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"Cockpit Cam" Catches Wildfire Action

13 comments

WE’VE HAD DASH CAMS AND HELMET CAMS, now we’re able to view firefighting through the Cockpit Cam.

KTTV Ch. 5 in Los Angeles recently got permission to install a camera in the cockpits of both a Super-Scooper plane and an Ericksson Sky Aircrane helicopter.  They went along for the ride while the planes refilled with water and made their air drops over one of the Los Angeles brush fires. 

Buckle up and ride along with them:

Posted by on September 5, 2009 • Filed under: aircraft, forestry
  • DaGonz

    As a firefighter and a student pilot.. that was way too cool…

    I wonder why CalFire doesn’t own its own fleet of aerial tankers and helos?

  • DaGonz

    As a firefighter and a student pilot.. that was way too cool…

    I wonder why CalFire doesn’t own its own fleet of aerial tankers and helos?

  • firegeezer

    They do, Gonz. They own nearly 50 aircraft and keep them strategically placed around the state so that there is one available within 20 minutes of any location.
    http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_protection/fire_protection_air_program.php

    But when you need more for a couple of fires, especially the big tankers, it’s far cheaper to rent them by the day instead of buying them and maintaining them year-round.

  • firegeezer

    They do, Gonz. They own nearly 50 aircraft and keep them strategically placed around the state so that there is one available within 20 minutes of any location.
    http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_protection/fire_protection_air_program.php

    But when you need more for a couple of fires, especially the big tankers, it’s far cheaper to rent them by the day instead of buying them and maintaining them year-round.

  • DaGonz

    I posted that before morning coffee… I meant to ask why CalFire doesn’t have more of their own aircraft, as it seems that they end up renting more resources every year.

  • DaGonz

    I posted that before morning coffee… I meant to ask why CalFire doesn’t have more of their own aircraft, as it seems that they end up renting more resources every year.

  • Firedawg

    This is way too cool as we don’t get to see stuff like this much in Kansas. Great job to the brothers in the west!!

  • Firedawg

    This is way too cool as we don’t get to see stuff like this much in Kansas. Great job to the brothers in the west!!

  • Dal90

    Was cool…even if the Super Scooper fire located between green, irrigated athletic fields and a highway looked more like a photo op ;)

    Two other things come into play here.

    One, most of the fire is in the National Forest, so it’s federal jurisdiction and they’ll hire their own air resources.

    Second, LA County doesn’t have CalFire attack resources. Them and a couple counties around there CDF contracts state responsibility lands to the county. Kind of the opposite side of the coin to where many California counties contract with for CDF to cover county responsibility fires.

  • Dal90

    Was cool…even if the Super Scooper fire located between green, irrigated athletic fields and a highway looked more like a photo op ;)

    Two other things come into play here.

    One, most of the fire is in the National Forest, so it’s federal jurisdiction and they’ll hire their own air resources.

    Second, LA County doesn’t have CalFire attack resources. Them and a couple counties around there CDF contracts state responsibility lands to the county. Kind of the opposite side of the coin to where many California counties contract with for CDF to cover county responsibility fires.

  • firechick

    CalFire doesn’t own the S-2 fleet. They contract out the maintenance and the flying. The aircraft are owned by the USFS.

  • firechick

    CalFire doesn’t own the S-2 fleet. They contract out the maintenance and the flying. The aircraft are owned by the USFS.

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