MAFFS 8 and a support 130 made it back to Charlotte last night. The rest of the units involved are back at it, but the NC ANG, at least right now, is concentrating on healing wounds and taking care of those affected.

Edited July 4, 201213 yr by LoadClear

:beer: :beer:

I've got a few friends from Nav school that are in that unit... This is really sad, hits me twice as a 130 nav and former firefighter.

The Charlotte PA Lt Col said MAFFS missions conduct drops at 150'AGL. Is this accurate?

A friend just transferred in there a few months back. Didn't know what to tell him other than we are praying for them and their families. Godspeed, good work bros.

I was in Edgemont yesterday and saw a lot of equipment and personnel in town, very sad to see considering why they were there. Everyone please stay safe, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families.

Edited July 4, 201213 yr by Focker

:beer: :beer: Traded in one set of wings for another. RIP gents

Godspeed Brothers. :beer: :beer:

:beer: :beer:

Really, sad to hear...I commute through CLT, and see the Herks parked there in the MAFF colors.

Yup...was in CLT last night on airline business. I saw the metaphorical black cloud lingering over those poor guys; all the planes were chained down. Words can't even express my sorrow.

RIP boys.

Tuesday, 10 July, @ 0900L at the NC Air National Guard, Charlotte, NC in hanger 4 (the fuel cell). Uniform is Flight Suit, ABU, or Service Dress if you like. The 61st AS will be providing trans out of LR. (just got this text from a friend)

General MAFFS query, why fly so low for an extended period of time? The video shown has these guys flying around treetop level through several valleys. Given that Pk with the ground is 0.999, why not just descend into the drop zone and then climb out?

General MAFFS query, why fly so low for an extended period of time? The video shown has these guys flying around treetop level through several valleys. Given that Pk with the ground is 0.999, why not just descend into the drop zone and then climb out?

Proficiency.

...why not just descend into the drop zone and then climb out?

They do, it's just not that apparent in the video. Performance isn't exactly stellar at the weights/speeds they're flying, so you're not going to see them swooping in from high above or climb out at 5000'/min, especially if they didn't get the drop off. Sometimes, the lead plane will take a MAFFS tanker around for a "show me" pass at a higher altitude to show the crew the line he wants them to drop on as well as the escape path he has in mind. They then drop down low for the second pass & drop.

MAFFS Hercs were initially used during the Deepwater Horizon mess to spray dispersant. To apply the dispersant properly, they had to fly at 75 feet. So, I'd say the low altitude thing is probably tied to getting an effective laydown of whatever it is they are spraying.

:beer: :beer:

Edited July 8, 201213 yr by F16Deuce

Low level, Low IAS and dragging the airplane in to make the drop, through a boiling soup of thermals and smoke, visibility zero at times - this is truly sporty aviation.

A round for those that do it..................

And a round for those that gave all doing it..........................

Edited July 8, 201213 yr by MXQA

MAFFS Hercs were initially used during the Deepwater Horizon mess to spray dispersant.

That was MASS (Modular Aerial Spray System) not MAFFS (Modular Airborne Firefighting System). Different system & mission flown by different units.

Target altitude for MAFFS is 150' AGL. This allows the retardant to stop forward travel prior to impact while minimizing drift and spread.

https://www.wcnc.com/...y&c=y&img=0&c=y

The AF released photos of the crash site.

Edited July 9, 201213 yr by lloyd christmas

Those were tough to look at.

Great memorial service today at 145th AW. RIP brothers.

Short PA clip from service.

Any recent word on how the loadmasters are doing?

Knee-jerk reaction from AMC, NGB & AFRC puts new restrictions on mission that make it ineffective and have nothing to do with the accident. Way to go leadership. What a sad example of a risk averse set of blues-happy HQ tools. You pushed your ignorant pencils so far up up our asses we can even get the mission done.