Helicopter 301  (H301)

UH-1H SUPER HUEY HELICOPTER

MANUFACTURER
Bell Helicopters, Fort Worth , Texas .

ORIGINAL OWNER

U.S. Army, 1963 to 1975. The UH-1H was used as a troop and cargo transport and specialized operations.

ACQUIRED BY CAL FIRE

In 1981, CAL FIRE acquired 12 helicopters from the Department of Defense. They were heavily modified by CAL FIRE for firefighting use and went into service in 1989. CAL FIRE has 9 helicopters available state-wide for the 2005 Fire Season with two reserve helicopters available from CAL FIRE's Aviation Management Unit (AMU) in Sacramento to fill in behind scheduled maintenance.

MISSION

CAL FIRE utilizes the Super Hueys for fast initial-attack on wildland fires. The copters are able to quickly deliver a nine- person fire crew wherever needed as well as battle fires with water/foam drops.  The copters are also utilized for medical evacuations, backfiring operations, to ignite prescribed burns using either a heli -torch or  "ping-pong ball" machine, or,  Chemical Ignition Device System (CIDS), cargo transport (internal and external  loads), re-seeding operations, infra-red mapping of incidents, and numerous non-fire emergency missions.  CAL FIRE helicopter crews are trained for " short-haul" rescues. A short-haul involves a crew-member being lowered from a hovering helicopter to an injured or trapped person below. Once hooked to a harness or stokes basket, the victim and crew-member are then carried a short distance to safety.

CREW

One Pilot, two Fire Captains, and eight Firefighters.

PAYLOAD

Bucket operations - 324-gallons of water/foam.

Fixed tank - 360-gallons of water/foam with pilot-controlled drop volumes.

SPECIFICATIONS

GROSS WEIGHT: 10,500 pounds

CRUISE SPEED: 126 mph

RANGE: 250 miles

ENDURANCE: 2 hours

ROTOR DIAMETER: 48 feet

ENGINES: Turbine Lycoming T-53-703 derated from 1800 horsepower.