27 April 2024

Firefighting aircraft in Western Australia 2019 – 2020

24 January 2020 (updated 27 March 2020) © David Eyre & Brenden Scott

A list and photos of the fire fighting aircraft in Western Australia for the summer fire season (Oct 2019 – April 2020).

BIRDDOG

Fixed-wing aircraft used primarily for air attack supervision. Larger twin-engined BIRDDOGs are used to lead the Large Air Tanker and guide it on where to release its load of fire retardant.

BIRDDOG 273
VH-LVG Rockwell Turbo Commander 690B
(11 – 25 Mar 2020)		VH-LVG / BIRDDOG 273 Rockwell Turbo Commander 690B (MSN 11551) of Agair Logistics Pty Ltd, Stawell, VIC, at Jandakot Airport - 25 March 2020. This aircraft was temporarily based at RAAF Base Pearce, north of Perth, from 11 - 25 March 2020 to support N293EA / BOMBER 103 McDonnell-Douglas MD-87 of Erickson Aero Tanker, which was deployed to Pearce as a Large Air Tanker (LAT) on firefighting duties during the summer period. VH-LVG was brought over to replace VH-XAS / BIRDDOG 444 Aero Commander 500S Shrike Commander, which ended its contract and flew back to the Eastern States. The BIRDDOG aircraft are used to supervise aerial firefighting and in this case, guide the Large Air Tanker on where to drops its load. In earlier years, VH-LVG was flown by Alex Karatamoglou from Bunbury, WA. Built in 1979. Ex (N81599), N690AG, N87TC, N431JS, XA-RPY, (N692T), N358HF, N253JM. Photo © Jarrod Swanwick.
BIRDDOG 444
VH-XAS Aero Commander 500S Shrike Commander
(29 Jan – 12 Mar 2020)		No photo
BIRDDOG 622
VH-AQL Gippsland GA8 Airvan
Photo © Jonathan Williams 		VH-AQL Gippsland Aeronautics GA-8 Airvan (MSN GA8-03-029) of Helicopter Logistics, at Albany Airport - Thu 3 March 2016. Photo © Jonathan Williams

BOMBER

Erickson Aero Tanker has this year been contracted by the Federal Government to provide a Large Air Tanker (LAT) to be based at RAAF Base Pearce, north of Perth. The aircraft may be deployed elsewhere in Australia if required. It arrived 20 January 2020 and departed back to the USA on 25 March 2020.

Dunn Aviation Australia provides fixed-wing water bombing aircraft for the WA Government – the Air Tractor AT-802 and AT-602 for water and fire retardant dropping. Its aircraft are also contracted out to other states to perform firebombing and agricultural duties. Based at Jandakot, Bunbury, Manjimup, Albany. BOMBERs are managed by Department of Parks and Wildlife.

BOMBER 103
N293EA McDonnell-Douglas MD-87
Photo © Keith Anderson
(20 Jan – 25 Mar 2020)		N293EA McDonnell Douglas MD-87 (MSN 53209) Erickson Aero Tanker (Bomber103) at RAAF Base Pearce – 20 January 2020. First visit to Perth, the aircraft will operate from Pearce for the remainder of the fire season. Photo © Keith Anderson (Photographed using Canon cameras and lenses)
BOMBER 601
VH-DUQ Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © Jonathan Williams 		VH-DUQ / BOMBER 601 Air Tractor AT-802 (MSN 802-0241) of Dunn Aviation, named 'Ballidu', at Albany Airport - Thu 3 March 2016. Under contract to the WA Government for firefighting. Formerly registered in Spain as EC-JVN, it still wears a Spanish flag on the rudder. Photo © Jonathan Williams
BOMBER 602
VH-FGO Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-FGO / BOMBER 602 Air Tractor AT-802A (MSN 802A-0705), named 'Milana', owned by Dunn Aviation, at Jandakot Airport - 8 December 2018: Used for firefighting in the hot season, under contract to the Western Australian Government. Built in 2017, ex N2358G. Photo © David Eyre.
BOMBER 603
VH-NIN Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-NIN / BOMBER 603 Air Tractor AT-802 (MSN 802-0211) operated by Dunn Aviation, named 'The Vader', at Jandakot Airport - Fri 17 March 2017. Operated for the Western Australian Government on fire fighting duties during the summer months. Built in 2005, ex EC-JKF. Photo © David Eyre
BOMBER 604
VH-DUN Air Tractor AT-802A
Photo © Keith Anderson 		VH-DUN at Woodmans Point – 23 Dec 2014
BOMBER 605
VH-FED Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-FED / BOMBER 605 Air Tractor AT-802 (MSN 802-0454) of Dunn Aviation, named 'Big Block', at Jandakot Airport – Fri 28 October 2016. Delivered on 24 April 2016, this aircraft is used for firefighting duties during the hotter months, under contract to the WA Government. Photo © David Eyre
BOMBER 606
VH-FCO Air Tractor AT-802A
Photo © Jarrod Swanwick 		VH-FCO / BOMBER 606 Air Tractor AT-802A (MSN 802A-0775) of Dunn Aviation, at Jandakot Airport - 22 November 2019. Photo © Jarrod Swanwick
BOMBER 607
VH-DUJ Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-DUJ / BOMBER 607 Air Tractor AT802 (MSN 802-0237) owned by Dunn Aviation, at Jandakot Airport – Fri 14 November 2014. Built 2006, ex N8517Q, EC-JVC. Operated for the WA Government on fire fighting duties, Photo © David Eyre
BOMBER 608
VH-DUA Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-DUA / BOMBER 608 Air Tractor AT802 (MSN 802-0366) owned by Dunn Aviation, named 'Magic', at Jandakot Airport – Thu 26 January 2017. Built 2010, ex N8521E, EC-LHZ. Operated for the Western Australian Government on fire fighting duties during the summer months. This was fighting a bush fire north of Perth, and at 7pm was due to take part in the Australia Day City of Perth Air Show over the Swan River, Perth, but the show was cancelled following the crash of Grumman Mallard VH-CQA. Photo © David Eyre
BOMBER 609
VH-DUW Air Tractor AT-802A
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-DUW / BOMBER 609 Air Tractor AT-802A (MSN 802A-0328) of Dunn Aviation (Mal Dunn Pty Ltd), at Jandakot Airport – Fri 30 May 2014. Photo © David Eyre
BOMBER 610
VH-JID Air Tractor AT-802
Photo © Jonathan Williams 		VH-JID / BOMBER 610 Air Tractor AT-802 (MSN 802-0341) owned by Dunn Aviation, named ‘Chop’, at Dweillingup Airstrip – Thu 14 January 2016. Operated for the WA Government on fire fighting duties, this aircraft was involved in fighting major fires in the area of Waroona, which had been started by lightning and destroyed nearly 200 homes. Photo © Jonathan Williams
BOMBER 612
VH-NID Air Tractor AT-802AF
Photo © Keith Anderson 		VH-NID / BOMBER 612 Air Tractor AT-802AF (MSN 802A-0523), named “The Boss”, owned by Dunn Aviation, over Jervoise Bay– 22 December 2016.
BOMBER 614
VH-FEC Air Tractor AT-504
(2-seats side-by-side, normally used for training)
Photo © Keith Anderson 		VH-FEC / BOMBER 614 Air Tractor AT-504 (MSN 504), named 'Blacky', owned by Dunn Aviation, at Jandakot Airport - Tues 3 Feb 2015.
BOMBER 6??
VH-MBK Air Tractor AT-502B
Photo © John Edmond

FIREBIRD

The Air Attack FIREBIRDS coordinate aerial firefighting operations, and can usually be seen circling high above firefighting aircraft. The Air Intelligience FIREBIRD 625 is an fire information resource for incident managers on the ground. FIREBIRD 623/VH-YUQ and FIREBIRD 625/VH-XRG are managed by Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Other FIREBIRDS are managed by Department of Parks and Wildlife.

FIREBIRD 620
VH-JVC Aerospatiale AS350-FX2
(Heli-Lynx conversion)
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-JVC Aerospatiale AS350-FX2 (Heli-Lynx conversion) (MSN 1516) of Heliwest, at Jandakot Airport - Mon 9 March 2015. Converted from an AS350BA, with the Turbomeca Arriel engine replaced by a Textron Lycoming LTS-101-700D-2 engine. Photo © David Eyre
FIREBIRD 623
VH-YUQ Eurocopter AS355F-1 Twin Squirrel
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-YUQ / FIREBIRD 623 Eurocopter AS355F-1 Twin Squirrel (MSN 5057) owned by McDermott Aviation, contracted to WA Government, at Warradale Park, Landsdale - Wed 23 November 2016. Assisting firefighters in fighting a suspiciously-lit bushfire in Lexia, at the Gnangara pine plantation, that burnt through 100 hectares. The FIREBIRD aerial command and control helicopters coordinate firefighting operations. Built in 1981, ex N281AP, N117LB. Photo © David Eyre
FIREBIRD 624
VH-JRI Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III
Photo © Keith Anderson 		VH-JRI Bell 206B JetRanger III (MSN 4234) of Helicopter Logistics Pty Ltd (Resource Aviation Pty Ltd) at Jandakot Airport –Thurs 4 June 2015.
FIREBIRD 629
VH-NRW Aerospatiale AS350B2 Squirrel
Photo © Keith Anderson 		VH-NRW Eurocopter AS350B2 Squirrel (MSN 3232) of Heliwest at Jandakot airport – 6 Sept 2015.
FIREBIRD 661
N97MD Aerospatiale AS365N3 Dauphin 2
Photo © Keith Anderson		N97MD Aerospatiale SA 365N1 Dauphin 2 of McDermott Aviation at Jandakot Airport – 14 September 2019. Previously operated by the Maryland State Police. Photo © Keith Anderson (Photographed using Canon cameras and lenses)
FIREBIRD 662
N365JL Aerospatiale AS365N2 Dauphin 2
Photo © Keith Anderson 		N365JL Aerospatiale AS 365 N2 Dauphin (MSN 6438) Firebird 662 / Air Attack 7 of McDermott Aviation at Jandakot Airport – 18 January 2019.

FIRESCAN

Learjet 35 or Beech 200 King Air aircraft fitted with infra red line scanning equipment are used to scan fire areas and provide live intelligence, including fire mapping, to ground incident control crews. Scanning is conducted high above the fire area, by flying fixed patterns well above air attack traffic. The line scanner is able to see through smoke and show terrain, streams and roads, to pinpoint fire edges, burnt areas and spot fires.

FIRESCAN 125
VH-LAB Beech 200 Super King Air		No photo

HELITACK

Medium (Bell 214) and heavy (Skycrane) fire fighting helicopters are operated for the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Four Bell 214 helicopters are based at Jandakot and two are based at Busselton. The Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane is based at Serpentine Airfield, south of Perth.

HELITACK 671
P2-MSA Bell 214B-1 BigLifter
Photo © Nick Stubbs-Ross
HELITACK 672
N234PH Bell 214B-1 BigLifter
Photo © Caleb Hotz
HELITACK 673
N254SM Bell 214B-1 BigLifter
Photo © Caleb Hotz
HELITACK 674
VH-SMI Bell 214B-1 BigLifter
Photo © David Eyre
HELITACK 676
N216PJ Bell 214B-1 BigLifter
Photo © Jarrod Swanwick 		N216PJ / HELITACK 676 Bell 214B-1 BigLifter (MSN 28069) of McDermott Aviation, at Busselton Airport - 6 January 2020. Photo © Jarrod Swanwick
HELITACK 677
N217PJ Bell 214B-1 BigLifter
Photo © Jarrod Swanwick 		N217PJ / HELITACK 677 Bell 214B-1 BigLifter (MSN 28032) of McDermott Aviation, at Busselton Airport - 6 January 2020. Photo © Jarrod Swanwick
HELITACK 733
N154AC ‘Georgia Peach’
Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane
Based at Serpentine Airfield
Photo © Keith Anderson 		N154AC Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane (MSN 64-037), named ‘Georgia Peach’, of Erickson Air-Crane over Jervoise Bay– 22 December 2016..

SPOTTER

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) uses American Champion 8GCBC Scouts as fire spotter aircraft for forest patrols in the south-west of WA, flying across areas set according to fire weather conditions. They fly more during the hotter months (about 3,500 hours) due to the increased fire risk. They also supervise waterbombing operations in the south-west, relaying information on fire behaviour to fire controllers. Aircraft rotate around bases at Jandakot, Bunbury, Dwellingup and Manjimup. SPOTTERS are managed by DBCA, which holds an Air Operators Certificate (AOC).

SPOTTER 640
VH-LKQ
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-LKQ / SPOTTER 640 (MSN 538-2011) American Champion 8GCBC Scout of the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW), at Jandakot Airport – Fri 14 November 2014. After takeoff from runway 24R. Built in 2011. DPaW's fleet of American Champion 8GCBC Scout aircraft are used as fire spotter and forest patrol aircraft in the south-west of WA. They are based at Jandakot, Bunbury, Dwellingup and Manjimup, and fly across areas set each day according to the forecast fire weather conditions, with more hours flown during the bushfire season. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 642
VH-KTG
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-KTG / SPOTTER642 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 546-2011) of the Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Jandakot Airport – Fri 24 October 2014. The Department of Parks and Wildlife uses a fleet of American Champion 8GCBC Scout aircraft as fire spotter aircraft for forest patrols in the south-west of WA. They are based at Jandakot, Bunbury, Dwellingup and Manjimup, and fly across areas set each day according to the forecast fire weather conditions. The aircraft fly more hours during the hotter months (around 3,500 hours) due to the increased fire risk. They also supervise waterbombing operations in the south-west, relaying information to fire controllers regarding the fire’s behaviour to assist in firefighting and ensuring the safety of fire crews. VH-KTG was built in 2011. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 643
VH-BPW
American Champion 8GCBC Scout 		VH-BPW / SPOTTER 643 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 589-2017) of the Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Bunbury Airport - 25 January 2020. Used in the southwest of Western Australia on forest patrols to spot fires and to supervise water bombing operations. Photo © Jarrod Swanwick.
SPOTTER 644
VH-PWL
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-PWL / SPOTTER 644 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 571-2015) operated by the Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Jandakot Airport - Fri 28 October 2016. Wearing new-style titles. Used as fire spotter aircraft for forest patrols in the south-west of WA. They also supervise water bombing operations in the south-west, relaying information to fire controllers regarding the fire’s behaviour to assist in firefighting and ensuring the safety of fire crews. Built in 2015, registered 29 Feb 2016. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 645
VH-KYH
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-KYH / SPOTTER 645 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 566-2014) of the Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Jandakot Airport - Thu 26 January 2017. Built in 2014. Part of a fleet of American Champion 8GCBC Scout aircraft used as fire spotter aircraft for forest patrols in the south-west of WA. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 646
VH-VPW
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © Daniel Kotronis 		VH-VPW / SPOTTER 646 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 595-2018) of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), at Jandakot Airport - 1 June 2019. Photo © Daniel Kotronis
SPOTTER 647
VH-LKV
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-LKV / SPOTTER 647 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 529-2010) owned by Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Jandakot Airport – Sat 19 March 2016. Landing on runway 06L. Built in 2010. Used as fire spotter aircraft for forest patrols in the south-west of WA. They also supervise waterbombing operations in the south-west, relaying information to fire controllers regarding the fire’s behaviour to assist in firefighting and ensuring the safety of fire crews. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 648
VH-KUE
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-KUE / SPOTTER 648 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 554-2013) owned by Department of Parks and Wildlife, with Western Power sponsorship logo, at Jandakot Airport – Sat 22 February 2014. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 649
VH-DXU
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-DXU / SPOTTER 649 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 520-2009) of the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW), at Jandakot Airport - Sat 10 December 2016. Used as fire spotter aircraft for forest patrols and for supervising waterbombing operations in the south-west of WA. Photo © David Eyre
SPOTTER 650
VH-PWC
American Champion 8GCBC Scout
Photo © David Eyre 		VH-PWC / SPOTTER 650 American Champion 8GCBC Scout (MSN 580-2016) of the Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Jandakot Airport - 12 November 2017. Used in the southwest of Western Australia on forest patrols to spot fires and to supervise water bombing operations. Photo © David Eyre

AIR ATTACK

Air Attack call signs are fire agency designations for air attack supervisor platforms, and the call signs remain unchanged regardless of whether the actual airframe is changed. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) frequently rotate their Scout fleet around the various bases, so their AIR ATTACK callsigns change, but their SPOTTER callsigns remain unchanged. AIR ATTACK platforms are managed by DBCA.

Bases and fleets

Jandakot

  • 4x BOMBERS (Air Tractor AT802)
  • 5x HELITACKS (Bell 214)
  • 1x FIRESCAN (Beech 200 Super King Air)
  • 1x FIREBIRD (various Squirrel / Dauphin helicopters)
  • 2x SPOTTER (American Champion Scout)

Serpentine

  • 1x HELITACK (Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane – ‘Georgia Peach’)

Bunbury

  • 2x BOMBERS (AT802)
  • 1x FIREBIRD (Squirrel)
  • 1x BIRDDOG (GA8 Airvan)
  • 1x SPOTTER (Scout)

Busselton

  • 2x HELITACKS (Bell 214)

Manjimup

  • 2x BOMBERS (AT802)
  • 2x SPOTTERS (Scout)

Albany

  • 2x BOMBERS (AT802)
  • 1x SPOTTERS (Scout)

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