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  • Ready for Fire

    Text and photography by Claude La Frenière
    The training of helicopter pilots to fight forest fires in Quebec and Ontario.
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    Prior to the summer fire season, Aviation News Journal had the opportunity to attend training and requalification sessions for pilots of Saint-Hubert Airport-based Heli-Inter, at a local airport in Saint-Hyacinthe (CSU3).

    With permission of Airport Director Gabriel Chartier, Heli-Inter uses these facilities because the airport is a 15-minute flight from its base of operations, it has moderate traffic on weekdays and is located outside the main urban area, mostly surrounded by farmland some kilometers from the city of Saint-Hyacinthe.

    This allows helicopters to maneuver safely and practise water bucketing and water drops, thanks to a 2,100 foot long artificial water basin for seaplanes. This allows all types of bailing and pumping that pilots are required to complete during their training.
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    The Bell 205

    Pilots are trained on two Bell 205A-1++ helicopters. Known for its lifting capabilities, the Bell 205 is a versatile aircraft in the transport category. It is at home in turbulent environments and high temperature areas, making it the aircraft of choice for fighting forest fires. Derived from the U.S. Army's Huey helicopter, the distinctive sound of its large 48-foot-diameter main rotor is similar to that of the Huey.

    The company maintains its helicopters in top condition. They are equipped with modern avionics and have been upgraded to the 205A-1++ version with the addition of a higher performance Lycoming T5317 turbine and transmission, as well as a Bell 212 rotor system, increasing their lifting capacity over the standard Bell 205A-1. In addition to the Bell 205s, Heli-Inter uses Bell 212s and Eurocopter AS 350s for forest fire fighting in Quebec and Ontario.

    These helicopters are all equipped to use a water basket called a Bambi Bucket. It is a flexible container similar to a collapsible bag and equipped with a pilot controlled valve that attaches under the belly of the helicopter with a lifting hook and a sling of 50 to 150 feet (15-50m). These buckets can be filled directly from any body of water to recover up to 1,226 litres (324 gallons) of water.

    Some helicopters are also equipped with a ventral tank installed under the fuselage. It can hold 1,420 litres (375 gallons) of water or 114 liters (30 gallons) of retardant foam while leaving free access to the lifting hook under the aircraft. This tank is equipped with several hatches allowing for one, two or three hatch salvos and a pump that allows for a 60-second refill while hovering.
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    Training and requalification

    We had the opportunity to speak with Patrice Bellerose, Bell 205 instructor and vice president of operations at Coast-to-Coast Helicopters, Heli-Inter’s parent company. He is a veteran of the aviation industry, qualified as a pilot on 11 different types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, and an aviation safety specialist with over 20 years’ experience. He has worked on five continents and has accumulated an impressive total of more than 16,000 hours of accident-free flight time in his logbook.

    He explained that the maneuvers we witnessed were part of the annual requalification of pilots who fight forest fires. The pilots I saw in action were seasoned pilots with thousands of hours of diversified aerial work recorded in their logbooks. Their annual requalification is part of the requirements of their employing agencies and consists of a review of common maneuvers that a pilot must perform during forest firefighting:
    - Scooping with a water basket using a short and then with a long sling, and pumping water into a belly tank.
    - Procedures for safely ascending with a water load and different types of water drops.
    - Hovering a few feet off the ground to allow people to get on and off the aircraft to simulate transporting firefighters to sites where it is impossible to land.
    - As these helicopters have single engines, pilots practice autorotation to be ready in case of engine failures.
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    Essential qualities required of pilots

    For Bellerose, safety in aerial firefighting is vital. As a result, three essential qualities are required:

    Vigilance: Good pilots are constantly alert and aware of their immediate environment. They are in constant contact with aerial spotters, supervisors, ground crews and all other aircraft in flight. They must respect the established altitude and trajectory to avoid any risk of collision between aircraft.

    Versatility: Pilots’ diverse flying experiences allow them to adapt quickly to changing conditions on the ground.

    Effective stress management: Pilots fighting a forest fire must have complete control over their stress. In a real-life situation with smoke and fire, in addition to air traffic in the area and constant radio congestion, tension can build. Pilots must be able to keep a calm and clear mind to operate their aircraft safely.

    All of these qualities bring us back to safety, the number one priority of pilots in forest firefighting. Bellerose explained to me that with a major fire, air traffic is sometimes intense; there can be a large number of aircraft of all types (fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters) in the area.
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    Coordination of operations and aerial forest fire fighting in Quebec and Ontario

    Fighting forest fires in provinces such as Quebec and Ontario requires significant material and financial resources. The 2020 annual report of the Société de Protection des Forêts Contre le Feu (SOPFEU) indicates expenditures in the order of $105 million in province of Quebec, while the province of Ontario reported expenses of $69 million.

    This year, SOPFEU indicated that it would have an air fleet including 14 air tankers, 24 detection aircraft, 8 air-spotters and transport aircraft and 16 helicopters. Apart from Government Air Service tankers, all aircraft are under contract with private companies such as Héli-Inter. Ontario also has its own fleet, which includes tankers and various aircraft with a number of aircraft under contract.

    In Quebec, resources for forest firefighting operations are coordinated by the SOPFEU Command Centre and by the Emergency Operations Center (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) in Ontario. However, in the wildfire area, everything is controlled by the aerial spotters (fire bosses), forest fire-fighting specialists who fly over the fire area in an aircraft. They are analysts, flying air traffic controllers and the safety guardians of air-to-ground combat operations. They direct operations from the air and when the air tankers and helicopters arrive, they identify relevant targets.
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    Role of helicopters in forest firefighting

    Helicopters are an essential part of forest firefighting; they can arrive at low altitude and drop water at a very specific location to slow down the fire and even open an escape route if flames surround firefighters on the ground. Smaller helicopters such as Eurocopter AS350s can take off and be on their way to a fire within minutes to fight an incipient fire.

    A Bell 205 equipped with a belly is especially versatile. It can carry a whole team of firefighters, along with their equipment, and drop them off in a damaged area without landing on the ground if necessary. Then, as soon as it ascends, it can lower its pump, fly to the nearest water source and be back within minutes with 1,420 litres of water to support firefighters with accurate strikes.

    At the end of an operation, water baskets are used to neutralize the last pockets of fire with a long sling of 150 feet (50m) to prevent the rotor reactivating the fire.
    It was a great experience to attend these pilots’ requalification flights and see how skillfully they operate their helicopters, as, at the time of writing, they are all deployed with their aircraft and ready to fight forest fires in Quebec and Ontario.
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  • Big X: Squadron Leader Roger Bushell

    Text by Divan Muller
    Roger Bushell was not an ace, but his actions had a tremendously disruptive impact on wartime Germany. His name may not be known to many, but he was the mastermind behind one of the most famous events of World War II.
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    Wing Commander Bob Tuck and Squadron Leader Roger Bushell (right)
    Early life

    Roger Bushell was born in August 1910 in Springs, South Africa. His father, a mining engineer who had immigrated to South Africa from England, may have been concerned when he noticed young Roger could swear in three languages at the age of six. Bushell attended school in Johannesburg up to the age of fourteen when his father, intent on providing his son with a good education, sent him to England. After he had finished school, Bushell studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge and became a barrister. At the same time, he excelled at skiing and represented the Oxford-Cambridge team internationally. He also became fluent in French and German.

    According to well-known author and historian Paul Brickhill, "In his early twenties he had been British ski champion, and once in an international race in Canada, he had come swooping downhill like a ‘bat out of hell’ and taken a bad spill over a boulder. The tip of one ski caught him in the inner corner of his right eye and gashed it wickedly. After it had been sewn up, the corner of his eye drooped permanently and the effect on his look was strangely sinister and brooding."

    Flying career

    From a very young age, Bushell wanted to be a fighter pilot. He joined the Royal Air Force's (RAF) 601 'City of London' Squadron as a reserve force pilot. His unit was often referred to as the 'Millionaires' Mob', because of the number of wealthy pilots who had paid for their training with the RAF. As a barrister, Bushell often defended airmen in court, most notably John Freeborn and Paddy Byrne. He successfully defended these two pilots after their involvement in the infamous Battle of Barking Creek, a friendly fire incident which resulted in the first fatality of a RAF pilot. In late 1939, Bushell was given command of 92 Squadron, which was equipped with Spitfires.
    By May 1940, the Allies were beginning to lose the Battle of France. German forces tried their best to prevent Allied troops from reaching Dunkirk, from where a large-scale evacuation would take place. The situation on the ground was dire, while RAF airmen did not have an easy time in the skies above. On May 23, Bushell led a formation of twelve Spitfires over the English Channel. The flight was intercepted by forty German Messerschmitt Me-110 heavy fighters. Five of those had their sights set on the leading Spitfire, flown by Bushell. This was the first time the squadron had seen combat, but even so, Bushell managed to shoot down two Me-110s, before his aircraft was damaged to the extent that its engine caught fire. Bushell glided the Spitfire and force landed in a French field. He thought he had landed in Allied territory, but, much to his surprise, he was arrested by German soldiers and made a prisoner of war (POW) at Dulag Luft, along with other airmen who had been shot down.
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    A Spitfire which was used during the evacuation of Dunkirk - Alan Wilson
    Escape

    As a senior officer, Bushell was immediately made part of the escape committee. After helping to coordinate a number of escape tunnels from Dulag Luft, Bushell escaped by clipping wires. He fled to the Swiss border while pretending to be a ski instructor, but he was captured only a few metres away from freedom. The Germans sent Bushell to the Stalag Luft I POW camp, but this time he escaped by pulling the floorboards of a railway wagon apart. He fled to Prague and was given shelter by a family who formed part of an underground resistance movement. A young lady, who was a member of this family, wanted to marry Bushell. He declined her offer, as he was already engaged to a girl in England. Infuriated, she notified the Gestapo of his whereabouts, who then executed her family and sent Bushell to the infamous Stalag Luft III. Ironically, the fighter pilot, who had become a seasoned escape artist, then received a 'Dear John' letter from his fiancée. (Of course, a ‘Dear John’ letter is a letter received from one’s partner, advising one that their relationship is over.)

    At Stalag Luft III, Roger Bushell assumed command of the escape committee and was given the codename ‘Big X’. He immediately began planning 'Operation Escape 200', the most ambitious escape in history. He organised no less than 600 captured air force personnel and coordinated the digging of three tunnels, named 'Tom', 'Dick' and 'Harry', in what would later become known as 'The Great Escape', upon which the Hollywood movie with the same name was based. Years later, archaeologists discovered a fourth tunnel, named ‘George.’ Bushell’s leadership gave hope to fellow POWs and in his own words, “made life hell for the Hun.” The story of how the three tunnels were simultaneously dug is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice to say it was an enormous operation which had to be intricately planned to the finest detail. As it happened, the guards discovered ‘Tom’ in August 1943. By then, Bushell had already helped 26 officers to escape by other means. Bushell’s plan of having 200 men escape during one night was never fully realised, but on March 24, 1944, 76 men escaped through ‘Harry.’ It was the largest escape from a POW camp in history, a great source of propaganda for the British and a massive embarrassment for the Germans. In the end, only three of those men made it back to England. The rest were captured. Hitler was furious and, despite the Geneva Convention, personally ordered the execution of fifty of the escapees. This became known as the ‘Stalag Luft III murders.’ Two days after this mass execution, Bushell, who was the fourth person to escape through the tunnel, was caught and shot by the Gestapo at the age of 33.

    After the war, a RAF Special Investigations’ Branch Team (SIB) was assigned to hunt down Bushell’s killers. One of the two killers, Dr. Leopold Spann had been killed in an air raid on Gestapo Headquarters in Austria, while the other, Emil Schulz, was a prisoner of the French. He was handed over to the SIB Team, which brought him to England where he was ‘tried’, convicted and hanged.

    According to Wing Commander Herbert Massey, “Roger Bushell’s name will forever last in my memory as one of the greatest men of his generation. He was an outstanding leader of men, quite fearless and he had a very fine brain. I say those few words as the senior British officer of Stalag Luft III and virtually Roger’s commanding officer.”

    Bushell was never decorated. He was never able to report his kills and was subsequently only credited with ‘damaging’ two enemy aircraft. Had he not been shot down, Bushell could possibly have become a Battle of Britain ace. However, it seems Bushell contributed more to the Allied war effort as a prisoner, than he could have done as a fighter pilot. Not only did Roger Bushell shoot down two enemy aircraft, he embarrassed his captors, gathered intelligence, discouraged and infuriated Adolf Hitler.

    A special thank you to the staff of the South African Air Force Museum at Air Force Base Swartkop for their assistance in writing this article.
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