CA., date unknown.

Thanks go out to Bill B.

(UPDATED at 4:46 p.m. MDT June 20, 2019)

JD Davis sent us additional photos of the F7F-3. Thanks JD!

DC-7, N7626 air tanker — F7F-3, N7626, Tanker 42. By JD Davis, who said tanker pilot Ed Real took it to the ‘California 1000’ Air Race at Mojave Nov, 1971 — Qualified it but didn’t race it.

Photos of two DC-7 air tankers from 1975

DC-7 air tanker, Tanker 60, N838D, August, 1975 at Lancaster, CA.

(Originally published at 4:58 p.m. PDT June 17, 2019)

The Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base called and asked if we were interested in accepting some old photos of air tankers that they didn’t know what to do with. I said, “Of course!”

I’ll be posting some of them off an on over the next few days and weeks.

Today we have two DC-7 air tankers that were photographed in August, 1975. The locations on many of the photos say Lancaster, California, and that is the case for these. There is no indication who took any of the photos. The aircraft model, N number, location taken, and the month/year are hand-written on the backs.

DC-7 air tanker, Tanker 69, N45W — DC-7 air tanker, Tanker 69, N4SW, August, 1975 at Lancaster, CA.

Most of the photos were taken while the aircraft were on the ground, a few show them airborne, and only a couple show them dropping water, which were probably a test flights.

If anyone has more information about these aircraft, such as what company operated them and the pilots who flew them, that would be great.

(UPDATED at 6:20 a.m. PDT June 18, 2019)

After getting more information in the comments from Tom Story and Jon (thanks folks), it turns out that there was an error in the hand written notation on the back of the Tanker 69 print. The N number should have been N4SW instead of N45W. I fixed the caption in the photo above.

And, like Tom said, the two DC-7s were operated by Butler, according to the information at Geoff Goodall’s Aviation website. In 2012, Tanker 60, N838D, was transferred to Erickson Aero Tanker and is still in operation.

Tanker 60 DC-7 Madras, Oregon — Chuck Rhodes, Erickson Aero Tanker Maintenance Supervisor, with Tanker 60, a DC-7 at Madras, Oregon, June 13, 2016. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

In his comment, Jon said, “Tanker 69 was the one lost on the way to Medford from Klamath Falls for the end of the season party in 1979. My dad knew most of them.” Here is some of the information he referenced at aviation-safety.net:

[On September 14, 1979] DC-7 “Tanker 69” departed Redmond, OR a company business flight to Medford, OR, with an en route stop at Klamath Falls, OR. The aircraft struck trees on the crest of Surveyor Mountain and crashed. The aircraft departed Redmond for Klamath Falls about 19:45 and arrived there at 20:29. Two passengers enplaned and the aircraft departed runway 14 at Klamath Falls at 20:40.The aircraft struck trees on the crest of the 6400 feet high Surveyor Mountain about 7 minutes after takeoff.

PROBABLE CAUSE: “The flight crew’s decision to undertake a direct point-to-point high-cruise-speed flight at low altitude. The crew’s judgment in the selection of a low-altitude flight profile may have been influenced by their familiarity with the terrain.”

CLASSIFICATION: Controlled flight into terrain.

Any crash of an air tanker is awful, usually killing two or three crew members, but in this case 12 people died — two crew members and 10 passengers. May they rest in peace.

The NTSB report can be found here.

(UPDATED at 4:46 p.m. MDT June 20, 2019)

JD Davis sent us additional photos of these aircraft. Thanks JD!

DC-7, N4SW air tanker — DC-7, N4SW, variously known as Tanker 19 or Tanker 69. Photo by JD Davis. At Ontario (ONT) Sept., 1974.

DC-7, N838D air tanker — DC-7, N838D, Tanker 60, by JD Davis. At San Bernardino (SBD) Oct. 17, 1999.

DC-7 F7F history T-42 T-60 T-69

Eclipse as seen from an air tanker base

Solar Eclipse 21 Aug 2017 from WolfVision on Vimeo.

Geoff Agosti shot this time-lapse video at the Redmond, Oregon Air Tanker Base during the total solar eclipse August 21. The air tanker in the foreground is Tanker 42, a CV-580.

T-42

Tanker 42 in slow motion

This is a very cool video of Tanker 42 dropping on the Bell Creek Fire — behind Birddog 840.

Alaska T-42

Canadian air tankers headed to Alaska

conair tanker 42 — Air Tanker 42, a Convair 580, taxiing for takeoff at Whitehorse Airport, Yukon, Canada. Photo by D. Cote, Yukon Fire Management.

At least seven air tankers are being sent from Canada to Alaska to help with the wildfire situation developing in that state. Here are the aircraft that we are aware of that stopped at Whitehorse, Yukon, for fuel:

Tanker 42, a Convair 580, from Slave Lake, Alberta, operated by Conair.
Four CL-215Ts from Slave Lake, Alberta, with two Bird Dogs, operated by Conair.
Two Convair 580s out of Williams Lake, B.C. passed through Whitehorse a couple of days ago on their way to Alaska.

Two CL-415s — Two CL-215Ts refuel at Whitehorse Airport, Yukon, Canada, en route to Alaska. Photo by D. Cote, Yukon Fire Management.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to D. Cote.

CL-215 CV-580 T-42

Tanker base operations during the High Park fire

Shane Harvey took these photos at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (JEFFCO) showing the two Convair 580 air tankers that are working the High Park Fire. In one photo you can see the smoke column as viewed from the airport, which is 48 miles away. Thanks Shane. We have more information including a map of the High Park fire HERE.

High Park Fire as seen from JEFFCO airport 6-9-2012 — High Park Fire (48 miles northwest) as seen from JEFFCO airport June 9, 2012

air tanker High Park Fire T-42 T-45

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