Hicks and Lawrence

by Jason Friesen

CF-JIP
Above photo by Jason Friesen

C-FIXO
Above photo by Gerd Wengler

I received this information on the companies Hicks and Lawrence and North Shore Air. As they operate no less than 19 skymasters I thought I would be interesting to do a page on them. Below is information that I have received from Jason Friesen.
Most of the work that the aircraft do is forest fire detection. A pilot and an observer fly a grid pattern over the bush during periods of dry weather and look for new forest fires. The aircraft are equipped with a low band FM tranceiver which the crew uses to report the location and characteristics of the new fires that they find. The 337 is an excellent platform for this type of work becuase of the excellent visibility afforded by the high wing with a leading edge that is behind the pilot. The combination of reasonable speed and high endurance are also very much appreciated by the crew.

The rest of the 337 fleet is used to perform a function known as birddoging. Once a fire is found a waterbomber aircraft (Canadair CL215) is dispatched to the fire. A birddog aircraft is sent along with the waterbomber to perform a number of functions. The most important part of the birddog's job is to run air trafic control for the zone around the fire since other aircraft and helicopters could be coming to the fire and a collision could occur if some sort of coordination is not maintained.

The crew of the birddog aircraft consists of a pilot and an air attack leader. The air attack leader is a person with experience at fighting forest fires and his role is to direct the efforts of the waterbombing aircraft so that they will be as effective as possible. He also has to ensure that the waterbombers do not drop their 12000 lbs of water on the heads of any fire fighters on the ground. By circling over the fire apporximately 500 feet higher than the waterbombers, the birddog has a better perspective on the entire situation and is able to allow the waterbombers to do a more effective job.

The smoke that the fire porduces can cause the visibility to drop to the point where it becomes very difficult for the pilots in waterbombers to find the target that they are looking for. In this case the birddog can be used lead the waterbombers on to the target by flying a loose formation with them and then diving at the particular spot on the fire where the waterbomber is supposed to drop its water.

The high visibility afforded by the skymaster makes of very good for the birddog work. The excellent maneurvability also greatly enhances the benefits of the skymaster. A high roll rate combined with light and effective controls make the skymaster much less fatiguing to the crew after spending 3+ hours in a tight orbit over a fire.

Skymasters Owned by the two companies

CGWDU  337B
CGNRO  337D
CFSIW  337G
CFIKM  337G
CFJIP  337G
CFSIZ  337G
CFSIY  337H
CGIGB  337G
CGDQU  337G
CGFSC  337G
CGIOG  337G
CFIGS  337G
CFBRK  337H
CGEOR  337G
CFBME  337G
CFBNX  337G
CFBRG  337G
C-FIXO  337G
CFBRH  337G
More information will be added as soon as possible