by Bill Lavender

BRANDON, MANITOBA CANADA — When Jon Bagley of Westman Aerial Spraying, Ltd. decides to do something, it becomes evident pretty quickly. Forming Westman Aerial in 1989 after flying for a nearby ag-aviation operation, Jon has grown his company from a single 450 hp Ag-Cat spraying row crops in southern Manitoba Canada to a fleet of Air Tractors, including an AT-502, AT-602 and two AT-802Fs, as well as his original 450 Ag-Cat and a Cessna 337 for bird dog operations.

The AT-602 and two AT-802Fs are designated as Single Engine Air Tankers (SEAT) for firefighting. SEAT operations are a relatively new concept for the Manitoba fire program. Although Manitoba Conservation, the government entity that directs the province’s fire program, supervised by Duane Feely, has used CL215s, DC-4s and other multi-engine aircraft in firefighting roles, it was only five years ago that the abilities of SEAT aircraft were recognized.

During 2003, Westman Aerial SEAT aircraft flew 120 hours in a 110-day period. However, 2003 was considered to be an unusually busy fire season, with the season beginning a couple of weeks sooner than usual with an increase in the number of annual wildfires. Usually, Manitoba experiences an average of 550 fires during the fire season, but in 2003 that number jumped to 1,148. The season typically starts the third week of April with the spring fire season and continues through mid-September. Fire zones are established in the southern region of the province with the onset of grass fires and work their way north as green-up occurs. Then the lightening season starts and very often, SEAT aircraft are positioned in key areas to wait on-call when a particular fire zone gets designated as a Red Alert Area. This designation depends on the moisture level and value of the surrounding forest.

Westman Aerial’s AT-602, with its 600-gallon hopper, is used only during the spring fire season; while both of the AT-802Fs are dedicated 800-gallon capacity firefighting aircraft. The AT-502 and Ag-Cat are used exclusively for row crop work in the Brandon area, primarily spraying potatoes, with the AT 602 joining them once the spring fire season is complete.

The AT-802Fs have sophisticated systems; dual cockpits with dual controls, the Air Tractor computer-controlled fire gate and a host of avionics. Although the aircraft are not IFR certified, they are equipped with all the avionics needed for IFR operations. Westman Aerial’s AT-802Fs utilize both civil aviation and normal ag-aviation GPS units for guidance to the fire. Presently, there is no commonality with GPS units between firefighting operations. However, if and should this come into being, mud lines could be applied more accurately, minimizing the occurrence of gaps between drops in poor visibility situations. This would require a GPS unit that could “talk” with other units while in the air and be interfaced with the dump handle, automatically opening the gate at exactly the right moment based on software and hardware inputs.

During the last five years, Jon has worked in conjunction with John Bodie of Jonair in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, to secure firefighting contracts. With the 2004 firefighting season, Westman Aerial plans a major expansion in the fire business. A Manitoba SEAT group usually consists of four initial attack aircraft with support equipment and a bird dog aircraft. With the projected growth in aerial firefighting in Manitoba, as well as other Canadian provinces, Jon sees a window of opportunity to develop Westman Aerial’s wildfire suppression capabilities. Pursuing this, Jon purchased a second AT-802F this winter from Lane Aviation of Texas and is ready to put it into service for the 2004 firefighting season. In addition, Jon is adding a bird-dog aircraft and numerous pieces of ground support equipment. The goal is to offer an all-inclusive package to the various fire fighting agencies in Canada.

New firefighting strike zones are being added in Manitoba. In 2004 the strike zones will constitute a 75-mile radius from ground operations. This has been expanded from the 50-mile radius zones of the past. The larger strike zones are possible because of the larger payload and faster speeds of the AT 802F, hence with the proper balance of reload bases one group of AT 802Fs can effectively protect a larger area. This will require complete and independent ground support bases with all the required reloading equipment. The concept is for the AT-802F to be able to work from any one of these bases as needed by Manitoba Conservation. This concept of expanded reload bases will keep the AT-802Fs busier and more efficient, moving from one base to another as needed, in turn saving the government money.

The 2003 fire season in Manitoba defined the roles of the multi-engine tankers and SEAT operations. Multi-engine tanker aircraft, like the CL215s, CL415s and DC-4s, continue to perform an excellent job pounding away at established fires. The SEAT aircraft really shine at boxing in the fires during initial attack situations and building highly effective mud lines on larger fires. The quick response time and agility of the SEAT aircraft make it very effective in these situations when every minute counts.

Mud lines are created using a mixture of long term fire retardant and water. The material is mixed at a ratio of 5.5 parts of water with one part of long term fire retardant. The finished product weighs approximately 13 pounds per gallon. Powered by a PT6A-67 turbo prop engine, the AT-802F is capable of delivering a full load in most conditions.

A typical mud line mission takes between 10 minutes and one hour to complete, depending on how far away the fire is from the reload base. For mud dispersal operations, the AT-802F is ideal, taking off from short strips and using high ferry speeds to the fire. Typical airstrips are a half-mile long, many times with trees on each end. The AT-802F can work from these strips as easily as the agile AT-502. However, when humidity and turbulence come into the equation, both aircraft have to adjust their loads accordingly.

When Manitoba Conservation began SEAT operation five years ago, it used the AT-502 and the PZL Dromader. Already, the government is realizing the advantages of the quick response time and larger capacity of the AT-802F. However, the AT-802F is a more expensive aircraft to own and operate than the AT-502 or PZL Dromader and requires special considerations at the reload base, like a larger ramp area. Even so, the trend for SEAT aircraft operations in Manitoba is toward the AT-802F.

Duane Feely is Manitoba Conservation’s Supervisor for Aviation Services. Feely has been with Manitoba Conservative for over twenty years, working literally from the ground up. Feely was instrumental in creating the Manitoba SEAT program and continues to guide its growth through his support. He has observed the quick response time the Canadian SEAT operators have been able to provide his fire program. In doing so, it has allowed his department to be more efficient and provide better utilization of the multi-engine aircraft.

While Westman Aerial’s AT-802Fs are fighting fires in Canada, the AT-602, AT-502 and Ag-Cat are spraying potatoes from the 3,200-foot asphalt runway in Brandon. Jon built the runway in 1993. Since then he has added hangars and office space.

Potato applications start in June and are applied until mid-September. Small grain work begins in mid-June and goes to mid-August. Westman Aerial used to fly-on a lot of herbicide work, but today very few acres receive herbicide from Westman Aerial aircraft. Offering a complete agri-application service, Westman Aerial sells pesticides and performs needed herbicide applications with a high-clearance ground sprayer.

Shortly after forming Westman Aerial, Jon became active in the Manitoba Aerial Applicators Association by serving on its board of directors since 1990. During that time, he served as the MAAA president from 1992 to 1993 and as the Canadian Aerial Applicators Association’s president from 1994 to 1997. During his tenure as president of the CanAAA, he helped form CAIR, a self-insurance hull program. In 1993, while serving as president of CanAAA, Jon started working on the aerial registration of Roundup. By establishing an educational program administered through CanAAA, Canadian applicators could become certified for Roundup applications by attending the training program, having a minimum number of application flight hours, working under a mentor and attending an aircraft calibration clinic every 20 months. These efforts have lent to very minimal drift problems with Roundup in Canada. This project has been ongoing and is nearing completion at this time.

Another issue that was addressed while Jon served as president of CanAAA, and is an ongoing project for the CanAAA, is buffer zones. In the near future, the Canadian government will allow the pilot to use variable buffer zones based on the operator’s equipment that has previously undergone and passed government scrutiny. This assignment of a legal buffer zone is then based on science, type of nozzle and arrangement, droplet size and type of application. The biggest issue comes into play with labeling. Jon says labeling needs to be changed to accommodate approved variable buffer zones.

Westman Aerial Spraying, Ltd. is a thriving firefighting and row crop spraying business in southern Manitoba, Canada. It remains successful and enjoys a phenomenal growth rate by addressing opportunities. There was a time in Canada when no one thought there was a long enough growing season to support a turbine ag-plane. Obviously, Westman Aerial has disproved that myth. In the past, mud lines and row crops were the source of revenue. In 2004, that may change and firefighting for SEAT operations may expand even further using water and foam drops in remote areas where mud can’t be delivered. One can rest assured, Westman Aerial and Jon Bagley will be ready and able.