A restored B-17 bomber will visit Santa Barbara from April 23 to 25 during a 60-city “Salute to Veterans” national tour. It’s one of two Flying Fortresses scheduled to land on the Central Coast this spring. The other will arrive in Santa Maria in May.
During its Santa Barbara visit, “Aluminum Overcast,” the Experimental Aircraft Association’s restored B-17 bomber, will offer flights and interior tours for a price. The plane will be at the Santa Barbara Airport south of Hangar 1, junction of Arnold Place and Cook Place.
Self-guided tours cost $5 per person or $15 per family (meaning adults and children up to 17 years old and including immediate family members only). Children under 8 years old can tour for free when accompanied by paying adult. All active-duty military members and veterans also will be admitted for free.
A minimum of six people is required per flight. Pre-booked flights cost $359 for EAA members and $399 (includes a free one-year EAA membership) for non-members. To schedule a flight, go to www.b17.org or call toll-free 800-359-6217. Rides booked after the aircraft arrives in Santa Barbara will cost $385 for members and $425 for non-members.
Aluminum Overcast has made multiple trips to the Central Coast, including stops in Santa Maria in 2002.
“The national tour EAA undertakes each year has become the nation’s most popular way to learn about this unique aircraft in an up-close way,” said Tom Poberezny, EAA president. “EAA is dedicated to preserving the spirit of aviation through these B-17 tours. This year, we also take great pride in saluting all our nation’s veterans as the airplane makes its way throughout our country.”
Aluminum Overcast was built in 1945, but was delivered to the Army Air Corps too late to see active service in World War II. It was purchased as war surplus for $750 by a private individual, and served in mapping and spraying operations in many countries until a preservation group purchased it in 1978.
The B-17 was donated to the EAA Aviation Foundation in 1981 with the provision of the aircraft being maintained in airworthy condition. After being displayed at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis., for a decade, the airplane made its national tour debut in the spring of 1994.
For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-564-6322 or go to www.eaa.org.
This won’t be the only old warbird to visit the county this spring. The Santa Maria Museum of Flight will host aircraft owned by The Collings Foundation, based in Massachusetts. The organization will bring a B-17 along with a B-24 Liberator and a P-51 Mustang to the Santa Maria Public Airport from May 17 to 19. For more information about that visit, visit www.collingsfoundation.org or call the Santa Maria Museum of Flight at 922-8758.
April 19, 2010
By Julian J. Ramos/Staff Writer jramos@santamariatimes.com | Wednesday, April 14, 2010
A Russian-made firefighting tanker drops water Tuesday during a test over the Santa Maria Public Airport. A Russian air tanker made its first water drop on American soil Tuesday in a demonstration flight at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
Carrying 3,000 gallons of water, the aircraft dropped its load on a field at the airport near the Central Coast Jet Center and performed a series of maneuvers over the airfield.
The exhibition for invited guests was meant to familiarize aviation and fire officials with the aircraft’s capabilities, said David Baskett, president of Santa Maria-based TTE International Inc., the firm behind the Be-200 visit.
Also known as Altair, the Be-200, arrived April 7 in Santa Maria for its inaugural display in America as part of a tour that has included stops in Brazil, Chile and Venezuela.
The theme of the visit, which ended Tuesday, was “save lives and land,” according to organizers promoting the aircraft as the future of aerial firefighting in America and a replacement for the nation’s aging air-tanker fleet.
Although Baskett pictures a fleet of 10 Be-200s — based in Santa Maria, owned by his firm and rented or leased to operators — the aircraft faces a long certification process to be used an air tanker for U.S. fires.
Joe Walsh, a Washington, D.C.-based spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said all air tankers used to douse wildland fires on federal land must have Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness certification and must meet several interagency standards. At the moment, the Be-200 does not meet any of the requirements, Walsh said. Also, there is no bilateral agreement between the United States and Russia to recognize each others aviation certification standards, he said. The Forest Service is always appreciative of those who develop, manufacture and operate aerial firefighting platforms, he added.
For the past few fire seasons, SMX has served as a base for tankers involved in fighting fires between Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties. Tankers have used the airport to refuel and to fill up with red-colored fire-retardant material at the Central Coast Jet Center.
Built by aircraft maker Irkut, the Be-200 is a twin-jet engine “flying boat” designed specifically in the 1990s for air tanker operations. The Be-200 first flew in 2003, and is in service with Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergencies.
Piloted by a two-person flight crew, the Be-200 has eight tanks, located under the cabin floor, capable of dropping 12 tons of water or retardant in about a second at a minimum speed of 135 mph. Its turbofan engines are located above the wing and to the rear to avoid spray into the engines.
The plane can drop 270 tons — one ton is 2,000 pounds — of water into a fire area without refueling, according to the Beriev Aircraft Company Web site. Its four water scoops can pick up 12 tons of water in 14 seconds while gliding on the water surface.
Santa Maria City firefighter Shane Gidlund takes a photo of the Be-200. The Russian air tanker, known as the Altair, landed Wednesday at the Santa Maria Public Airport for a week-long visit. Below, Russian crew members unload their luggage.
An amphibious aircraft being touted as possibly the future of aerial firefighting in America landed Wednesday at Santa Maria Public Airport. The week-long visit from the Russian-made Be-200 air tanker, also known as Altair, marks the first display on U.S. soil of the aircraft’s capabilities.
Arranged by a Santa Maria businessman with an aviation background, the visit is meant to familiarize prospective air tanker contractors with the plane. “It’s no longer a story, it’s here,” said David Baskett, president of Santa Maria-based TTE International Inc.
Initially, the Be-200 was scheduled to arrive in September 2009 for a month-long visit. Baskett cited months battling bureaucracy as one of the delays as the aircraft needed U.S. government clearance — Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration — before its arrival.
The Be-200 and a delegation of about 20 people will be based at Santa Maria Public Airport — also known as SMX — until next Wednesday.
A demonstration flight is in the works for Monday or Tuesday at Lake Cachuma, Baskett said. Static display of the plane, open to the public, is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Radisson Hotel.
Chris Hastert, airport general manager, said SMX is fortunate to host the Be-200, and the aircraft is being treated like any other that flies into Santa Maria. “It’s exciting to be a part of it,” Hastert said.
Over the past two weeks, the Be-200 appeared at an international air show in Santiago, Chile, and made stops is Brazil and Venezuela. The Venezuelan government reportedly has agreed to buy one of the aircraft.
Built by aircraft maker Irkut, the Be-200 is a twin-jet engine “flying boat” designed specifically in the 1990s for air tanker operations. The Be-200 first flew in 2003, and is in service with Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergencies.
Piloted by a two-person flight crew, the Be-200 has eight tanks, located under the cabin floor, capable of dropping 12 tons of water or retardant in about a second at a minimum speed of 135 mph. Its turbofan engines are located above the wing and to the rear to avoid water spray into the engines.
The plane can drop 270 tons — one ton is 2,000 pounds — of water into a fire area without refueling, according to the Beriev Aircraft Company Web site. Its four water scoops can pick up 12 tons of water in 14 seconds while gliding on the water surface.
Baskett sees the Be-200 as a replacement for America’s aging air-tanker fleet. Most U.S. air tankers are converted military aircraft designed in the 1940s and 1950s, he said.
Baskett envisions a fleet of 10 Be-200s based at the airport and the creation of high-end aviation jobs in Santa Maria. The planes would be owned by his firm and rented or leased to operators, he said.
The Santa Maria airport is an ideal location for the plane because the weather is optimal most of the year, it is low cost, and it is already home to an air-tanker base, Baskett said.
SMX has been the aerial reload headquarters for fighting fires from Ventura County to San Luis Obispo County for the past few fire seasons. Tankers have used the base to refuel and to fill up with red-colored fire-retardant material.
The Central Coast Jet Center at SMX developed an air tanker base in 2007, and leases the facility to the U.S. Forest Service, which also contracts for air tankers and fire retardant.
Baskett is also the president of Santa Maria-based American Ethanol, Inc. He also founded the now-defunct Pacific Skyway, a Santa Maria-based airline. Baskett’s interest in aviation dates back to the late 1950s as the son of missionary parents in the Philippines, where he was a student pilot. He spent 20 years in the Army flying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
TTE International, Inc. specializes in civil and military aviation from the former Soviet Union, according to the company Web site.
Posted: Thursday, April 8, 2010