Story ID: 458
Columbia's Big Fire Stopper Lands in Dallas
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Fresh off a busy fire season, Columbia Helicopters is displaying one of its CH-47 Chinooks, equipped with the largest internal water tanks on a helicopter.
Word Count: 449
Twin-rotor helicopters are generally a rare site here at Heli-Expo, but fresh off a busy firefighting season, Columbia Helicopters has brought one of its specially-equipped Boeing CH-47D Chinooks to the static display. During the 2016 fire season, the company’s two Chinooks, equipped for the first time with the world’s largest internal helicopter Fire Attack System (FAS) and their 2,800-gallon water tanks, logged more than 740 hours, or nearly half of the company’s seven-helicopter fleet’s usage. The fleet fought more than 50 fires in 16 states with an availability rate that exceeded 95 percent. The FAS was developed specifically for Columbia and it can discharge its entire tank in five seconds and can refill from a hover in less than a minute.

“Our customers were pleased with the speed and fuel efficiency of the Boeing CH-47Ds when combined with the large internal tank," said Santiago Crespo, vice president of business development and marketing at Columbia. “It’s great to know that our firefighting efforts, which now include this increased capability to deliver large amounts of water quickly, are being received in a very positive way.”

Oregon-based Columbia (Booth 6111), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is one of the leaders in heavy lift helicopter operations. Its fleet currently consists of 10 234 Chinooks, the commercial version of the CH-47, for which Columbia now owns the type and production certificates. Last year it acquired the last three of the type from Taiwan, making it the world’s only operator of the Chinook model that can carry passengers in addition to performing heavy lift tasks. Between 2013 and 2014, Columbia purchased 11 military surplus CH-47Ds from the U.S. government. Of them, three are currently airworthy, including the two fire-suppression helicopters that were converted in 2015 and saw their first service last year. According to Crespo, the company will bring more of the CH-47s online for use in oil field services once the industry recovers sufficiently to merit their operation. Last month, the company announced it has selected Skytrac's flight data monitoring system to improve real-time awareness on Chinook 234 missions. The system offers real-time analysis of engine exceedances and operational deviations, and its satellite data download feature can offload full flight logs on landing.

Columbia also operates 13 Vertol 107-II twin-rotor helicopters, the civilian version of the CH-46 Sea Knight, for which it also owns the type certificate, having purchased it from Boeing in the mid-1980s.

As Columbia performs maintenance on its fleet, Crespo noted that the company is conducting more and more outside work for the operators of the more than 900 CH-47s still in service for the U.S. and other governments.