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IBAMA introduces the Sling Dragon into Aerial Firefighting Strategy
IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) recently
conducted a large and
comprehensive annual forest firefighting training program in Brazil’s capital city of Brasilia at the Brasilia National Park. It included both theory and practical elements. This year’s training program introduced SEI’s Sling Dragon, an important device for the integrated management of
controlled burns. The
Sling Dragon went through extensive testing and received Technical Release in time to train IBAMA pilots with the new aerial ignition equipment. IBAMA’s three Sling Dragon units are the first to be used in South America.
SEI Industries developed the Sling Dragon to increase safety and performance by removing the machine from inside the aircraft and slinging it from the helicopter cargo hook with a set of SS suspension cables. Safely operated by the pilot with a hand control switch, the ignition occurs outside the aircraft and separate from
36 Sep/Oct 2022
the helicopter flight deck, eliminating the need of a crew operator. With a much- increased capacity of 5,000 spheres and seven speed settings, the Sling Dragon is equipped with a GPS tracker that records the drops coordinates on a MicroSD card, allowing users to easily view a map of their burn area.
“The Sling Dragon will exponentially increase our prescribed burning capability, which is a fundamental element of IBAMA’s preventative program to reduce the severity of wildland fires – especially in large, protected areas such as indigenous and conservation lands. The addition of the Sling Dragon to our toolbox will bring more efficiency and safety to the aerial ignition operations, allowing quick access to unreachable and risky areas for the ground crews,” explains Everton Almada Pimentel, Environment Analyst – Aerial Operations, IBAMA.
The annual forest firefighting training program (a weeklong event repeated twice during the month of July) is coordinated by Prevfogo (The National Center for the
Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires), a division of IBAMA responsible for policy, prevention and forest firefighting in Brazil; and COAER, the institute’s Air Operations Coordination. COAER’s training strategy included instruction for ground operations and controlled burns, as well as Bambi Bucket training. Brazil’s most experienced aerial firefighting operator, HELISUL Taxi Aereo, provided pilots with the opportunity to repeatedly fill the Bambi Buckets at different water sources and extinguish fires set by ground and aerial crews on designated grass fields.
“Every year, IBAMA performs multiple operations in Brazil to fight and prevent forest fires. Due to the aircraft’s multi- mission requirement, the Bambi Bucket is the ideal firefighting tool. It is flexible, light, and easy to install and remove from the helicopter, providing flexibility for the pilot to support other operations and quickly return to firefighting without shutting the engines down,” comments Commander Robinson Bordin, director of Operations, HELISUL.
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