(Download a higher resolution picture by clicking on any
picture below.) 
A small fire broke out on the crest of the Santa Ynex Mountains above Santa Barbara on Thursday, August 15, 2002. I drove up to East Camino Cielo to photograph the air tankers that were fighting it.
I stopped at the first peak where I could see tanker #161, a Douglas C-54G, circling the fire about a mile farther on. I stopped and shot pictures as it made a retardent drop.
C-54G N82FA, Tanker #161 drops
retardent on the Camino Fire.
Multiple exposure of C-54G N82FA,
Tanker #161 dropping retardent on the Camino Fire. (Four images
of the same C-54G tanker on a single pass over the fire.)
I parked just about 1/4 mile from the fire. There were two Bell 212s and a Sikorsky S-61N dropping water on the fire. A North American Turbo Commander, Air Attack circled overhead. Later a second Air Attack, this one a Beech Baron showed up, presaging the arrival of a Grumman S-2 Tracker, tanker #75 and the return of tanker #161. They made practice approaches and when they dropped their retardent, they were coming directly toward my shooting position.
I monitored the Forest Service frequencies on the scanner and lstened in on the communication between the pilots and the ground crews. At one point the ground crew referred to a fire near the big rock. The pilot responded with, "There's about 5,000 rocks on this mountain."
Sikorsky S-61N, N264F over the Camino Fire. It
is operated by Pacific Heli Tours of Maui. N264F has previously
carried the registrations G-BGWL, C-GMQF, N91047, C-GMQF, N611RM,
and C-FMAG.
Link to the Coulson Group page about this Sikorsky S-61N.
Bell 212, N508EH drops water on the Camino
Fire. It was at just the right angle from the sun to reveal the
colors of the rainbow. Red fire retardent has stained the
chapparal in the foreground.
Bell 212 N911KW over the Camino Fire. It is
operated by Rogers Helicopters of Fresno, California.
Bell 212 N911KW drops water on the Camino Fire.
Bell 212 N508EH drops water on the Camino Fire.
It is operated by Era Aviation of Anchorage, Alaska.
Era Aviation helicopter services web page
Two years ago N508EH made an emergency landing at John Day Airport in Oregon after sucking a compressor blade through the engine.
Bell 212 N508EH over the Camino Fire.
Sikorsky S-61N, N264F drops water
on the Camino Fire.
Grumman S-2 Tracker, N420DF, Tanker
#75 over the Camino Fire.
Air Attack Beech 65 Queen Air,
N7059H leads Grumman S-2 Tracker, N420DF, Tanker #75 over the
Camino Fire.
S-2, N420DF, Tanker 75 drops
retardent on the Camino Fire.
Multiple exposure of S-2, N420DF,
Tanker 75 dropping retardent on the Camino Fire. (Two images of
the same S-2 tanker and one image of the Beechcraft Queen Air
from a single pass over the fire.)
Bell 212, N508EH over the Camino Fire.
Sikorsky S-61N N264F drops water on
the Camino Fire.
Air Attack Beech 65 Queen Air,
N7059H leads Douglas C-54G N82FA, Tanker #161 over the Camino
Fire.
Douglas C-54G N82FA, Tanker #161
over the Camino Fire
Multiple exposure of Air Attack
Beech 65 Queen Air, N7059H leading Douglas C-54G N82FA, Tanker
#161 over the Camino Fire. There was a strong crosswind across
the ridge. (Three sets of images of the Queen Air and the C-54G
on a single practice pass over the fire.)
C-54G, N82FA, tanker 161 drops
retardent on the Camino Fire.
Multiple exposure of C-54G, N82FA,
tanker 161 dropping retardent on the Camino Fire. (Three images
of the same C-54G tanker and one image of the Queen Air from a
single pass over the fire.)
Douglas C-54G N82FA, Tanker #161
over the Camino Fire
Tankers Spotted at Camino Fire, August 15, 2002 |
||||||
| Number | Type | Registration | Operator | Home Base | c/n | military serial |
| Bell 212 | N911KW | Rogers Helicopters | 528 | |||
| Bell 212 | N508EH | Era Aviation | 30908 | |||
| Sikorsky S-61N | N264F | Pacific | Arroyo Grande | 61821 | ||
| 75 | S-2 | N420DF | CDF | Paso Robles | ||
| 161 | C-54G | N82FA | AeroFlite | Porterville | 35960 | 45-507 |
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.