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Smokejumpers

Started by Ron Scott, November 13, 2009, 10:19:23 AM

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Ron Scott

Great! Maybe a future Smokejumper. ;)
~Ron

Qweaver

In 1961 when I was a 17 year old paratrooper the idea of becoming a smokejumper seemed to be a logical and exciting profession to follow after my service time.  When I finally ended my Army career in 1971 the reality of the danger of exiting an aircraft over a live fire became much more clear to me.  Teaching school during the week and jumping for fun during the weekend became much more appealing and the path to a much longer lifespan.  I've met and talked to a few real smokejumpers and those gents are the real deal.  Way more moxie than I have.  They have all of my respect.
Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

Ron Scott

Smokejumper Aircraft. The Shorts Sherpa C-23 waits to take a crew of 10 jumpers to a California fire. The vintage Ford Tri-Motor transported many of the early smokejumpers on their fire suppression missions. Other aircrtaft, still popular as jump planes are the Douglas DC-3TP and the Twin Otter DH-6300. Missoula, Montana, 9/09.



~Ron

SwampDonkey



Here is a de Havilland Twin Otter (red) and 2 single Otters at Harbour Air in Prince Rupert, BC. Flown in them all, including the Beaver. I remember reading the manufacturers tag inside the single engine Otter planes and remembering these planes were 1950's vintage and still in service. The Beavers were from the 40's I think. ;D :o  The Twin Otter began production in Canada in the 60's after the availability of Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-20 propeller turbine engine. Viking Air in Victoria, BC now has exclusive rights to make replacement parts and new Otter aircraft.  The Twin Otter now has a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 or 35 (option) engine since 2007.

Oh, the smell of airplane fuel exhaust in the fuselage. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

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pappy19

I'd go about anywhere on a Twin Otter. Hell of an aircraft and very popular with Smokejumpers.
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firefighter

We watch the MANN Gulch documentary each year as part of our standard traning .We do not have smoke jumpers in our program .It was avery sad event ,this year while in BC we hade a helcopter pilot die in a crash it was a very sad day .Hopefully theseevents never happen again.

Ron Scott

Parachute Hanging Room. Smokejumper parachutes are packed out after the fire jump and are then hung in the hanging room at the base for safety inspection and repacking by a certified paracute packer.









USFS smokejumpers still use the traditional round parachute while the BLM smokejumpers use the ram-air parachutes of the parafoil type which have greater steerability, glide, and control. The USFS may change to this type chute in the future.
Missoula, Montana, 9/09
~Ron

Ron Scott

Forest Service Reviews No-Night-Flying Rule

The Los Angeles Times reported the US Forest Service is reviewing its practice of not flying firefighting helicopters at night, in an apparent response to criticism of how the agency handled the early hours of the huge Station fire.

At the urging of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Board of Supervisors last week called on the federal government to authorize deployment of water-dropping choppers after dark to battle fires in the Angeles National Forest, where the Station blaze began to spread on its first night. The Forest Service has long considered night flying too risky for pilots.

For more information, visit the Los Angeles Times website.

~Ron

SwampDonkey

Seems risky to me also. That tail rotor striking a tree top or something. We always had to be careful even landing in a swamp in the forest, so a cedar shrub wouldn't get struck and take the rotor out. Pilots were very safety conscience. They would often land with full power on if they though the ground was a bit soft in those swamps. Had to step easy getting out and grabbing the gear. I've seen lots of hovers to. Many times if we had 4 guys the Jet Ranger had to take two off the swamp at a time, not all four. Not enough umph to lift off unless there was a good breeze. The Hughes 500 (The "Angry Egg" we called it) had no troubles, could seat 5 guys and lots a power.

Had one Russian pilot who took chances, actually brought a chopper down doing unsafe flying and was sent packing after wards. No one was killed, thank God. The fool had 4 passengers on board doing what we were doing in the bush.

We had a nice woman pilot to, she was easy on the eyes. I liked sitting up front. ;D :D She had eyes for another pilot, as if this bald forester had a chance. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

pappy19

Night retardant drops would really be the most effecient since the humidity is up and the fire usually dies down somewhat. I think if they had a good fire team with air traffic control just for that fire, it would work, especially with choppers.
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Ron Scott

The Johnson Flying Service DC-3 # NC 24320 which dropped the smokejumpers on the Mann Gulch Fire on the Helena National Forest. The plane is located in the Museum of Mountain Flying next to the smokejumper base at the Missoula, Montana airport.




In Memory of: The 12 Mann Gulch Fire Smokejumpers and 1 Firechaser who lost their lives in the fire.


~Ron

Ron Scott

DC-3 Tail # 24320. This Johnson Flying Service DC-3 which dropped the smokejumpers on the Mann Gulch Fire on August 5, 1949 has an interesting story. The Museum of Mountain Flying which has a number of vintage aircraft tried to obtain DC-3 #24320 and searched for it for a long time. It could not be found.

The aircraft had become lost from history when an Eastern aircraft pilot flying his route spotted it in a junked condition sitting in an over grown field . The Eastern pilot recalled the tail numbers #24320 as the plane that dropped the Mann Gulch smokejumpers. He contacted the Museum of Mountain Flying of its location. A fund raiser was initiated and the aircraft was returned to Missoula, Montana, its home, where is was restored and placed on display in the Museum of Mountain Flying.

The front cockpit of #24320




DC-3, tail #24320


~Ron

Ron Scott

Ex-Smokejumpers Fix Up Old Oregon Base for Museum

Ashland Daily Tidings (June 23) - More than 50 former smokejumpers from across the nation have gathered to help turn the former
Siskiyou Smokejumper Base into a museum about the airborne firefighters.

The E-Forester
~Ron

Ron Scott

Forest Service Smokejumper Retires with Record for Parachute Jumps

A North Cascades Smokejumper Base (Washington) employee retired September 20 after completing 893 Forest Service parachute jumps—a record that may never be broken given the longevity of his 38-year smokejumping career.  Dale Longanecker's total Forest Service parachute jumps include practice, fire suppression and rescue jumps.  His record includes 362 fire jumps. 

Smokejumpers often make a distinction between practice and fire suppression jumps because the latter are often more hazardous and located far from medical assistance.  The excitement of parachuting to forest fires was not the reason he jumped for 38 years.  "It was the opportunity to be on small fires in remote locations," Longanecker said.  "It was just a great way to see the country."

The base's parachute loft supervisor and a Federal Aviation Administration-approved master parachute rigger, he worked with the Missoula Technology and Development Center before retirement to develop an FS-15 parachute prototype which will potentially replace the FS-14 parachute now used by all Forest Service smokejumpers.

The Chief's Newsletter
~Ron

mad murdock

I worked as a contract mechanic on smokejumper contracts in Alaska in 1992-93, We supplied them with CASA 212-200 Aviocar aircraft.  They were much favored over the Shorts 330 Sherpa, as they could climb faster, cruise faster, and were an all around better platform.  I have to say I much enjoyed the USDDA F/S smokejumpers as a lot, over working with the BLM smokejumpers.  The latter had quite the ego trip going on, compared to their F/S cousins, but I guess you have to have somewhat of a big head to want to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft into a raging fire..  My hat is off to all smokejumpers, as it is definately a job that I would not want to do!
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pappy19

I was in McCall, Idaho this late summer and took one of my grandson's up to the McCall airport just in time to see 12 smoke jumpers load up in a Twin Otter with all of their gear. It was pretty cool. Don't know where they were going or if it was just a training mission, but cool, nontheless. When I was working for the USFS on the Island Park, Idaho District, we always had 10-15 Smoke Jumpers assigned to our district early before the real fire season was on. They would cut dead and fallen trees in the camp grounds, mow lawns, fix fences, etc. Hard workers and hard drinkers at night. I have alot of stories, but no need to tell most of them.

Pap
2008 F-250 V-10
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Kubota 900 RTV
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Qweaver

893 jumps on round canopies under tough conditions is just remarkable.  I had 21 military jumps in a 3 year period so 893 in 30 years is a bunch.  In skydiving we often make 8 to 10 each weekend but that is under ideal conditions with soft landing canopies on smooth wide open fields.  That guy is tough!!!
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

sawguy21

I helped rig the Bell 212's for rapattack (rappelling)training at Hinton Alberta each year before the fire season started. The rig was seldom used during the season but was there if needed. We called them dope on a rope but my hat is off to them and the smoke jumpers. I have never liked the idea of jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. :-\
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Ron Scott

Have spent some time over California in the Bell 212. Some of my memorable fire fighting experiences with the US Forest Service was training and working with the Helishots in southern California on the Angeles National Forest during 1978.
~Ron

clww

893 is a bunch of jumps, especially into difficult terrain and usually unknown wind conditions! That's nearly 4X my number of jumps, currently at 249. My hat is off to those brave men and women.
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

SwampDonkey

Yes, that sure is a lot of floating canvas. ;D They must love the job though.  ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

RobbyRob

I thought this was about the show Entourage
nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future

madhatte

The father of a good friend of mine passed away a few weeks ago.  Don Brennan was the first Alaska Smokejumper.  He was quite a character and will be missed by all who knew him.

Ron Scott

Montana: Smokejumpers' Last DC-3 Gets Ready to Work

Missoulian.com (February 21) - Just shy of her 70th birthday, Jump-15 can still spool up faster than the smokejumpers she carries.

The young men and women going to fight wildfires have 10 minutes to get dressed out, briefed and loaded. The old DC-3 needed just eight minutes to rev her engines and quit the Earth on the first shakedown flight of 2015.

But to the dismay of many of her pilots and passengers, this will be Jump-15's last firefighting season.

The E-Forester
~Ron

pineywoods

Those old dc3's just refuse to die.There is a company based on the airport in Oshkosh, Wi that buys up old run-out dc3's and makes what is essentially a new airplane out of them. New more powerful turbine engines, all new electrical and hydraulic systems, and up-dated avionics. A lot of them go overseas. But Dangit, they just don't sound right with them turbine powerplants..
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