The Aerial Firefighting Directory, presented by WINGS and HELICOPTERS, features key suppliers of aircraft, equipment and services for the aerial firefighting sector. The directory also includes a range of rotary- and fixed-wing operators invovled in emergecy forestry services, as well key North American agencies and associations for the sector. As many companies involved in aerial firefighting, such as Babcock, Conair and Coulson, provide a range of services from developing and modifyng aircraft to also operating and maintaining both rotary-and fixed-wing fleets for fire suppression, as well as training, they have been included here in their primary operating category.
AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
AIR TRACTOR
Olney, TX, airtractor.com
> Tracing its root back to 1951 when founder Leland Snow designed his first ag airplane, Air Tractor today focuses its firefighting production around two aircraft, including: The AT-802F Initial Attack Firefighter, powered by powerful a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67AG turbine, and the AT-802F Fire Boss Amphibious Scooper Air Tanker designed to deliver up to 14,000 gallons per hour for extended attack or ground support.
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS
Marignane, France, airbuscanada.ca
> Airbus Helicopters employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. Its fleet in service includes nearly 12,000 helicopters operated by more than 3,000 customers across 150 countries. Its U.S. affiliate is headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas, while Airbus Helicopters Canada operates out of a 138,000-square-foot facility in Fort Erie, ON. In addition to hundreds of older-generation platforms in use to fight fires, the company's full range of helicopters can be integrated for fire suppression.
BELL TEXTRON
Fort Worth, TX, bellflight.com
> Bell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron, is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned verticallift aircraft. It serves Bell customers in more than 120 countries, with its Canadian facility in Mirabel, QC, serving key contributor to Bell’s 505 production chain. In addition to a large legacy fleet fighting fires, Bell in 2018 introduced its 407GXi as a new platform for potential fire suppression integration.
ERICKSON
Portland, OR, ericksoninc.com
> Erickson has been a world leader in heavy
lift and aerial firefighting for more than 20 years. This includes its S-64 Air Crane Helitankers, equipped with fire suppression systems, which can drop more than 95,000 liters every hour.
FIRE BOSS
South St. Paul, MN, firebossllc.com
> Fire Boss LLC is the manufacturer of the Fire Boss water scooping system exclusively installed on the Air Tractor AT-802. The Fire Boss system combines airframe modifications, performance enhancements and a pair of Wipline 10000 amphibious water-scooping floats that enable the AT-802 to scoop up to 800 gallons in 15 seconds.
HELITAK FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT
Noosaville, Australia, helitak.com.au
> Helitak develops a range of systems for aerial firefighting, including its underbelly Fire Tank featuring a new design to allow a flexible bladder to expand while being filled; and then retract within its housing when empty. These tanks are custom built with a carrying capacity from 1,000 to 10,000 litres.
KAMAN AIR VEHICLES
Bloomfield, CT, kaman.com
Kaman Air Vehicles, a division of Kaman Corp., manufacturers the K-MAX helicopter platform, described as a rugged, low-maintenance aircraft with a counter-rotating rotor system that is optimized for cyclical, external load operations. The aircraft can lift up to 6,000 pounds (2,722 kg).
KAWAK AVIATION
Bend, OR, kawakaviation.com
> Kawak Aviation engineers and produces aerial firefighting products focusing on tank-
ing systems, related pumps and hydraulics. Its tank systems, refill pumps and hydraulic power solutions are leveraged by a range of platforms like Bell, Kaman and Firehawks.
ISOLAIR
Bend, OR, isolairinc.com
> Isolair has been manufacturing helicopter systems for aerial firefighting, agricultural, and forest industries for more than 30 years with a range of certified equipment, from torches and buckets to tanking systems. Its Eliminator II Fire Fighting Systems, integrating tank, pump, doors and control, can be found working throughout the world.
RECOIL AEROSPACE
Josephine, WI, recoil-usa.com
> Established in 2008, Recoil Suppression Systems, a division of Recoil Aerospace, designs and manufacturers lightweight, carbon fibre composite Tsunami Wildland Fire Suppression tanks.
SEI INDUSTRIES
Delta, BC, sei-ind.com
> SEI Industries first introduced the original Bambi Bucket to the firefighting community in 1982. This lightweight, strong, flexible firefighting bucket – with its relatively low-cost plugand-play capability – promoted usage of helicopters on wildfires and saw immediate success as a firefighting tool. SEI today services more than 90 per cent of the world’s aerial firefighting water-bucket market. Globally, the Bambi is now used in more than 115 countries and by more than 1,000 helicopter operators.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT
Stratford, CT , lockheedmartin.com
> Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, is a Aerial Firefighting Directory I 11
OVER 50 YEARS SUPPRESSING WILDFIRES SUPPORTING FIREFIGHTERS
Conair is a global leader in aerial firefighting, operating the largest privately-owned fixed-wing fleet of specialty aircraft in the world. Operating in Canada, the US, Europe, Australia and beyond, the organization provides a comprehensive range of aircraft, crew, maintenance, training and expertise to support government agencies fighting wildfires.
Conair’s versatile fleet of 70 aircraft includes Bird Dogs, Land-Based Airtankers and Amphibious Aircraft, including the CL215T, CL415 and AT802 Fire Boss. Flying up to 12,000 flight hours per year, a team of 330 professionals ensures all aircraft are maintained and equipped with the latest technologies, proactively going above and beyond to ensure aircraft are ready to dispatch, keeping firetrucks in the sky when the call comes. With a focus on safety, Conair offers its pilots a specialized Training + Tactics Centre, the only one in the world of its kind, ensuring crews have access to training tools and simulators that produce successful missions in real world operations.
NEW: Q400AT – FAST, FUEL EFFICIENT, FLEXIBLE
A Next Generation turboprop offering a proprietary Retardant Delivery System, with a 10,000 litre capacity to drop suppressant over diverse geography. While its mission is fire suppression, it is its environmental performance that is setting the standard for future airtankers, producing 30% less emissions than aircraft of similar size. A modern airtanker with strong OEM support to keep the firefighter flying for decades. The future of aerial firefighting.
VARIANT: Q400MR – ONE AIRCRAFT, MANY MISSIONS
The world’s most versatile airtanker, a multi-role aircraft suited to a variety of emergency response roles. Capable of reconfiguring within hours between aerial firefighting airtanker (10,000 litres retardant, water or gel), cargo (9t), passenger (64 pax), combi-transport, or medical evacuation missions (6 stretchers with clinical team and medical equipment). Designed with the capacity, speed, and performance required for crisis situations.
Conair provides aircraft for purchase, lease or contract and offers specialized services including engineering, flight operations and fleet maintenance related to aerial firefighting.
CONTACT Jeff Berry, Director of Business Development jberry@conair.ca | Phone: 604 557 2777 | conair.ca