Greybull is just about the right size. Dahldale knows about that, cuz his dad flies out of there, also in a P2.
HVFS went under a long time ago. Hemet ceased being a federal base, too. Federal tankers now fly from San Berdoo, while CDF still maintains ops at Hemet. Ramona was cut off for all but DC-4's a while ago, and now mostly caters to lighter CDF traffic. Fox has been a federal base forever, and aero union has no maintenance facility there. Their only mx facility is Chico.
The FAA provides the same oversight to air tanker ops as they do to most operations under Part 137...it's no different. Air tankers still meet the same airworthiness requirements that every other aircraft does...H&P's aircraft were maintained under a phase inspection program, just the same as any Part 121 large airplane...but they see a lot more regular maintenance and timely maintenance...and the crews often take care of squawks as they occur in the field. This doesn't even happen in the military or the airlines. Further, very rarely will you find any other type of operation in which the crewmembers are all qualified mechanics, with the tools, parts, and mx publications on board the aircraft.
Tankers don't see substandard oversight or maintenance. Anyone who thinks so hasn't worked very closely with the industry. A cry went out after T-130 shed it's wings this year, saying that the airplane wasn't properly maintained. Not so. But a properly maintained airplane could never shed a wing or part in flight, right? How about Flight 587, or several other inflight structural failures that have occured on Part 121 airplanes in the past few years? It happens. It just happens that tankers operate in demanding conditions which apply a great deal more stress in a shorter time period, than most any other kind of operation.
The fact is that T-130 was receiving NDI testing via ultrasonic and dye penetrant much more frequently than the scheduled program required. More so than most any maintenance program might have required.
Further, the oversight provided to these airplanes hasn't been lacking. Very thorough inspections of facilities, personnel, equipment, aircraft, and paperwork are conducted. I know for a fact that the maintenance department at H&P, a Part 145 repair station for qualifications concerning almost everything, has won awards from the FAA for their maintenance, practices, and record keeping. They conduct contract maintenance on an international basis. I'm familiar with it, because I was a mechanic and inspector in that repair station.
The CL-415 is not the aircraft of choice. It is a choice, but not the choice.
MAFFS is okay for a stopgap measure, but is severely limited on resource and capability. It is not the answer, but a tool.
