Wed, Aug 29, 2018
Will Convert Two Surplus U.S. Army Helos For Firefighting Duty
The Ventura County, CA Fire Department (VCFD) has awarded a contract to United Rotorcraft For the conversion of two surplus U.S. Army aircraft into Firehawk helicopters.
VCFD purchased two U.S. Army HH-60L aircraft, originally configured as dedicated MEDEVAC helicopters. These aircraft were outfitted with the United Rotorcraft medical equipment and patient litter systems, some of which will be repurposed in the new Firehawk configurations. Following a full maintenance inspection, the aircraft will be painted at the United Rotorcraft Decatur, TX facility and modified at in Englewood, CO.
“Ventura County Fire Department, along with our partners from Ventura County Sheriff’s Air Unit, has worked hard over the past years to identify the right solution for expanding and modernizing our aerial fleet,” says Battalion Chief Gary Monday of Ventura County Fire Department. “We are looking forward to seeing the new Firehawk aircraft serving the fire crews and people of Ventura County and the State of California.”
The reconfigured aircraft will include an aerial firefighting mission package with extended landing gear, a 1,000 gallon firefighting tank, and a retractable snorkel system. A multi-mission interior including reconfigurable crew stations will be installed to allow the aircraft to perform a variety of missions including firefighting, fire crew transport, search and rescue and medical evacuation. In addition to mission equipment, upgraded avionics and a new instrument panel will be installed in the cockpit.
“We are so proud to be part of the future Ventura firefighting mission, as well as repurposing these Army surplus aircraft for their new homes,” says Bob Brodin, Director of Government Programs at United Rotorcraft. “The Firehawk aircraft have so many capabilities to help the people of Ventura County and we look forward to the delivery of these aircraft.”
(Source: United Rotorcraft news release. Image from file)
More News
The Industry Continues to be Rocked By Some Questionable Operations Recent investigations and a great deal of data has resulted in ANN’s SportPlane Resource Guide’s rep>[...]
Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) An airport lighting facility providing vertical visual approach slope guidance to aircraft during approach to landing by radiating a directio>[...]
Airport Marking Aids Markings used on runway and taxiway surfaces to identify a specific runway, a runway threshold, a centerline, a hold line, etc. A runway should be marked in ac>[...]
Aero Linx: The Skyhawk Association The Skyhawk Association is a non-profit organization founded by former Skyhawk Pilots which is open to anyone with an affinity for the A-4 Skyhaw>[...]
Unfortunate... ANN/SportPlane Resource Guide Adds To Cautionary Advisories
See All