Fire Fighting

Fire Fighting Helicopters may be fitted with tanks or carry buckets. Buckets are usually filled by submerging them in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or portable tanks attached to a sling. The most popular of the buckets is the flexible Bambi Bucket which allows the pilot to set the amount of water loaded into the fire bucket. A button allows him to trigger the opening of the bucket and to drop his load of water where the fire fighters need it.

This kind of precision is a good complement to Aerial fire fighting as it is almost always used in conjunction with ground-based efforts, as aircraft are only one weapon in the fire fighting arsenal. However, there have been cases of aircraft extinguishing fires long before ground crews were able to reach them.

Popular fire fighting helicopters include variants of the Bell 205,Bell 204, the Eurocopter AS350 B3 and Russian MI 8.

Fly Me has contracted with the KZN Fire Protection Association to provide two helicopters for the fire fighting season in the Eastern Cape. Fly Me manages the contract and supplies a Bell 205 and Eurocopter AS350 B3 which are used with Bambi Buckets under slung.