On the 23rd of October, Aviator's Day, we at Aeroflap visited the hangar of the 2nd Squadron of the CBMDF, where the Air Tractor aircraft of the Military Fire Brigade are based, which carry out the firefighting mission.
The CBMDF firefighting actions until 2011 were carried out by the 1st Squadron using squirrel helicopters. But in 2012 the Air Tractors arrived, which increased the squadron's effectiveness in the fires that, during the months of August to October, the fires are large and help from the air is very welcome.
We were received by Major Dias Silva, a 39-year-old pilot who has been working in the 2nd Squadron and in the Fire Department for 21 years.
Maj Dias explained the squadron's technical details, the aircraft used, as well as the tactics needed to carry out operations safely.
Currently, the 2nd Squadron is headquartered at Brasília Airport, in a hangar shared with the Civil Police-DF.
The structure of the squadron is composed of a team of pilots and mechanics who, in rainy weather, carry out maintenance on aircraft, training flights and the like.
Here in the city of Brasilia for approximately 03 months there is a long period of drought with a strong drought where the fires increase a lot and it is necessary to use aircraft.
This year, due to the large fires, the 2nd Squadron of the CBMDF helped fight fires in Mato-Grosso.
Curiosities:
The Air Tractor 800 is a North American aircraft and the one that the CBMDF (Military Fire Department) uses is exclusively for firefighting, but there is an agricultural version of it and a military version.
“The aircraft is equipped with a PW PT6-67 engine, turboprop of 1350 Horsepower, in addition to having a maximum capacity of 1.400L of kerosene, which gives an autonomy of approximately 6 hours. 3.100 liters complete Maj Dias”.
The water control is done by a computer, in which the pilot can the amount of water that will be released, as well as the opening of the gate that can vary according to the pilot's command.
The conventional landing gear allows the Air Tractor to operate on unprepared runways in addition to making the plane “robust” and has a wingspan of almost 19 meters
Maj Dias Silva explained some technical details of the aircraft, such as the maximum takeoff weight of the Air Tractor, which is 7.200kg (having the rank of a conventional single-engine aircraft with the highest maximum takeoff weight), which is even greater than of the Embraer 110, the Bandeirante, a twin-engine aircraft.
In Brazil, only the Fire Department of the Federal District and Mato Grosso has the Air Tractor for firefighting, totaling four aircraft.
Check out our special video with more details and images of the action of the 2nd Squadron of the CBM-DF that fulfills firefighting missions:
