By Ron Lane
There are two things in our Australian way of life that will always make us stop look and listen. One is the news of droughts in the outback and the other is out of control wide spread bush fires.
In time of droughts we see on the evening news images of dead livestock and wildlife lying on the dry barren land of the great Australian outback and in the fire season it is images of massive out of control bush fire spreading for miles destroying everything in its way, bushland, homes, livestock and in some cases our people.
The drought some will say is an act of God but the bush fire, in many cases, will be the result of extreme dryness, or the act of a careless, uncaring, irresponsible person.
Regardless of the cause, the bush fire has to be faced by countless men and women, some professionals, such as fire and rescue teams police and helicopter crews ably supported by SES volunteers and volunteer bush fire brigade.
But in a warehouse, situated at Noosa, containing offices and workshop, there is a team of men and apprentices working to improve that essential commodity for the helicopter teams -the underbelly water tank.
Working under the banner of Helitak Fire Fighting Equipment this team of dedicated professionals (six in total) led by CEO and chief engineer Jason Schellaars, operations manager Paul Blundell and finance manager Hugh Ramsey, have not only come up with a design for a new concept, the Aerial Fire Suppression Helitak Water Tanks for firefighting helicopters (that is taking hold in Australia) but it has also been accepted in overseas markets such as the USA; and the impact has been mindboggling.
As a result of their very positive acceptance by the American market Helitak they established Helitak USA in Denton Texas in September 2018.
“Jason Schellaars,” said Paul Blundell, “is a specialist engineer and helicopter aerial firefighting pilot and has created and designed this unique aerial firefighting tank which vastly improves helicopter aerial firefighting.
“His current design for the firefighting tank is unique in that after delivery it retracts into the underbelly of the helicopter landing gear area meaning maximum capacity without costly aircraft modifications. The fire tank addresses shortcomings in the ability of existing tanks to achieve maximum water capacity, ease speed of installation, aircraft stability and ability to quickly load water from a water source and speedily deliver a payload to a fire.”
Since commencement Helitak has designed and manufactured models of aerial fire suppression firefighting tanks for various types of helicopters. Historically sales have been to both Australian and International helicopter firefighting operators. Past sales have eventuated through intensive research and development to modify and improve the initial design.
So advanced is the company in its thinking and planning for the future that they have employed a new engineering apprentice undertaking the Cert III Engineering Technical program, together with a school-based trainee undertaking the equivalent school- based course.
Also in previous recognition of their advancement the Helitak concept won the Australian New Inventors award plus a Peoples Choice Award.
“All this is very good,” said Blundell, “but the thing in which we take great pride is the fact that 90 per cent of components and suppliers are sourced from small business in regional Queensland.”
To give one a better idea of the Helitak tank concept for a Blackhawk firefighting helicopter, it has a water tank capacity of 4500 liters with a refill time of just 46 seconds and an empty time in flight over fire areas in 2.5 seconds. With regard to instillation of the tank it is 25 minutes to install—roll under, bolt on, plug and play.
Add to this it is also designed for maximum head pressure for most effective canopy penetration (water penetrating through thick heavy trees and scrub) available in the market place.
With a refill time of 4500 Liters in just 46 seconds and an empty time of just 2.5 second this is a major plus, for as anyone who has worked in emergency situations will tell you, a major step toward a successful completion of emergencies is the response time, be it firefighting, police action, paramedics or lifesavers.
This response time factor can above all, in some cases be the difference between life and death.
“For Helitak Firefighting Equipment we commenced trading in 2006, incorporating in 2014. Since commencement we have designed and manufactured models of the Aerial Fire Suppression Tank for various types of helicopters. Historically, sales have been to both Australia and International Firefighting Operators. Past sales have eventuated through intensive research and development to modify and improve the initial design.”
With all the continued development to maintain a high standard of work it is easy to understand why in their Executive Summary they emphasise the point “Expansion and upgrading of machinery and tooling be ongoing.”
This attitude to research, development and improvement tells us that here in our own backyard we indeed have a company that is not only progressive and open-minded but also on the brink of achieving great things in an area that is not only International but also humane.
An aspect to consider is that with a continued ongoing success and expansion of Helitak, the benefits to our local community could be endless. In their Strategy and Opportunities document they state the following possibility: “Increase employment numbers by 100 per cent and 200 per cent to include both qualified, non- qualified and training ( apprenticeships and school based traineeships ) personnel.”
Early this week executive members of Helitak met with Queensland Government with the specific reason of seeking their partnership in several aspects: manufacturing, expansion of employment and support in establishing a solid base in both the interstate and international market place.
With many existing and new age Australian operators, currently investigating, leasing or purchasing the Black Hawk firefighting aircraft, the market place for Helitak Firefighting equipment knows no boundaries.
Stats for November 28th 2018 tell us that on that day, a total of 138 fires were burning on the Queensland Coast alone. This is just a tip of the iceberg. With the massive out of control bush fires becoming a fact of life in Australia, the need for state-of- the art firefighting equipment has never been greater. When companies such as Helitak can produce the above it is hoped that the doors, ears and the minds of so-called great decision makers will be wide open.
Gentleman the ball is in your court.
With a slogan of “Water to Fires Faster and Safer” we wish the Helitak team every success. And let’s never forget they are- Our People
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