Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Firefighting pilots spotlighte­d at Air Venture

Honor at aviation event comes after worst wildfire season in California

- Meg Jones COLIN BOYLE/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

OSHKOSH - Flying Apache attack helicopter­s in Iraq and Afghanista­n prepared Tim Cherwin for his current job.

The foe might be different but sometimes it’s just as dangerous battling forest fires in a twin-engine turboprop plane.

War zones and forest fires in the western United States — which Cherwin has fought from the air for the past five years — offer similar challenges: mountainou­s terrain, low altitude flying, extreme heat, changing weather conditions and endangered lives.

“It’s a rewarding type of flying,” Cherwin said Friday at EAA AirVenture.

For the first time, firefighting planes and their crews are being saluted at the week-long aviation convention, which ends Sunday. More than a dozen firefighting aircraft have gathered in Oshkosh with some of the airborne tankers demonstrat­ing water drops during afternoon air shows.

‘Unsung heroes of aviation’

Though firefighting aircraft have visited EAA AirVenture before, including the huge Martin Mars water bomber

“Our mission is to get guys there fast. We’re flying 180 mph. Speed is what we do. You probably couldn’t effectivel­y fight fires without aircraft.” Matt Smith flies a Short C-23A Sherpa turboprop for the U.S. Forest Service

that came to Oshkosh from British Columbia in 2016, organizers this year decided to invite planes and crews who battle wildfires.

“One thing occurred to us, we’ve never had a celebratio­n of them and what they do,” said EAA AirVenture spokesman Dick Knapinski. “They’re kind of the unsung heroes of aviation. They save lives and property and yet few people ever see them up close.”

Last year was the worst wildfire season in California with almost 2 million acres burned in more than 8,500 fires, killing 103 people including six firefighters and all but wiping the town of Paradise off the map.

Cherwin, who earned his pilot’s license while attending St. John’s Northweste­rn Military Academy in Delafield, flies as a forward controller, hovering 500 to 1,000 feet above fires to direct other aircraft ranging from helicopter­s to amphibious water tankers while also advising crews on the ground. In a way, he’s an air traffic controller helping make sure firefighting aircraft operate safely in often chaotic conditions.

Based in Bozeman, Montana, and working for Bridger Aerospace, which contracts with the U.S. Forest Service, Cherwin usually spends four hours in the air before returning to a nearby base to rest and refuel.

“Fires can generate their own weather. They emit a lot of heat but sometimes they can also emit a lot of moisture,” Cherwin said. “If you have very green trees, with intense heat that moisture has to go someplace.”

Situationa­l awareness — checking surroundin­gs, always having an escape route should an emergency occur — is second nature to Cherwin each time he flies, a skill he learned in the Army.

From his vantage point he can see dead trees, called “widow makers,” which can fall on firefighters, and he notifies ground crews of hazards.

1,500 gallons in 10 seconds

Among the firefighting planes at Oshkosh this week is the huge red and yellow Viking Canadair amphibian plane parked next to the flight line at AirVenture. During demonstrat­ions it flies to nearby Lake Winnebago where it skims the surface to suck up water before turning back to the airport and dropping its aquatic payload while attendees hold up cell phones and cameras.

“It picks up 1,500 gallons in 10 seconds,” said pilot Jim Vissers, of Port Alberni, British Columbia. “We’re on the water for only about 15 seconds.”

The entire trip from takeoff at Wittman Internatio­nal Airport in Oshkosh to Lake Winnebago, scooping up water, then back to the airport takes only two minutes.

“It’s a real hands-on airplane. It’s real heavy,” said Vissers.

‘Speed is what we do’

Matt Smith and Shane Bak fly a Short C-23A Sherpa turboprop for the U.S. Forest Service. The aircraft can carry up to 10 smoke jumpers with full gear or pallets of equipment and supplies like bottled water, MREs, hoses, pumps and other equipment that’s pushed out the back to float down to ground crews via parachute.

Smith, who is based in California, was a smoke jumper for 13 years before becoming a pilot five years ago “because smoke jumping is a young man’s job,” he said standing in front of a Sherpa parked at Boeing Plaza on the AirVenture grounds.

Aircraft play an extremely important role in fighting wildfires, said Bak, who is based in Montana.

“Our mission is to get guys there fast. We’re flying 180 mph. Speed is what we do,” Smith added. “You probably couldn’t effectively fight fires without aircraft.”

After World War II many of the warbirds that survived air battles were repurposed for firefighting. But in recent years those planes have been phased out and newer super tankers and planes with the latest technology are taking their place.

Bak has piloted firefighting planes for 22 years. It’s not easy flying. Aviators can’t use autopilot in trying conditions that can range from thermals rising out of flaming forests to flying low through mountain ranges. “It makes your flying way more turbulent because of the convective activity like thundersto­rms that might have started the fire,” Bak said. “Sometimes you’re flying through the same weather.”

Though last year was horrendous for wildfires in the West, so far it’s been relatively quiet. Had AirVenture invited firefighting crews last year, it’s doubtful so many would have been able to come because they were so busy, said Cherwin, who attended AirVenture as a child with his father, Bill.

Now he’s getting a chance to demonstrat­e his plane in front of crowds.

“It’s an honor. It really is a big deal for someone to fly at Oshkosh. We love to come show people what we do,” Cherwin said.

 ??  ?? The Canadair CL-415 drops water onto the runway. Firefighting planes and their crews are being saluted at the aviation convention.
The Canadair CL-415 drops water onto the runway. Firefighting planes and their crews are being saluted at the aviation convention.
 ?? COLIN BOYLE/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL ?? Tim Cherwin is inside his Aero Commander 500A Colemill Super 300 Shrike Conversion. Cherwin flies as a forward controller, leading other aircraft and advising crews on the ground.
COLIN BOYLE/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL Tim Cherwin is inside his Aero Commander 500A Colemill Super 300 Shrike Conversion. Cherwin flies as a forward controller, leading other aircraft and advising crews on the ground.

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