Plane Talk
Fire Attack Helicopters Flock to Santa
Ynez Airport
If there is any
doubt about the worth of the local airport, the start of July proved its worth
as it became the base for several air-attack helicopters. The Rancho Fire
at the far-east end of Lake Cachuma started the evening of June 30, bringing
reinforcements to the Forest Service base currently at Santa Ynez Airport.
By containment
on July 3, there were still a half dozen helicopters and dozens of fire
personnel still on duty at the airport. At about 10:45 a.m. July 4, a
county Sheriff helicopter crew spotted a rising plume of smoke from the area
near the northern end of Figueroa Mountain Road, between the Neverland Ranch
and Zaca Lake. Fire attack crews and helicopters had a clear view of the
area involved and immediately began operations to knock down the blaze.
Leading a
14-person module of fire fighters was Superintendent Rene Gonzales, a
38-year-old firefighter from Chuchpate who has been with the U.S. Forest
Service for17 years. Gonzales’ crew of five converged on a just-landed
Bell 212, assisting pilot John Davis in preparing it for fire-fighting
operations. The Bell can carry a fire attack crew of seven or 340 gallons
of liquid fire suppressant in a quick drop tank. The crewmembers were Jim
Oshima, 33, Oakland, Kevin Christy, 24, Pine Mountain, Lyndsay Alarcon, 23,
Oxnard, Scott Soden, 26, Maricopa and Matt Sanders, 26, Frazier Park.
The Forest
Service’s operations occupied the entire east side of the ramp area, as well as
temporary landing zones along the south perimeter, east of the runway. A
crew of four worked on the largest helicopter there on July 3, a Sikorsky
SK-61, a 12,000 pound, heavy-lift helicopter. This particular Sikorsky
had a rather interesting history. At one time it was owned by Donald Trump
and was used to shuttle high-roller gamblers from New York City to the Trump
casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On July 3, pilot Aaron Olympius,
38, and crew members Brian Barglick, 30, Von Hopkins, 38, and Pastor Ramos, 39,
were performing maintenance on the aircraft in preparation for air-attack
operations.
The Sikorsky is
a large helicopter with a maximum gross weight of 22,000 pounds and is powered
by a General Electric T-58 turbine engine with an output of 1,300 horsepower.
Outfitted with an external water tank, the Sikorsky can deliver 1,000 gallons
of fire suppressant in a single drop.
By the evening
of the fourth, fire crews were still battling the fire and were about to be
reinforced by a pair of CH-54 Sikorsky Skycranes. These massive, heavy-lift
helicopters are so large they can straddle a semi-trailer and can lift an
artillery piece.
Photos to Go
with Fire Attack Helicopter story
Experimental Aircraft
Association Spot Landing Contest
By Robert Perry
The local
chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) held its annual Fourth
of July spot landing contest and barbecue at the Santa Ynez Airport last week.
Competing for
top pilot honors were several local pilots flying aircraft such as a British
Tiger Moth, a Cessna 140, a 1940 Culver Cadet and an experimental Long EZ.
With
temperatures near 100 degrees, about 20 members of the local chapter gathered
near runway 26 at Santa Ynez Airport as first the slow airplanes departed for
turns around the pattern. A chalk line was placed about 500 feet from the
threshold of runway 26; pilots were credited with a landing at the point where
any wheel of the aircraft touched and remained in contact with the runway beyond
the designated line. Touchdown before the line drew a disqualification.
Carl Walston,
flying his 1940 Culver Cadet took the spot landing honors with a landing within
12 feet of the line.
After the spot landing contest, club members retired to the newly
clean club hanger for a barbecue attended by about 70 club members. Club member
Stan Peternel provided the barbecuing and chef duties. Peternel and Lloyd
Sorensen set up the runway lines for the event.