The EC225 water bomber deployed in Corsica carried out more than twenty interventions during the months of July and August, delivering over 1000 metric tons of water in 310 drop operations and accumulating 66 flight hours.

Between 1 July and 07 September 2007, a French air force EC725 from 1/67 squadron ‘Pyrénées’ was lent to the Sécurité Civile civil defence and emergency preparedness organisation for evaluation during aerial firefighting missions. Throughout the trials, the helicopter was flown by crews from the EC725/EC225 special group, supported by a Eurocopter ground team. The aircraft was stationed at Bastia-Poretta airport, a strategic point from which it could be deployed anywhere on the island of Corsica. All equipment serving a purely military purpose (weaponry, optronic turret, countermeasures, etc.) was removed from the aircraft, which then corresponded to an EC225 configuration, and it was fitted with a fire-fighting system developed by Eurocopter and consisting of a flexible 4000-litre tank and a scoop and water jettison kit.
“We started by exploring the helicopter’s flight envelope when equipped with the fire-fighting system, then we tested its flight behaviour in a water bomber configuration under real-life conditions,” reports Jacques Larra, the test pilot of the EC725/EC225 special group detachment in Bastia. Before setting out on their first fire-fighting missions, the crew members had taken part in training sessions on the ground under the instruction of professional fire-fighters. They had also flown several times as observers on board Turbo Trackers and Canadair CL415s belonging to the Sécurité Civile.
“After the initial trial phase in July, we moved on to the operational evaluation phase at the beginning of August,” Larra continues. “This allowed us to carry out fire-watch activities and become a fully integrated part of the Sécurité Civile’s joint-service air operations.”
The EC225 was able to demonstrate the flight characteristics that qualify the helicopter as a uniquely useful firefighting platform: by dropping water from a lower altitude and at lower speed than a fixed-wing aircraft, it can target a fire with greater precision, especially in mountainous terrain. Furthermore, its ability to pump water onboard in hover mode enables the helicopter to make use of water supply points in close proximity to the disaster area.
Although pumping water from the sea, a lake or a watercourse will always remain an extremely delicate operation, it is nevertheless facilitated by the helicopter’s wide power margin. But one of the most difficult parts of a mission, as water bomber pilots well know, is the approach to the fire zone. “It’s essential to prepare a detailed tactical analysis of the situation on the ground before setting off, and identify the best route taking into account the topography, the presence of obstacles, smoke conditions, aerological conditions and the availability of personnel on the ground,” states Daniel Semioli, the test flight engineer from the EC725/EC225 special group working as Jacques Larra’s co-pilot.
“That adds up to a huge number of parameters to be considered in terms of flight safety, a task that ultimately demands very close co-ordination between the pilot and flight engineer who make up the two-man crew. Obviously however, the real challenge is the water drop, which is made more difficult by the rugged terrain, turbulence and smoke.”
All in all, the Eurocopter crew members – J. Larra, A. Di Bianca, M. Audias (pilots), D. Semioli, C. Skorlic (co-pilots) – carried out more than twenty interventions during the months of July and August, fighting nascent forest fires and more widespread conflagrations such as those that occurred in Vivario (on Corsica) and St Sauveur sur Tinée (on the French mainland). During the course of these missions, they delivered over 1000 metric tons of water in 310 drop operations and accumulated 66 flight hours.
The trials in Corsica have once again proved that, in the hands of an expert crew, the helicopter water bomber can provide outstanding service when fighting fires in a diverse range of geographical environments.