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Conair Group Inc. of Abbotsford,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada, formerly known as Conair Aviation, is a company specializing in retrofitting firefighting aircraft, maintaining customer and company-owned aircraft and
aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...
. Conair currently employs over 250 staff and has a fleet of aircraft that are broken down into two categories; air attack (a.k.a. bird dog), and airtankers (a.k.a. waterbombers). Conair specializes in fire management support by providing services and products to
forest protection Forest protection is a branch of forestry which is concerned with the preservation or improvement of a forest and prevention and control of damage to forest by natural or man made causes like forest fires, plant pests, and adverse climatic con ...
agencies around the world. In 1996 Conair became a Canadian Air Tractor dealer for the AT-802F air tanker. A former Conair Group division; Cascade Aerospace was acquired by the IMP Group of
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
in 2012.


History

The company was started by a consortium led by Les Kerr consisting of: Leslie George "Les" Kerr, K. Barry Marsden, Herman Joseph "Slim" Knights, Ronald "Ron" F. Connelly of
Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...
,
Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
, and John De Voin (a silent partner). Les Kerr had worked for Skyway Air Services for seventeen years and put together the five man group to take control of the fire control and aerial agricultural interests of Skyway. In the transaction, they took 35 employees and 19 single engine aircraft. This took place after the owner for Skyway (Art Seller), had suffered a stroke and wanted to eliminate some of his workload. Skyway Air Services was started shortly after the close of WW2. They were pioneers in the development and operation of aerial firefighting, agricultural and pest control spraying. After the interests were sold, Skyway continued to operate as a
flying school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...
and
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
business out of Langley, British Columbia. The new company was called Conair Aviation Ltd. and was incorporated in April 1969, receiving their operating license on October 22, 1969. As part of the deal, the aircraft and assets that Conair purchased were: thirteen Grumman Avengers, five Boeing Stearmans, one North American Harvard and the existing Skyway hangar located at Abbotsford, British Columbia. In 1978 Conair acquired a subsidiary; Frontier Helicopters based at
Watson Lake, Yukon Watson Lake is a town in Yukon, Canada, located at mile 635 on the Alaska Highway close to the British Columbia border. It had a population of 1,133 in 2021. The town is named for Frank Watson, an American-born trapper and prospector, who settled ...
. This rotary division was renamed Conair Helicopters in 1999. Conair also went into the Air Cargo business in 1980 by starting a company named Swiftair Cargo. They filed for license in early July 1979, and flew for the first time on September 15, 1980, using two
Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is an early long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. Work began in 1952 towards the United States Air Force's (USA ...
aircraft flying in opposite directions across Canada. Swiftair Cargo went into receivership by May 1982. By 1984 Conair had the world's largest private fleet of Air Tankers including 50 fixed wing aircraft and 15 helicopters and by the early 1990s has grown to over 90 aircraft. Conair Aviation Ltd. later became Conair Group Inc., and they continue to be based out of Abbotsford, British Columbia.


Fleet

, according to
Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...
(TC), the Conair Group fleet numbers 65 aircraft. In addition Conair show at least one
Canadair CL-215 The Canadair CL-215 (Scooper) is the first model in a series of amphibious aircraft, amphibious flying boats designed and built by Canada, Canadian aircraft manufacturer Canadair, and later produced by Bombardier Aerospace, Bombardier. It is o ...
, operated by Aero-Flite, that has been retrofitted and converted into a CL-415EAF with
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
engines. The Dash 8 were originally two used Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s, acquired from
Scandinavian Airlines System The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the Flag carrier, national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna Municipality, Solna, Sweden. Including ...
, that were modified by the Conair Group's former division Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia. These aircraft are set up for dual roles and were modified for the ''
Sécurité Civile The (General directorate for civil defense and crisis management) is a civil defense agency of the Government of France, French Government. It operates for the Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civ ...
'' to act both as fire-fighting water bombers in fire season and as civilian or cargo transport aircraft in the off season. This aircraft is designated the Q400-MR (Multi Role). The aircraft can be reconfigured into the passenger, cargo or aerial fire control role in under three hours and can drop in the tanker role. In recent years 14 Dash 8 Q400’s were purchased from Flybe and also converted into tankers. Conair also previously converted three
Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
turboprops for use as air tankers. In January 2021, Conair announced that it had purchased 11 Q400s from defunct British airline Flybe for conversion into Q400AT and Q400MR configurations.


Air attack

Conair's air attack aircraft, more commonly known as " bird dogs", are aircraft that contain the pilot and Air Attack Officer. The bird dogs ensure the runs to be made by the laden airtankers are safe and free of obstructions. The crew inside the bird dog determine the run locations and drop types to be made, coordinate the aerial action with the ground crews if present and control the airspace around the fire. These aircraft are always used in conjunction with the airtankers. Former attack aircraft include the Cessna T210, Cessna Skymaster T337 including the piston 337, and
Piper Aerostar The Piper Aerostar (formerly the Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, but the design was acquired ...
s, since superseded by eight Aero Commander 690 (listed by Conair as Turbo Commander TC-690A), five
Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...
(listed by Conair as the Cessna Caravan C208B), and a single Cessna 525B Citation jet (not listed at Conair's website).


Air tankers

Conair's tanker fleet currently includes the
Air Tractor AT-802 The Air Tractor AT-802 is an American agricultural aircraft that may also be adapted into Aerial firefighting, fire-fighting or armed versions. It first flew in the United States in October 1990 and is manufactured by Air Tractor. The AT-802 carr ...
and Air Tractor AT802F Fire Boss, an amphibious variant, three Avro RJ85, seventeen
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Longv ...
(both the Bombardier Q400-AT and Q400MRE, and the
Canadair CL-415 The Canadair CL-415 (Super Scooper, later Bombardier 415) and the De Havilland Canada DHC-515 are a series of amphibious aircraft built originally by Canadair and subsequently by Bombardier and De Havilland Canada. The CL-415 is based on the ...
operated by subsidiary, Aero-Flite. Conair's headquarters are in Abbotsford at the Abbotsford International Airport which also is where their maintenance and
retrofitting Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...
facility is located. Conair bases their aircraft under contract to fire control agencies throughout western Canada and the United States. Currently, Conair airtanker groups (a group consists of one birddog and from one to four airtankers) are contracted to agencies in BC, Alberta, Yukon and Alaska. Conair serves as the Canadian dealer for Air Tractor of Olney, Texas, which produces the AT-802F, one of only two types of aircraft specifically designed for aerial firefighting (the other being the
Canadair CL-415 The Canadair CL-415 (Super Scooper, later Bombardier 415) and the De Havilland Canada DHC-515 are a series of amphibious aircraft built originally by Canadair and subsequently by Bombardier and De Havilland Canada. The CL-415 is based on the ...
model). Former air tankers include the Grumman Avenger, Douglas (A-26) Invader, Conair Firecat (retrofitted S-2 Trackers),
Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...
, Convair CV-580 (retired in 2022) and Lockheed Electra (retired in 2020).


Accidents and incidents

*July 31, 2010 – Tanker 448, a Convair CV-580 with registration C-FKFY, collided with trees, entered a stall-spin, and crashed while fighting a wildfire near
Lytton, British Columbia Lytton is a village of about 250 residents in southern British Columbia, Canada, on the east side of the Fraser River and primarily the south side of the Thompson River, where it flows southwesterly into the Fraser. The community includes the ...
, killing both crew members on board. *May 22, 2015 – Tanker 692, a float-equipped
Air Tractor AT-802 The Air Tractor AT-802 is an American agricultural aircraft that may also be adapted into Aerial firefighting, fire-fighting or armed versions. It first flew in the United States in October 1990 and is manufactured by Air Tractor. The AT-802 carr ...
with registration C-FDHV, encountered a
fire whirl A fire whirl, fire devil or fire tornado is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often (at least partially) composed of flame or ash. These start with a whirl of wind, often made visible by smoke, and may occur when intense rising heat and turb ...
and crashed whilst firefighting near
Cold Lake, Alberta Cold Lake is a city in east-northern Alberta, Canada and is named after the lake nearby. Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake (CFB Cold Lake) is situated within the city's outer limits. History Cold Lake was first recorded on a 1790 map, by the nam ...
, killing the pilot on board.


References


External links


Conair Group Inc.
company web site {{Airlines of Canada Aerial firefighting Aerospace companies of Canada Seaplane operators