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Sydney Australia, Fire Standby at Bankstown 🚁

Rotorheadrob

Rotorheadrob

Active Member
Patron
hello VAF users in or around Sydney, Australia 👋😄

I'm over at Bankstown airfield on Fire Standby with an Erickson Air-Crane SK-64 and would be happy to give any interested Aussies a tour. 🚁💦🔥

We are on duty from 9 to 6 daily. Send me a MP to coordinate a visit.

Unless there's a Fire Call, I'm always ready to BS about RVs and flying in general.

Family & friends welcome, as long as you keep them on a leash if thier not potty trained. Hahaha! 😄👍

Rob
 
Hey Rob, how long are you based at YSBK this summer? I will probably be moving to Condell Park (directly under the turn to final for runway 29R) sometime in Feb. If you're still around I'll shoot you a PM.
 
You should go watch a cricket match at the SCG??.embrace the local sports :D

Few nice RV's down there too.
 
Rotor,

Fly safe bro, and have fun too. Do the Cricket match?good fun?but go with someone who knows the game and can 'splain it! ;) See a "Footy" game too!

See ya back here soon!

Cheers,
Bob
 
Well I guess we won't see you at Serpentine this year Rob, although we do have another Air Crane based at the field. Better facilities than last year too. Thanks for all the great work you heli pilots do for us in the bushfire season. Fly safe.
 
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I'd like to have gone back to WA this year but, the dart board scheduled me in Sydney this season. Hahaha 😎🍺

Will try and make some sort of outing. There's a great old aviator type on the field who's cool enough to take us into the city aboard his float plane! Fly right over the harbor and such. Defiantly on my List 👍

All is quiet for now. In fact, is drizzle ☔️ Today. Half the crew has a bit of a cold and we're basically hunkered down doing movies or reading-not feeling touristy a the moment 😷. It'll pass and we'll be right again soon enough. We crew with an extra pilot & extra MX for just this reason. Today is my turn to stay at the apt and rest a bit. Give a chance to get cought up on important VAF reading! Hahaha.

Got a few PMs from locals. Much appreciated. Aussies are great people! 😄👍🍺

We do our daily preflight checks about 0930 and can BS under the Crane after.

Rob 😎
 
Who doesn't wish their favorite sporting event went on for five entire days?

- mark
 
Rob,
I would like to visit the operation at YSBK but this would not be until the first week in February. Does this fit with you? Assuming you are on standby of course.
Seeing as my home is in a very fireprone area adjoining the Heathcote National Park - I am hoping you will not be visiting me this summer!
 
Hat sighting

So I dropped in and said, "Hi!" this morning.

I worked out that Erickson Air Cranes put out fires by expeditiously carrying this fire extinguisher to the site of the blaze. At least, I think that's how it works. That must be it, why else would a fire extinguisher be sitting on the grass in front of two turbine engines with exhausts big enough to raise a family in?

fire-extinguisher.jpg


There's no beauty, subtlety, or finesse about the aircrane, unless you think about it in pure engineering terms -- which, of course, you must. 9000 hp twin turbine helicopter slurping 500 gph of Jet-A1 lifting up to 14,000 lb of cargo. The whole thing looks like a gantry with helicopter bits bolted to it, which is essentially an accurate observation.

up-close.jpg


Preflight involves a longish checklist, from warning annunciators through to running up the APU. Do it at the start of the day so you can be off quickly if there's a fire call. Two pilots, two mechanics, and a crew chief. Serious operation.

preflight.jpg


Checklist completed, and Rob had time to answer a bunch of stupid questions. I learned a lot. Especially about the gyro stability systems, which sound a lot like cheating to me. I approve.

This is what a fake helicopter pilot looks like. See the way he has his hands on the controls, as if he has even the slightest chance of doing anything useful with them? Idiot doesn't even have his seatbelt done up. Yeah, fake. That guy, dammit.

fake-helicopter-pilot.jpg


Here's what the real helicopter pilot looks like. He says his day job involves flying such a massive badass hardcore aircraft that it compensates for the fact that he flies a nosewheel RV. At least, I think that's what he said. Meh, details :D

hat-sighting.jpg


bubble.jpg


Exterior shot, showing what a dwarf looks like next to a normal-size helicopter, scaled up.

dwarf.jpg


Rob says they always have people coming through wanting a look, and a large part of the job involves giving tours. So I felt a bit less bad about being a distraction if there are lots of other people to dilute me.

I took one of the mechanics for a fly up the Bankstown VFR lane to the Northern Beaches and back. Cessna 152 pilot from Greece, mildly astonished at how far we went in such a short amount of time when he looked at the map afterwards, RV grin newly installed. No photos, they're on his camera, maybe I'll see them later.

Rob's returning to the US on Thursday. If you're an RV person in the Sydney basin, you know where to go.

- mark
 
Mark,

Great write up! You're always welcome for a visit and I look forward to taking you for a Bay Tour sometime. Eugene, one of our mechanics who's intrested in flying/piloting really enjoyed his flight with you- A BIG THANK YOU for that! Very cool of you.

Rob

BTW, your no fake pilot. Flying RC helis is harder to do, however they're not quite as risky if a system fails. Hahaha
 
newt said:
There's no beauty, subtlety, or finesse about the aircrane,

up-close.jpg
Click to expand...

May I suggest you never say that to a wildland firefighter.

More than once I have seen the beauty of these beasts in action.

Rapid turnaround time due to using local water sources, ability to operate in steep and/or narrow terrain, pinpoint accuracy of delivery on the fire---------yeah there is a beauty there for sure if you have the right perspective on them.
 
How did you get that thing from the US to AU? Was it shipped or did you pick up a HUGE fuel tank and just fly it down there?
 
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