cool video S2T

[Daveroo]

its a view from the cockpit of a Cal Fire S2T from take off to drop to landing again.i wished all the pilots would set up cameras and show us what they do.

[roger-wilco-66]

That's some cool footage, thanks for sharing :-)

Cheers,
Mark

[ColoKent]

Dave, if you like this sort of thing, check out steveo1kinevo on You Tube. He is a corporate pilot (vs. tanker pilot), but he has some really cool in-cockpit videos.

Kent

[Daveroo]

Dave, if you like this sort of thing, check out steveo1kinevo on You Tube. He is a corporate pilot (vs. tanker pilot), but he has some really cool in-cockpit videos.

Kent

yeah i subscribe to his channel already,i see alot of this sort of thing on the tube,but this was fire fighting,and with miltons S2T being worked up i thought some might like to see it.

but thank you for the heads up too...

dave

[Victory103]

Great vid dave, and something I'm still looking at pursuing as a career. Really surprised they fly single pilot, figured the extra eyes would be helpful during the drop.

[PhantomTweak]

A great video! Thanks!
I too would have thought that plane would take two pilots. I know the Navy always uses two, but heck, what do they know
Thanks for a wonderful vid!
Pat☺

[Mike71]

A great video! Thanks!
I too would have thought that plane would take two pilots. I know the Navy always uses two, but heck, what do they know
Thanks for a wonderful vid!
Pat☺

Phantom - yah gotta train jg's somehow! Anyway, the S-2s flew at night, IFR, very low over the water for lengthy periods with pretty basic "steam gauge" information in the cockpit. Not saying firefighting profiles are not dangerous, but ASW missions were pretty dicey from the old converted ESSEX Class ASW fleet.

[Daveroo]

This past summer,flying out of the grass valley air attack base ,they were flying with two pilots per aircraft.not sure if it was for training or not,Joe "Hoser" Satrapa had retired,so i know that plane was two per for certain.

[PhantomTweak]

Phantom - yah gotta train jg's somehow! Anyway, the S-2s flew at night, IFR, very low over the water for lengthy periods with pretty basic "steam gauge" information in the cockpit. Not saying firefighting profiles are not dangerous, but ASW missions were pretty dicey from the old converted ESSEX Class ASW fleet.

All that, and a carrier trap at the end of the patrol. No WONDER they always had two pilots, plus a crew chief! They needed the eye-balls available, if nothing else. I imagine in a tight spot, like engine failure, or a system failure, they needed the eye-balls and hands too. Someone to read checklists, verify the right sequences of the right controls, and so on. Make sure there were "no fast hands in the cockpit" I understand they said. Good plane, but heavy workload, even for 2 pilots!
Thanks for the info. Fascinating stuff indeed.
Pat☺

[Mike71]

All that, and a carrier trap at the end of the patrol. No WONDER they always had two pilots, plus a crew chief! They needed the eye-balls available, if nothing else. I imagine in a tight spot, like engine failure, or a system failure, they needed the eye-balls and hands too. Someone to read checklists, verify the right sequences of the right controls, and so on. Make sure there were "no fast hands in the cockpit" I understand they said. Good plane, but heavy workload, even for 2 pilots!
Thanks for the info. Fascinating stuff indeed.
Pat☺

You got it - and they had to fly very complex localize patterns (using dead reckoning and an archaic DR plotter in back) once the ASW operators in back picked up a sub possibility with the sonar boom, radar dome extended below the fuselage or the "sniffer" on some models.

Think about it - no ejection seats, flying often in the Iceland-UK gap wearing "poopy suits" for POSSIBLY surviving for a few minutes in case they had to ditch. No air refueling capability; lose an engine, what's the wind effect on the way back to the ship? Do they have enough fuel?

I felt fortunate in an A-4 or A-6, at least I had a fighting chance if everything went to hell. Those guys - much less.

[malibu43]

Cool video!

The drop is at 3:00, right? Is the switch to drop retardant actually on the yoke, then?

It was cool to see how much he had to push the yoke forward to counter weight loss of the retardant dropping...

[malibu43]

I'll just leave this here as a subtle hint to Tankerguy72....

(All in good fun... I know real life gets busy... )

[tankerguy72]

Nice video Dave. This pilot just retired this past year. Very nice guy just met up with him last Friday. Love these in cockpit videos.

I know I know Malibu I have to get that Neptune done . I know the pilot that makes those videos also. Very nice guy.