Cobra Helicopters Being Retired by US Forest Service

[Larry Kraus]

I never worked directly with Cobras as Air Attacks while I flew tankers, but I was aware that they were being used. In the posting from the Fire Aviation website by Bill Gabbert there are links at the end to more posts on the Cobra program.

https://fireaviation.com/2021/10/18/for ... r-program/

AEEE6DC5-FA5C-426F-ABBC-18637798A163 by tanker622001, on Flickr

AEE801FD-0740-40B5-B260-D81056093AF5 by tanker622001, on Flickr

9DA77BD3-798D-47F6-9778-2C4BF32DA5B3 by tanker622001, on Flickr

9D02B844-9C9A-4059-8C50-D41C3EC22F36 by tanker622001, on Flickr

ACC97292-39CE-4214-9DD2-289581ADF74F by tanker622001, on Flickr

[junkman9096]

This was at Ukiah CA airport in August 2018 during the Ranch/River complex fire (then the largest fire complex in California recorded history). Its since been eclipsed.



Taken with my cell phone.

[p51]

I have heard over the year through various sources that Brian Reynolds (who started up the Olympic Fight museum in Olympia WA) apparently was the broker for cobras through the DoD. One of his pilots once told me that if you see a Cobra in private ownership, it passed through him at one point.
WA state had a few of them, though I never saw one in the air (saw them on the ground many times, though). I had no clue the USFS had them, though it makes sense. I'd think they would be an excellent platform for fighting fires as they would have been for popping Soviet tanks and troops in the Fulda Gap as they were designed.

[ZRX61]

The original plan was to use them with bambi buckets, but Bell put the kybosh on that by pointing out Cobra's weren't certified for lift ops. Six of them ended up stored at Tehachapi for a few years & were dispersed to museums about two years ago.
This one went to the American Huey 369 guys at Grissom.