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A wildfire broke out in Bouquet Canyon, near Santa Clarita, California on May 11, 2002. A dozen tankers fought the fire out of the Goleta Tanker Station at the Santa Barbara Airport on May 11 and 12. This page features the tankers that were operating out of Santa Barbara on Saturday, May 11.
C-130A #67, N531BA is assigned to
the Goleta Tanker Station over the summer. It is operated by
Butler Aircraft Co.
C-54D #152, N9015Q was temporarily
stationed at Santa Barbara before the Bouquet Canyon fire
started. It is operated by ARDCO and based at Fox Field,
Lancaster.
C-54E #160, N96358 is assigned to
the tanker station at Ramona. It is operated by AeroFlite.
Four of the California Department
of Forestry (CDF) Grumman S-2T turbine conversion Trackers were
brought south from bases in northern California. S-2T #89, N425DF
is based in Grass Valley.
Clark Cook has created a
site devoted to the Grumman S-2 Tracker.
S-2T #89, N425DF lands as C-130A
#67, N531BA taxis out for another mission.
C-54D #152, N9015Q on approach to
Runway 25.
C-54D #152, N9015Q
S-2T #91, N428DF is based at Ukiah.
C-54D #152, N9015Q
C-130A #67, N531BA on aproach to
Runway 25.
C-130A #67, N531BA
C-54E #160, N96358 on aproach to
Runway 25.
S-2T #72, N435DF is based at Hemet.
S-2T #90, N434DF is based at Ukiah.
Front view of S-2T #89, N425DF.
Tankers Spotted at Santa Barbara on May 11, 2002 |
||||||
| Number | Type | Registration | Operator | Home Base | c/n | military serial |
| 67 | C-130A-9 | N531BA | Butler Aircraft | Santa Barbara | 182-3139 | 56-531 |
| 72 | S-2T | N435DF | CDF | Hemet | 0382-029 | |
| 89 | S-2T | N425DF | CDF | Grass Valley | 0341-029 | BuNo 152825 |
| 90 | S-2T | N434DF | CDF | Ukiah | 0382-034 | |
| 91 | S-2T | N428DF | CDF | Ukiah | 0865-018 | BuNo 149862 |
| 152 | C-54D-15/DC-4 | N9015Q | ARDCO | Lancaster | 22178 | 43-17228 |
| 160 | C-54E-5/DC-4 | N96358 | AeroFlite | Ramona | 27284 | 44-9058 |
Aerial tankers
Visit the web site of
the Aerial
Firefighting Industry Association
Visit the web site of the Associated
Airtanker Pilots
The Cleveland National Forest web site provides specifications for the different types of aerial tankers.
You can buy a 2008 Calendar featuring my photographs of aerial tankers in flight and fighting fires.
A dozen photos of aerial tankers:
Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress N17W Tanker 04, Santa Barbara, September 12, 1979
Douglas DC-7C N5903 Tanker 35, Santa Barbara, November 28, 1980
Douglas C-54E Cargomaster N460WA Tanker 151, Santa Ynez Valley, July 30, 1990
Air Force Reserve Lockheed C-130E Hercules 62-1081, Reno Stead, September 15, 1991
California Air National Guard C-130E Tanker 6, NAWS Pt. Mugu, April 25, 1998
Douglas C-54E Cargomaster N8502G Tanker 65, Santa Barbara Airport, May 5, 2004
Evergreen S-64E Skycrane N6979R Tanker 707, Santa Ynez Valley, May 7, 2004
Siller Brothers Sikosky S-61N N15456, Santa Ynez Valley, May 7, 2004
McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10 10 Tanker Air Carrier Tanker 910, Goleta, November 4, 2005
Evergreen International Boeing 747 Supertanker, San Bernardino, May 31, 2006
Grumman S-2T Tracker N439DF Tanker 74, Santa Barbara Airport, June 19, 2006
Lockheed P2V-5 N1386C Tanker 44, Santa Barbara, June 19, 2006
Put a copy of the Aerial Tankers: 2008 Calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $16.95.
Send a message to Brian.
Go to home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.