Coulson C-130 Tanker Drop Pictures

[Larry Kraus]

These pictures showed up on both the Fire Aviation and Wildfire Today websites today. Pretty spectacular. Looks like a good tie-in to the retardant in the foreground in the rocks.

0D17A32C-C1A5-4A32-9873-44E06F1EF1F5 by tanker622001, on Flickr

9BF08A01-676A-42E5-9911-3343078CEC84 by tanker622001, on Flickr

1E059FD3-2905-4FA7-AFD8-7F3AA1D2A094 by tanker622001, on Flickr

Here is ttevFire Aviation article

https://fireaviation.com/2020/07/27/exc ... aren-fire/

[Randy Haskin]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing.

[Ken]

My other favorite Warbird, The Mighty Herk, Four Fans of Freedom!

Thanks for sharing these stunning pix.

Ken

[Scott Rose]

I always thought the Coulson scheme was an odd choice but brilliant at the same time. Having a white scheme is good for visibility and is practical in that aspect but messy with the borate <sp> residue. But the red accents tend to make it blend in pretty well.

[Larry Kraus]

There were some good pictures of one of the ex-Aero Union P-3’s that is now operated by Airstrike posted on the Fire Aviation website a while back. Airstrike now operates T22 and T23. One is on a State of Colorado contract and the other is Call When Needed with Cal Fire. It’s good to see P-3s again.

6FB84BCE-E308-4822-9FA2-F257509E0D79 by tanker622001, on Flickr

1953F087-7315-4104-A8D4-74955A4970AD by tanker622001, on Flickr

F858F4BF-E2C1-4D3A-83EF-3556BA5E06B3 by tanker622001, on Flickr

This is the fire that the P-3 was working

0B1AECD3-B109-40E0-BD5A-8BB9C79FAF65 by tanker622001, on Flickr

104AF9C8-68AF-47F9-B484-10C42FB33A4E by tanker622001, on Flickr

[airnutz]

Cool photos Larry!! Thanks! Quick question Larry. Tho it's often referred to as borate, the slurry ya'll drop is borate-free since sometime in the early 60's because it was caustic to tree and vegetation regrowth. When do you recall it being phased out?

[Larry Kraus]

The current long term retardant is Phos-Chek. It is a gum thickened product. I always preferred LC (Liquid Concentrate) which was a water-like product that I thought penetrated the heavy vegetation in the Northwest better than gum thickened retardant. L.C. was manufactured by a different company. Unfortunately, for various reasons, Phos-Chek is the only product available these days. It’s probably just a coincidence that the price per gallon has gone up considerably since the competition ended. Just my opinion as a former tanker pilot.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phos-Chek

https://phoschek.com/

Last edited by Larry Kraus on Sat Aug 01, 2020 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[airnutz]

Thank you Sir! I've enjoyed your posts over the years.
James

[Pogo]

Thank you Sir! I've enjoyed your posts over the years.

Couldn't have said it better myself -- I always sit up and take notice when you post!

[Scott Rose]

Thank you Sir! I've enjoyed your posts over the years.

Couldn't have said it better myself -- I always sit up and take notice when you post!

Definitely!

[Larry Kraus]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Aero Air’s (Erickson’s) ex-Eastern Airlines DC-7B N838D Tanker 60 is still flying on the final year of a Medford Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) contract. T60 went on duty July 19th and has been busy working fires near Medford and currently one near Hood River.

1B398BF6-5CC4-4650-BDB4-DDF52D30ECD9 by tanker622001, on Flickr

5EB19F50-A753-44E8-B119-A182500D3C52 by tanker622001, on Flickr


These aren’t the best quality, but are taken from Medford TV station KDRV’s website

331D97CE-5B34-43A0-9960-CEC8FC7FBC95 by tanker622001, on Flickr

966A18C7-9CC7-4642-95EB-04787EF16AB6 by tanker622001, on Flickr