Tag Archives: hercules

Idaho, Technology, U.S.

MAFFS: What does it take to maintain a flying military firetruck?

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23 April 2017 / 23:49 UTC-07 Tango 06  (03 Ordibehest 1396/26 Rajab 1438/28 Jia Chen 4715)

Susan Kett of U.S. Forest Service, David Lafon of North Carolina Forest Service and Robert Wheatley from CAL FIRE, on the flightline at Gowen Field, Idaho.

Technical Sergeant Miguel Corona, 146th Maintenance Squadron California National Guard, inspects the flight deck of a C-130J at Gowen Field, Idaho.

Tech. Sgt. Kye Dudley, 146th Maintenance Squadron California National Guard, inspects main wheel wells of a C-130J at Gowen Field, Idaho.

Senior Airman Santos Casaus operates ground generator that will provide electrical power to a sleeping C-130J, Gowen Field, Idaho.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Perez inspects the prop of a C-130J at Gowen Field, Idaho. If oil is leaking from the prop hub the whole propeller assembly must be replaced.

Even transports use HUDs (Heads Up Display). Airman 1st Class Alexis Carranza inspects the HUD inside a C-130J at Gowen Field, Idaho, 20 APR 2017.

Tech. Sgt. Miguel Corona inspects an oxygen mask inside of a C-130J.

Fire in the Hole! USAF Staff Sgt. Kelsey Herzfeld, assigned to the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, preps to connect the MAFFS nozzle to one of two Wyoming Air National Guard MAFFS C-130H. The work was done before leaving for Idaho. The Wyoming Air Militia has been flying MAFFS missions since 1975.

Nevada “High Rollers” C-130H follows a USFS spotter plane over western Idaho, 21 APR 2017.

A MAFFS unit being installed in a C-130H. Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System can dump 3-thousand gallons of water in five seconds!

Video: MAFFS BOMBS IDAHO!

Idaho, Technology, U.S.

MAFFS bombs Idaho!

Video

23 April 2017 / 18:41 UTC-07 Tango 06  (03 Ordibehest 1396/26 Rajab 1438/28 Jia Chen 4715)

Staff Sgt. Benny Romero, 146th Airlift Wing, California Air Militia, inspects the C-130J’s main landing gear on Gowen Field, Idaho, 20APR2017. U.S. Air Force photo by Major Jolene Ortiona.

MAFFS 9 (C-130H) of 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air Militia, east of Boise, Idaho, 21APR2017. California Air Militia photo by Staff Sergeant Nieko Carzis.

Video of MAFFS practice water drops in western Idaho, 22 APR 2017:

 

MAFFS 2 and MAFFS 5, from Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing, Colorado, on Gowen Field, Idaho, for USFS training.

Nevada Air National Guard MAFFS 8 (C-130H) of 152nd Airlift Wing “High Rollers”, east of Boise, Idaho, 21APR2017. California Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Nieko Carzis.

IDAHO CONDUCTS MASSIVE MAFFS TRAINING, IN PREPS FOR HOT WILDFIRE SEASON!

HOLY VIRTUAL ‘COPTER! IOWA MILITIA 1ST TO USE BAT-cave!

 

Technology

Vehicle I-D: Ohio Air Militia C-130H Hercules

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Ten minutes of Ohio National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing C-130H transports, in action and at rest:

40 seconds of Ohio C-130H buzzing a football game:

RUSSIA DELIVERS C-130 SIMULATOR TO U.S. MARINES IN JAPAN!

C-130 MAFFS: WILDFIRE SEASON 2018 GOING TO BE A HOT ONE!

45 YEARS OF C-130 MAFFS OPS. WHO WOULD’VE KNOWN WILDFIRES WOULD BECOME SUCH A PROBLEM?

Technology

MAFFS: Wildfire season 2018 going to be a hot one?

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10 September 2016 (15:32 UTC-07 Tango 01) 20 Shahrivar 1395/07 Dhu I-Hijja 1437/10 Ding-You 4714

North Carolina Air National Guard photo by First Lieutenant Monica Ebert.

Apparently the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense (DoD) think the 2018 fire season is gonna’ be big because they’ve just added another MAFFS C-130 firefighting unit to their western states inventory.

Nevada National Guard 152 Airlift Wing’s brand new MAFFS C-130H

MAFFS stands for Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System.  The Forest Service owns the MAFFS, the DoD (through USAF Reserve and state militias) provides the C-130s and personnel to operate it.

C-130J MAFFS 4, Channel Islands, California

Currently there are three MAFFS units operated by the state militias of California, North Carolina and Wyoming, and one MAFFS Air Force Reserve unit out of Colorado.  Since early August MAFFS have already flown 142 firefighting missions, dropping more than 3.5-million pounds (1.6-million kilos) of fire-retardant in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon.

North Carolina ANG photo by First Lieutenant Monica Ebert.

Nevada’s 152 AW High Rollers will be used to augment the units from Colorado and Wyoming, and will be based in Reno.  While MAFFS fly missions across the country, the U.S. Forest Service wanted a new MAFFS unit whose home base is in the fire prone Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.  The MAFFS equipment is being transferred from North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing to Nevada’s 152nd Airlift Wing.

C-130H MAFFS 8, out of North Carolina

This year’s official fire season began MAFFS on-job-training for crews of the High Rollers: “The actual drops have been challenging and exhilarating. It’s a great feeling to see your immediate results whether we are dropping a protective line of retardant between the fire and someone’s property or dropping ‘mud’ directly on flames leaping from the tops of trees in an effort to slow the fire’s progress.”-Lietenant Colonel Tony Machabee, first member of the High Rollers to co-pilot a MAFFS mission

The U.S. Forest Service wants the new 152 AW MAFFS unit ready to launch for the 2018 wildfire season.  The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences predicts that by 2050 the official U.S. wildfire season will be three weeks longer, and for several years now the Pacific Northwest has been dealing with major fires in the official off-season.

Video: 45 YEARS OF C-130 MAFFS OPS. WHO WOULD’VE KNOWN WILDFIRES WOULD BECOME SUCH A PROBLEM? 

Despite a busy wildfire season, Oregon based helicopter fire bomber operator Erickson Air Crane laid off 1-hundred people! Company administrators admitted that despite years of busy wildfire seasons they’re burned by massive debt to Wells Fargo (the evil bank owned by ‘christian’ agnostic Warren Buffett).

Technology

45 years of C-130 MAFFS ops. Who would’ve known wildfires would become such a problem?

Video

31 July 2016 (14:35 UTC-07 Tango 01) 10 Mordad 1395/25 Shawwal 1437/28 Yi-Wei 4714

IDAHO WILDFIRES 16 AUGUST 2012: MAFFS C-130s RETURN TO POCATELLO AIRPORT

MAFFS 2 & 6: USAF RESERVE & NATIONAL GUARD C-130 WATER BOMBERS @ POCATELLO AIRPORT

On the way back from a 'friendly' with Canadian armor in Alberta, 2002.

Me sleeping on Idaho militia C-130 mattress, on the way back from a ‘friendly’ with Canadian armor in Alberta, 2002.

Some of my other C-130 trips (click pics to make bigger):

“C-130 rolling down the strip!
Airborne Ranger gonna take a little trip!
We gonna stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door!
We gonna jump right out, and then count to four!
My main don’t open, I use my reserve!
My reserve don’t open, I loose my nerve!”-U.S. Army running cadence I used to sing during Army Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood in 1982

Idaho, Technology

MAFFS 2 & 6: USAF Reserve & National Guard C-130 water bombers @ Pocatello Airport

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Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

EAST IDAHO WILDFIRES 2012: MAINTENANCE DAY FOR SKYCRANE FIRE FIGHTER @ POCATELLO AIRPORT