{"id":3836,"date":"2018-11-19T21:30:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T02:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?p=3836"},"modified":"2018-11-19T21:30:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T02:30:03","slug":"c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/","title":{"rendered":"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires"},"content":{"rendered":"

California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

So where do all those aircraft come from to fight wild fires?\u00a0 Unbelievably, many are planes for hire. \u00a0I flew with a co-pilot on the MIGHTY KC-135 who left the military, purchased an old plane and started a new career as a fire fighter for hire.<\/p>\n

The last ten years or so have provided many opportunities to use his services.\u00a0 Major wildfires seem to dominate the news each year.\u00a0 This has been the worst wildfire year on record in California.\u00a0 Currently over 230,000 acres in California have burned in the Camp Fire.\u00a0 With 10,000+ structures destroyed and 94 deaths, it is the deadliest wildfire in California history.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for US National Forests through the US Forest Service.\u00a0 The Forest Service contracts with companies and individuals to converge upon wildfires and drop fire retardant.\u00a0 When private companies are completely taxed, the Forest Service turns to the United State military.<\/p>\n

The C-130<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

The Air Force, through the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, has eight C-130 Hercules that can be diverted to the firefighting role.\u00a0 The C-130 has been a workhorse since 1956.\u00a0 The H and J models are used for firefighting.\u00a0 A couple of buddies of mine fly for the Colorado Air Force Reserve out of Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, CO.\u00a0 They spend several weeks a year out in the hot and dry fighting forest fires (https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/doctoraviation\/<\/a>) .<\/p>\n

The navigator is particularly crucial in this role as he\/she direct the aircraft to the most effective heading.\u00a0 Once on target, the fire retardant drops from the aircraft.\u00a0 Three thousand gallons dropped in less than ten seconds.\u00a0 For more information on the C-130\u2019s role see: https:\/\/www.fs.fed.us\/managing-land\/fire\/planes\/maffs<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

The DC-10<\/h3>\n

On the civilian front, an outfit called the Ten Tanker Air Carrier contracts with the Forest Service to provide DC-10s for the firefighting efforts. While it is hard to envision such a large jet aircraft firefighting, the DC-10 can drop almost four times the amount of retardant as the C-130 (about 11,600 gallons).\u00a0 Some of the tallies of retardant drops are found at this site:\u00a0 https:\/\/fireaviation.com\/2017\/07\/18\/lead-plane-pilots-evaluate-the-dc-10-very-large-air-tanker\/<\/a>.\u00a0 In fairness the DC-10 in not nearly as maneuverable as the C-130.\u00a0 For the most beautiful gallery of firefighting aircraft I have ever seen (plus video) go to this link:\u00a0 https:\/\/fireaviation.com\/tag\/dc-10\/<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

The 747<\/h3>\n

The largest and newest firefighting weapon in the arsenal is a modified Boeing 747.\u00a0 You read that correctly — A 747, The Spirit of John Muir<\/em>.\u00a0 The aircraft was cleared to be used in the Summer of 2017 (http:\/\/www.cpr.org\/news\/story\/forest-service-clears-global-supertanker-to-fly-against-wildfires<\/a>).\u00a0 It is based out of Peterson AFB (https:\/\/www.peterson.af.mil\/News\/Article\/860930\/peterson-fire-department-will-provide-emergency-response-for-new-firefighting-a\/<\/a>).\u00a0 It is currently being used on the California wildfires.\u00a0 The 747 can drop six times as much retardant as the workhorse C-130 (over 19,000 gallons).\u00a0 For some excellent video and a tour of the plane see: https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/southern-california-thomas-wildfire-boeing-747-global-supertanker\/<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Those on the ground do the heavy lifting in firefighting.\u00a0 However, the planes overhead must seem like angels sent to help.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide. So where do all those aircraft come from to fight wild fires?\u00a0 Unbelievably, many are planes for hire. \u00a0I flew with a co-pilot on the MIGHTY KC-135 who left the military, purchased an old plane […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":3830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[24],"tags":[909,806,911,908,914,910,913,912],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nC-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires - Doctor Aviation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires - Doctor Aviation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doctor Aviation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-20T02:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"276\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"doctoraviation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"doctoraviation\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/\",\"name\":\"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires - Doctor Aviation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-20T02:30:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-20T02:30:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589\"},\"description\":\"California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":276},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/\",\"name\":\"Doctor Aviation\",\"description\":\"Online Aviation Course By Former Air Force Academy Instructor\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589\",\"name\":\"doctoraviation\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png\",\"caption\":\"doctoraviation\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/doctoraviation\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires - Doctor Aviation","description":"California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires - Doctor Aviation","og_description":"California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.","og_url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/","og_site_name":"Doctor Aviation","article_published_time":"2018-11-20T02:30:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":276,"url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"doctoraviation","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"doctoraviation","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/","name":"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires - Doctor Aviation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-20T02:30:03+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-20T02:30:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589"},"description":"California wildfires continue ablaze this week.\u00a0 So far over 200,000 acres have burned.\u00a0 The C-130 MAFFS helps turn the tide.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg","width":400,"height":276},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/c-130-aircraft-battling-california-wildfires\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"C-130 Aircraft Battling California Wildfires"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/","name":"Doctor Aviation","description":"Online Aviation Course By Former Air Force Academy Instructor","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/922befdb90ced11f66a9cbf3595ed589","name":"doctoraviation","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Doctor-Aviation-Logo-96x84.png","caption":"doctoraviation"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/doctoraviation"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/C-130E_MAFFS_dropping_fire_retardant_Simi_Fire_Southern_California_DF-SD-05-14857-e1542680279429.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paCzTi-ZS","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3836"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}