After just one single wildfire, a new emergency response helicopter has already demonstrated its firefighting chops to the staff of Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department.
The helicopter in question is a Sikorsky S70i, and at the flick of a switch, it can drop hundreds of gallons of water right on target even over the roughest terrain.
According to statements by Matthew Miller, a pilot for the Fire Department, a nascent fire that sprung up on June 2nd south of Banning was easily extinguished after Miller brought in the Sikorsky and flipped a single switch to drop exactly 500 gallons of the helicopter’s 1000 water load on one sport and then a further 500 gallons on another spot.
The Banning fire only managed to consume 75 acres of brush and trees before being suffocated and Miller thanks the new S70i helicopter for the effective response. The pilot explained that with the Departments’ older Vietnam-era Super Hueys, he would have been forced to drop his entire, much smaller load of water in one go and then head back to pick up more.
In the meantime according to Miller, “That fire might have been off to the races”.
Cal Fire proudly displayed one of its 12 new Sikorsky Fire Hawk helicopters during a June 4th event at Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base. Each machine costs $26 million and the full roster of them is replacing an equal number of aging Hueys. The new machines are being deployed across the state just as wildfire threats rise to new levels.
The new Sikorsky S70i choppers don’t just beat their Huey predecessors on water tank capacity and age. They’re also superior performers across the board. One of these birds can outpace a Huey while also having a greater range. It can carry a larger load of passengers too.
Most importantly though, while the old Super Hueys could only manage a single cargo of 300 gallons of water, the new S7Oi offers a 1000 gallon tank whose load can be dropped all at once and in increments of 500 or 250 gallons at a time.
Cal Fire pilot Miller also loves the Sikorsky’s safety features, which include a twin-engine system that lets the chopper stay aloft even if one engine dies. “To me, the big boast with this is being able to get these guys home safely”, according to the former Navy Reserve pilot.
Charter emergency response helicopter services are available for rapid response, firefighting, and other urgent situations. Their expertly trained staff can offer some of the most advanced equipment available on a charter basis without the need for purchases of entirely new machines.
Photo Credit: Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG