In São Paulo, Brazil, the team at helicopter operator Helimarte is heading into the fire season. Fires tend to begin increasing in June and peak in September. They can easily get out of control during the dry season, burning large swathes of forest to the ground.

Helimarte has a fleet of five Airbus H125s, three B2 and two BA variants, plus a Robinson 44 Raven II, and expects to commit at least one third of that fleet to firefighting duties. Out of season, the helicopters are used for training operations. Last year the company had only two firefighting B2s, so the fleet additions mean it is well prepared for the workload ahead.

“We are training our team and we have purchased new equipment so we can carry out the government contract, and we also support large companies with big farms and anyone else who needs our services,” says commercial manager Rafael Dylis. “We already have contracts to begin in July to serve on emergency request and standby helicopters, and these are due to continue until October.”

The H125 is a multi-mission aircraft, flying medical configuration, powerline inspection and maintenance, internal and external cargo missions. For firefighting, the team consists of a pilot, mechanic, driver for the fuel tanker and a flight coordinator on the ground.

Bambi buckets are suspended on a cable beneath the helicopters, specialised buckets with high flow dump valves. Chief pilot Guilherme Eurico Rossi, who is also chief of external cargo operations, compares working with a Bambi bucket to carrying out external cargo work.

The company has two tankers, each able to transport 25,000 litres of water, and five fuel trucks that can work all over the national territory.

Founded in 1999, Helimarte also carries out air taxi operations. The company has a high rate of contract renewals and its hourly Helipremium package seems to be taken up quite regularly by customers.

At its private hangar at Campo de Marte airport there is private parking and a large VIP room for customers. There is capacity for around 16 aircraft and it has an apron large enough for four simultaneous take offs.

“We have developed a special and diverse project, aiming to serve both people and special loads,” comments Dylis. “Helimarte is concerned above all with the quality of its customer transport, so we invest in safety, comfort and performance and we meet rigorous international standards, especially in the training of our employees and pilots.”