Each year, several squadrons of C-130 aircraft are readied for firefighter duty: the 145th Air Wing from Charlotte, N.C., 146th Air Wing from Point Hueneme, Calif., 302nd Wing of the Air Force Reserves from Colorado Springs, and the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyoming. The mission has been limited to these few squadrons because there are only eight of the Mobile Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) available for these units to use to rope in wildfires.
But other military transport squadrons could lend them a hand in the near future. Boeing and Weyerhaeuser, working with Flexible Alternatives and ICL Performance Products, have come up with a new firefighting system that recalls an era when the mighty 8th Air Force carpet-bombed objectives. The system has been labeled “PCADS,” which stands for “Precision Container Air Delivery System.”
Were enabling [the military] to carry out their existing mission of aerial delivery without endangering the crews or the airplanes, while providing a higher level of [firefighting] effectiveness, said Rick Goddard, Director of Sales in Weyerhaeuser’s Bulk Packaging Group and a former Marine aviator. If you can provide a solution that is more effective, both in cost and on the ground, that is consistent with the tools and training [of the military], and is better for the environment [than current firefighting chemicals], look at the benefits.
PCADS is basically a 4-foot cubic box with a biodegradable bladder inside. The package can be loaded onto any number of military transport planes (16 onto a C-130, 70 onto a C-17) and rolled out the back over a fire per the SOP for performing food drops. The lid of the package flies upward, pulling on straps that rip the bladder open, spilling water, fire retardant, or firefighting gel into the air.
PCADS separates the aerial firefighting system from the delivery aircraft, said William Cleary, an Advanced Systems Project Manager for Boeing in Long Beach, California. It allows for safe delivery day or night while utilizing aircraft delivery systems to ensure aerial firefighting accuracy.
And one of the biggest assets to the program is that it is a mission familiar to transport crews across the military. PCADS is a technology that can be modified or changed with little or no cost to the consumer, which compares well when considering a fixed aerial asset such as an air tanker or modular mechanical system, said Ty Bonnar, Vice President of Simi Valley-based Flexible Alternatives and PCADS Director of Operations. PCADS is simple but effective technology which can be used on various aircraft, including the C-130, C-27, IL-76, and C-17 basically any platform with a ramp and cargo bays.
Bottom line: PCADS increases the number of aircraft capable of fighting wildfires. The PCADS project is an exciting development as an alternative aerial firefighting application approach, said Gordon Springell, Gel Business Leader for ICL Performance Products. With the use of Phos-Chek Aqua Gel-K, as seen during the recent Kingman trial, the enhancement of the water medium [with gel] improves, quite dramatically, the PCADS drop characteristics, and retention of moisture on the ground, and, therefore, the ability to extinguish burning fuels on forest fires, especially in direct attack.
Go here to see a video and a more detailed description of the PCADS system.
Cool, i assume its a lot more costly than a regular fire tanker, but thoos cant land, and then go airlift supply’s to the firefighter FOB.
A ro-ro system for turning stern ramp freighters into firefighters has always struck me as a good idea. Good to see someone taking it a step further.
Something about this system seems an interim step, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. At the very least, it seems like a system that’s adaptable to different substances — i.e., you can drop anything that would stop a fire. Might also work for dropping other environmental packages.
It makes sense, too. The guys and gals in the Reserves and Guard gotta do their hours to stay current in their birds. Something like this seems more interesting than dicking around in the pattern, doing touch and goes. And, if half what we’re told about global warming is true, the fires are only going to get worse.
At the end of the day, there’s more to national security than fighting wars. Even that’s a form of putting out fires.
Go, team, go.
None of global warming is true, so we don’t have to worry about that one. I never thought of that but you have a great idea there, heck they have to fly sometime.
I’m sorry, two-two — I didn’t realize we had a climatologist aboard. My mistake.
Ok, as a former USFS wildland firefighter, let me weigh in on this.
It does appear to be a novel approach to retardant delivery. I would imagine the boxes are relatively cheap to purchase, and I assume they are loadable (fillable rather) at the airfield, which would allow you to tailor the load to meet requirements (Phos-check, water, water and soap, what have you.) This system also allows you to use it on any stern-ramp equipped aircraft as well, so you have quite a bit of flexibility in selecting
.22lr, I won’t even bother trying to cite the volumes of information available out there on that particular subject. I’m definitely what is called a “liberal-hater” so don’t lump me in with those folks either.
I rather enjoy reading most of your other posts but PLEASE work on your spelling, it is an embarrassment.
Eric: Thanks for the feedback. Always nice to hear from someone who’s BTDT.
.22lr: Flaming is for trolls.
Didn’t say I believed in global warming; I’m not 100% sure on it, either way. I AM 100% sure that YOU don’t know the answers. You’re a high school kid, and you can’t spell. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll trust scientists on the issue.
Welcome aboard. I understand that you’re joining the Air Force soon. Well, thank you for your service, and here’s a kind word to get you started on the right footing: if you treat somebody in your barracks like you’ve treated me, he’s going to piss in your boots.
Behave yourself.
Firstly, thank you for all your comments, we love to hear comments and feedback on this project. I have been reading your postings and would like to answer some of the questions you have posted. As the article states I am the Director of Ops for this project; our goal is to add a safe cost-effective tool to the already strained and limited air programs that exist today. The basis of this program is to equip standard air cargo platforms with fire fighting capabilites that allows them to at fly at safe altitudes. ANG crews are trained in air drops and this system is simply cargo that gets dropped over a fire. This last test was set-up to test the PHOS-CHEK Gel as opposed to retardant or water — the coverage levels that we saw were excellent and this is according to PHOS-CHEK and other groups that were present. Our approach is that of direct attack — not containment — we feel that direct attack is best for this system due to accuracy and coverage levels that gel provides. Rate release can be varied due to the strap length, deployment timing and altitude — currently we are flying 500 AGL to 750 AGL for the best coverage using the gel product. Load times — we see the units being loaded by ANG or professionals in a C-130 less than 15 minutes using K-loaders. The unit rolls easy on — easy off — we have performed many tests over the last 5 years — opertional and in-house to ensure that this system is user freindly. With the Direct Attack approach we see this system filling a void that currently exisits, as well as reducing the duration of the fires life reducing the envrionmental impacts. We fully understand that the ground crews are the effective force and we want provide them a safe air alternative when air resoruces are needed. Thank you for your interest and comments.
Well there you go. Thanks for the update.
Ok, now for some additional questions.
The majority of my experience was in Region 6 (Oregon and Washington), Region 5 (California) and Region 4 (Nevada, Utah, southern Idaho and western Wyoming) so except for my trips into the Nevada grasslands, I
I would like to briefly respond to Eric Daniel’s comments on the recent article.
The Kingman, AZ trial was conducted with our new product, Phos-Chek AquaGel-K: which is principally designed, in aerial applications, for direct initial attack, wet-lines close to the fire and for structural protection.
Although coverage level (CL) is critical in firefighting applications, dependent on the ‘target’ fuel model: Phos-Chek was invited to this trial, in order to assess the unique characteristics and properties of Phos-Chek AquaGel-K with the innovative PCADS system.
It was important to establish that the enhaunced (gelled) water medium reached both the ground (without high rate evaporation), hit the ‘target’ and effectively covered a specific surrounding area around the ‘target’ zone.
Quantity of medium was therefore not a specific consideration in this particular trial. CL is directly proportional to the number of PCADS units dropped, aircraft altitude, meteorolgical conditions, etc.,.
Measuring the coverage level (CL) on the dry lake bed was made easier because of “shadows” created by cardboard debris, which reached the ground before the “gel cloud”. Consequently, a measure of circa CL2 was established over the main footprint, measured over 1000′ length x approximately 140′ width @ 750′ aircraft altitude, with 5 only PCADS.
Other tests @ 500′, 750′ & 1000′ were made to establish CL, footprint size & pattern and drift characteristics.
It was important to establish that in the direct initial attack application, that the deployment of the PCADS system with Phos-Chek AquaGel-K would be effective and efficient: and be unique as not to duplicate existing conventional modes of aerial firefighting.
Furthermore, the possible use of PCADS during night time operations, at higher altitude levels, when (more often than not), wildfires tend to be at their quietest phase: and when most ground crews are “off the fire-ground”: could have great value and better effective eradication of sectors of any particular wildfire incident.
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