BAE146 Airtanker Tour!

Neptune Aviation, Missoula Montana

[@railroadjim]

@2:35 "Four engine fires held together with a common electrical fault...." Ha!

[@paulspencer889]

Some 146 features.
All carbon brakes.
All servo-tab controls (the the control column is not attached to the flight controls).
Four geared tank engines.
Airbrake can be used at any time and any speed.
Very powerful flaps that let everyone know you were landing (woooooooooooo…)
.

[@gcrauwels941]

I've been on the BAE-146 twice, on a short regional flight from France to UK and back. Always thought these were neat aircraft.

[@andrewgurney6019]

Nice one, the BA 146's were built 10 minutes from my home, at the Woodford Aerodrome, great little jet.

[@RJM1011]

The RAF are still flying them from RAF Northholt. :)

[@Cartoonman154]

@@RJM1011 They are selling them

[@RJM1011]

@@Cartoonman154 Great !

[@1Gaumer]

Yeah she is! Thing is a tank!

[@whathasxgottodowithit3919.]

The old girl is still looking good, built at Woodford UK over 30 years ago. We used to fly in those aircraft on regular oil field crew change flights between Aberdeen and Scatsta in the Shetland Isles

[@COIcultist]

How much of a thing was the reporting of fumes from the pressurisation system?

[@nickinportland]

Awesome, you probably didn’t have to deal with too many forest fires over on the Shetland Isles!

[@hscollier]

With the enthusiasm you have when presenting information, I find myself being fascinated by details I didn’t know I was interested in. That makes you a great teacher as well as an outstanding aviator and reporter. Also appreciate your positivity and sense of humor.

[@ohboy2118]

I spent 2 yrs flying backwards and forwards to Zurich out of London City Airport in the 146 whisper jet. Comfortable, quiet and fun to be in and like another has said feels bigger inside than it looks from the outside. 2 yrs of happy memories.

[@AA330Ret]

I had the privilege of getting T-12 into Ramona Air Attack Base in July of 2015. I was the base BC/ATGS. Feds were doubting it could operate out of the base. No problems in or out and got a fire dispatch that afternoon. Glad to see she is as well kept as she was back then. Kudo's to Neptune!

[@larumpole]

So glad the quirky Bae 146 has found a new role fighting fires. Thanks for the detailed insight.

[@elosogonzalez8739]

I was really impressed with my one and only flight in the BA-146. I flew from Chicago to Oshkosh in the early 80's. I believe this is the same type operated by the Royal Family in the UK. Thanks for this video. Enjoy your time up there

[@simonbaxter8001]

Spent many years at BAe Woodford as part of the BAe 146 and later Avro RJ Series flight test team. Later moved on to customer training looking after the 146 and RJ full flight simulators. Fabulous aircraft and a big part of my aviation career.

[@umleitungdoth5827]

Proud to have worked on the engine nacelles in Belfast, UK years ago. Great product

[@MarkSmith-hy9ll]

Enjoyable video tour that brought back some memories as I had a similar tour with these great guys at San Bernadino a couple of years back. Being a Brit, it was good to see these 146s still earning a crust.
Flew many times on these with various European carriers and always had good flights.
And re the clam shell air brakes, you definately know when they open them on finals! If you've experienced it you will know what I mean ;)

[@oldmansolo572]

Really enjoying your channel Sir!!! My Mom and Dad were both in the RCAF from WW2 till the late '50s. They came West to BC after the Avro Arrow was cancelled and Dad got a job as a Navigator for Canadian Pacific Airlines in the Late '50s till the Mid '70s due to the introduction of INS!!! I basically grew up at YVR, wanted to fly, but a bran injury in the '70s washed me out of Flight school. Prior to that, my Instructor was an Ex-RCAF Voodoo jockey and he had a '59 Luscombe Silvaire that I got to train in with him!!!! Just doing Flight Sims since then, rode Motorcycles instead, closest thing to flying next to a Plane!!!

[@GlennNiesen]

My mother used to work for Air Wisconsin back in the 1980’s. I took a lot of flights in their BAe 146 aircraft. Great aircraft that can get into and out of almost any field. Great choice for a tanker.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

I've flown in the passenger version, always loved it!
HondaJet also has similar speed brake on tail.

[@dalestephan6777]

I asked a pilot why they stopped using the them for short haul commuter flights . " passengers did like looking out the windows and see the engines. Lol

[@edwarwick8790]

Four fires held together by a common electrical fault.that gave me a fit of the giggles.nice one sir.

[@christopherestrada8576]

Neptune! We love having the Neptune crews on base. (Not that we have favorites but…) They are always friendly and professional! Plus they wave Montana loud and proud, especially when in California. ;-) Everyone misses the P2s! That special roar and growl will never be duplicated. There’s one at the Paso Robles Air Museum I believe. Great tour!

[@iancarlson5511]

Sometimes they’ll let you go in the p2 if you get lucky

[@sixstringedthing]

This 146 has a bit of a TARDIS thing going on, it somehow seems bigger inside than out. Thanks for another great tour video JB.

[@anna-lisagirling7424]

sixstringedthing>> I was remembering that same observation about those planes with fondness. Around 30 years ago my spouse and I did some volunteer work at the always struggling little aviation museum near Whiterock, BC and there were various aviation professionals involved in the goings on there, too. A married couple who were Air BC pilots took us on a totally impromptu tour of the maintenance facility for Scare BC one yucky, dark evening. There was one of their BAE 146s with the red and white livery all shiny and proud. We got to go inside and we both gasped and said in unison word to the effect that BAE must have employed Tardis tech to make the interior twice as large as the exterior. It was wide, plush with leather seats and we wer all set to fuel her up with our two personal pilots and just see the world! I've had a crush on those beauties ever since despite never actually having flown in one. : (

[@Markle2k]

@@anna-lisagirling7424 I’ve flown in one as a passenger. They well deserved the moniker of a whisper jet. It was the quietest airliner that I have ever flown in and very comfortable.

[@JamieEHunter]

It’s because it sits low and has a high wing so it certainly seems small when it’s on the ground.
It had much the same capacity as the 737 Classic when it was designed though so if you were to have only the fuselages sat next to each other on the ground there wouldn’t be much difference on the outside.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@anna-lisagirling7424 Cool story, thanks for sharing it. 👍

[@Lt_Tragg]

Gosh darn Juan! You've been hitting us with a fire-hose (no pun intended) of information and cool tid-bits lately. I was a line-mechanic on the BAe146 years ago. I found it easy to work on. We use to kid that those 4 little ALF 502's were like running APU's for engines.

[@thunderbolt513]

Hi Juan. What could be better than a guy who's a pilot and a mechanic speaking aircraft systems? A guy that is (also) an
ex-tanker pilot talking about tanker fire fighter aircraft.
Happy landings from Portugal.

[@argentum530]

Watched the BAE146 flying on the Caldor fire. Flightradar24 has good photos when you select an aircraft in the air, it's interesting looking plane when it's passing overhead too.

[@jeffreygosselin7576]

I flew a Northwest Airlink (Operated by Mesaba) from KPIT to KDTW back in 2003. The visibility from a passenger point of view was limited while on the ground but fantastic in the air.

[@Redchew10]

Love watching these things operate, fortunate side effect of living in a fire prone state. Billings Montana’s airport is directly visible from anywhere in town and it’s awesome to watch these guys work

[@turbofanlover]

I've always been of a fan of this bird. Love the look of her. Sadly, I've never had the opportunity to fly on one.

[@captaindbheadcase1303]

Great to see these British built aircraft repurposed for a new career. Used to see these fly over my home in Whaley Bridge on approach to the factory airfield at Woodford , England.

[@roadgeneral]

Thanks, Juan. The 146 is a really good aircraft, although known to have a bit of a problem with it's engines. Seems like a natural as a fire bomber.

[@Breznak]

I love the Avro so much. It's good to see they're being put to good use.

[@FranksMSFlightSimulator]

Very, very interesting info on the airtanker. What a testimony to human ingenuity. Thanks Juan. Cheers.

[@oxcart4172]

I live about 4 miles from the original factory at Hatfield where they were built. They are incredibly quiet compared to the previous Tridents we had flying over.

[@andyowens5494]

Is the factory now a business park and housing estate? I've not been there in over 20 years.

[@oxcart4172]

@@andyowens5494
It is. But the main building was listed and is now...Hatfield police station!

[@andyowens5494]

@@oxcart4172 Awesome! Yes, very art deco IIRC. Bl%dy big for a cop shop! Thanks for the update.

[@oxcart4172]

@@andyowens5494
It does look good!
And no problem, Andy!

[@robertwren2289]

This was a very cool tour. I just sent this to someone I know in Canada that someday would like to fly one of these. Juan, you know much more than the average bear about these tankers, not to mention, you're trying to give out as much info as possible in a very short period of time. Thank you sir.

[@John.Halsted]

I used to fly this at Mesaba and always wanted to see the fire suppression system up close. Excellent video and thank you.

[@C2JZ]

I love these tanker tours, I hope to see more when you have a chance!

[@KVW110]

Heyyy! I contracted for them 3 years ago! Spent some time in those tanks.

[@jroar123]

Incredibly fascinating walkthrough, thanks!

[@joetexas1546]

On F-4 Phantoms... we called the speedbrakes- ‘Boards’!

[@tams805]

BAe 146/Avro RJs are beautiful and incredibly capable aircraft.
It's shame the modernised version never got any customers and that they aren't made anymore.

[@LZE.]

British aviation in a nutshell.

[@thevirtualcockpit5001]

Pleasantly familiar cockpit, I fly this one often in the sim. The model is a training level simulation, so systems are accurate to real world. Four engines, steam gauges and full avionics do make it seem like a much larger aircraft, but still a very logical layout.

[@dfolt]

Flown some 250 times as a passenger in the BAe 146/Avro RJ. Great aircraft!

[@gordonjackson9955]

Once again, I really enjoy your multi-dimensional subject coverages.

[@juliogonzo2718]

The window flapper valve. It's like a big toilet. That is a cool setup

[@paulj.ingram2839]

That jet is fixed in my memory watching it come into Buchanan Field in Concord around ‘76 when I was in technical school. Also infamous for the jet that was taken down by a disgruntled airline employee, crashing near Highway 46 in SLO County.

[@Paul1958R]

Juan,
Great video tour - thank you!!
Paul (in MA)

[@boostdemon]

For some reason I love the way the 146 looks, high wing jets are not very common. I also saw a couple of these doing air drops on the Paradise fire in Sequoia a couple of days ago.

[@ronaldjennings8057]

Tanker 12 that is pretty cool thanks for showing it to us take care out there and God bless🙏🛩

[@gerardacronin334]

Very interesting! Would I be correct in assuming that the high wings help to keep the engines free of contamination by retardant?
I remember travelling on Air Canada Jazz BAE146 es in Atlantic Canada several times in the early 1990s. The views, unobstructed by wings, were awesome and there was great leg room. It was my favourite aircraft at that time.

[@sixstringedthing]

Certainly makes it a nice looking aircraft in my opinion, I've always liked high-wing designs. I'm not an aeronautical engineer, but I believe they offer a lower FOD risk (commonsense suggests this).

[@paulspencer889]

They were designed because the 146 was supposed to be a rough-strip aircraft,
So it kept the engines away from FOD.
P

[@carolramberg3487]

Go Neptune, stay safe. My son works for Neptune as a crew chief

[@serg2963]

He is one of the very best!!

[@RJM1011]

Great to see thumbs up and shared thank you for the video.

[@BadGaming101]

Originally Built few miles away from Whaley bridge at the Woodford Aerodrome now closed down , but the home of the Avro heritage museum with many cockpits to explore including a Vulcan cockpit and full airframe parked out side . avro rjx or bae 146 was a great regional aircraft i ve seen many fly in and out of Woodford

[@harpandharley]

Nice tour! I have always enjoyed your reports as you stick to the facts.

[@richardburguillos3118]

Another special report. Constantly learning… Thanks for sharing…

[@Coops777]

Great looking aircraft. Thanks for the video!

[@brothersjames9262]

Now that’s a good looking peace of equipment Bae 146 perfect for Cal-fire and much needed 👍👍👍

[@madisonian50]

I flew from MSP to RST in the late 90s on one of these. Figured it might be one and done for me one the 146 at the time. Glad I had the chance!

[@Knee-ko]

Love your love of aerial fire-fighting JB. 👍👍

[@browsman2328]

Greetings from Sacramento. Thanks for the explanation. I live close to McClellan and I’ve see these flying around and couldn’t identify them.

[@twothreebravo]

Great info, thanks for sharing it. I love how simple the pressure relief system is, just a flap, it's genius.

[@generaldecker9971]

Awesome vid. TY fire fighters.. you guys are heroes to me. Thank you for your service. Much love from Canada.

[@Gmar69]

Wow Juan, what an incredible aircraft, thank you!

[@robmcmanus9950]

Seen these up close. Amazing and we support with spares and repairs for these guys!

[@binkieruby2191]

Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@NicolaW72]

Thank you very much for this presentation of a very special "Jumbolino"!

[@redrocklead]

Great job. Got some great photos of these guys working a fire in the Kaibab last summer.

[@imaPangolin]

What a neat airplane. Thanks for sharing.

[@discus239]

my retired usair friend shared the meaning of B.A.E. .....Bring another Engine!

[@Mrsournotes]

Very good info packed video Juan. I watched a couple of these birds work the Robertson fire near Red Lodge, MT earlier this summer.

[@jimbronson687]

Those are cool planes. Rode on one in the mid 80s from LA to Yakima WA. It was a fast smooth ride,

[@moriver3857]

Back in the USAir days those were referred as Bring Another Engine, for BAE. Awesome to see one completely stripped of the interior. The F100 and F28 also had those "spit doors", or air brakes. Nice show

[@rstewardson4164]

PSA - Pacific Southwest Airlines used them in the late 1980s. Always reminded me of downsized C-141.

[@RetNemmoc555]

Those were my favorite to fly on as a passenger. PSA was my go-to airline in the day.

[@Markle2k]

@@RetNemmoc555 I preferred AirCal, but the 146 remains my most favorite airliner that I’ve ever flown in, quiet and comfortable.

[@theresters1]

WE LIVED IN LOLO MANY MOONS AGO. FLYING DOWN THE BITTERROOT TO THE AIRPORT WAS A LITTLE SHAKY FOR ME BUT WATCHING THOSE SMOKEJUMPERS TRAIN WAS A REAL TREAT! GOD BLESS'EM ALL!

[@terry12327]

A Great airplane. Some relatively great STOL safety margins, the only problem is the cost of operating 4 engines. That has some benefit if you lose one engine of T/O you still have three to go on, as a safety margin to get back for landing.

[@angelorosin5951]

The Air Cal guys I used to work with at AA told me BAe meant “Bring another engine”. They all said the overtime bought them houses, trucks, boats, etc.

[@Agislife1960]

Ive also heard that, for so some reason, those turbofan engines don't have a good history with reliability, but it has four engines and like most four engine machines, they fly pretty good on three engines

[@angelorosin5951]

@@Agislife1960 that’s the story I heard. Those Lycomings definitely had issues.

[@Globalflyr]

The Lycomings were originally designed as turbo shaft engines for helicopters. Bombardier also used them on the original Challenger 600 series aircraft. Problematic at best until the L2B mod, which made them more reliable.

[@bodabar1]

Will never forget the sound of the jet assist of the p2v's

[@forrestmiller4055]

I have about 1600 hrs flying one of the newer RJ 85/ RJ100 planes that are the same as the 146 except newer avionics and different engines. I can say that these are real pilot friendly aircraft, a joy to hand fly and absolutely amazing at short takeoff and landing. The only real bitch I have is it's gutless at altitude....taking forever to climb to FL310-330.
Flying this plane as a tanker would be a real treat....I'm pretty jealous.

[@simonbaxter8001]

I've been on a test flight in the 146-300 prototype (G-LUXE) over San-Diego at FL300 testing the LF507 (new at the time) and we we doing high level re-lights and an early version of FADEC software and it wouldn't relight without pop-surging, so it was shut down. Aa FL300 on 3 engines above restricted airspace, it wouldn't maintain level flight! We got escorted out of the restricted area by 4 FA-18's ! So yes, not the best performance at altitude, but extremely efficient!

[@tombolin7168]

Thanks for the tour !

[@javev1772]

One of the coolest aircrafts ever built. Awesome bare metal interior!!! Lack of thrust reversers is weird on this size aircraft.

[@markknister6272]

Loved the tour.

[@BillySugger1965]

Delightful to fly in as a passenger in a short haul airliner configuration.

[@scottp.5161]

Split tail? Okie dokie then....just busting your nads Juan. Thanks for the tour.

[@ericlozen9631]

The 747 Post-zygote Model - I've always loved this beauty.

[@rob7633]

Thanks Juan enjoyed the vidio.

[@scubastevedan]

If you ever visit a Neptune Air Tanker that I'm crewing on I'd love to get you onboard Mr.Brown! Tanker 12 is one of my favorites, lots of memories and GoPro videos taken from that bird!

[@blancolirio]

What Base this year?

[@scubastevedan]

@@blancolirio currently in Fort Huachuca Arizona with Tanker 16, but I'll be going to a number of different bases with different BAe's throughout the fire season. I hope to possibly see you around, thanks for all the great content!

[@montepickett3]

I flew the 146 for a couple of years in the commuters. I think at least 2 of the ones I flew were converted to fire bombers.

[@gregoryreschke914]

I was at the Air Races one year and they had a DC7 tanker there. There was a fire on one of the surrounding hills everyone on the top of the grandstands turned to watch the drop.

[@weschilton]

Very cool, thanks Juan!

[@julianneale6128]

A really great aircraft!

[@flypurplecat4774]

BAE 146 was (and may still be) used by Air Wisconsin (div. of United) for Midwest flights mostly.

[@catherinenelson4162]

Good job, Juan! 🌞

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

Saw one of these fly over the other day on their way back from the Caldor fire. Flew on one to Vegas in the 80's.

[@blairmanstevo2013]

Fantastic!
I added the Google 📌
Some years ago hauled a couple of cars into the airport there. Just the gravity brought me over to those aircraft. They were working on multiples, fresh from friggin far flung countries, they gave me the full tour and maintenance mania…
Never seen anything like it…
BTW can I carry your camera gear 👍

[@mattshaffer5935]

Split tail! 😂 Not gonna give my definition. Great tour!

[@moxievintage1390]

Wooooowza! 🙏🏽 Thanks Juan!!

[@ediseverywhere]

Thanks, Joe, and thanks Juan!

[@richardschroeder900]

Looks like a fun plane to fly, 4 turbines a spin'nin. Looks like a high wing loading though?
Great Vid Juan!

[@bullthrush]

Nice tour, thanks!

[@brendanoreilly6917]

Brilliant - thanks a million.

[@bobwright5557]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

[@arnenelson4495]

A beautiful bird!

[@Commander-McBragg]

Thank you, Juan. I learned a lot

[@dsflyerds]

I fueled this bird numerous times at MWH air attack base about 6 years ago, we were done fueling long before they were done uploading the mud.