BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
L OCAL B RIEFING
George Broderick, recovering from
January fall, reopens art gallery
A Baker City art gallery that closed this winter after
owner George Broderick suffered severe
injuries in a fall on Jan. 3 will reopen for
First Friday, Sept. 6.
The Broderick Gallery has moved to
the second fl oor of the building at Main
Street and Valley Avenue that houses
Broderick
Kicks Sporting Goods on the fi rst fl oor.
The entrance to the gallery is on the
north side of Valley Avenue. The address is 1940 Valley.
Broderick, who was 84 when he slipped on a patch
of ice outside his former gallery at 1829 Main St., shat-
tering his pelvis and sustaining injuries to his femur,
said he will have a large inventory of consignment art
from local, national and international artists for First
Friday.
He said that although he won’t operate a full-time
gallery as he did before, he plans to schedule occa-
sional art shows.
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
Helicopter pilot Brian Sigler of Bend stands beside the Kaman K-MAX chopper he has been fl ying this week as part
of the effort to douse the 204 Cow fi re in the southwest corner of Baker County. The orange bucket, which dangles
150 feet below the aircraft, can drop about 660 gallons of water per fl ight.
COPTERS
Continued from Page 1A
Both helicopters boast a
distinctive paint job featur-
ing a black background and
dollops of dark red intended
to denote the fi re retardant
sometimes dropped by
airplanes to slow a blaze’s
spread.
This too is a nod to visibil-
ity, Sigler said.
The Forest Service, which
hired the helicopters, wanted
the choppers to have a more
conspicuous appearance, he
said. The red-on-black scheme
helps pilots keep track of each
other, which Sigler said is im-
portant on a fi re such as 204
Cow, where multiple aircraft
often work simultaneously.
Most of those are based
at the Baker City Airport,
in part because there aren’t
motel rooms available in John
Day, which is closer to the fi re,
Foust said.
In addition to the K-MAXs
there was a pair of Sikorsky
S-64 Skycranes, and a Boeing
CH-47 Chinook.
Although each helicopter
drops water, there are signifi -
cant differences among the
three types.
The Chinook and the
K-MAX both haul water in
buckets that dangle below the
aircraft, while the Skycrane
has a siphon that sucks water
into a tank.
(Some Chinooks also have
an internal water tank.)
Both the Chinook and the
Skycrane have a capacity of
about 2,500 gallons.
The K-MAX’s haul volume
is modest by comparison,
but Sigler said the helicopter
is much less expensive to
operate — $2,000 an hour
compared with $10,000 for
the Chinook.
The difference isn’t due
solely to water capacity.
The Chinook has a crew of
four and the Skycrane has
three aboard.
But Sigler fl ies alone.
The K-MAX has only one
seat, which refl ects its singu-
lar purpose, he said.
“It loves to lift and lift and
lift,” Sigler said with a smile
as he sat on the helicopter’s
wheel strut.
Although the K-MAX has
the same engine as that in a
Bell (Huey) 205, the Kaman
can lift twice as much, Sigler
said.
Kaman, which is based
in Bloomfi eld, Connecticut,
designed the helicopter with
two overhead rotors but no
tail rotor.
Sigler said that although
Learn about historic North Powder Ice
Plant Sept. 15 at E. Oregon Museum
HAINES — Jim Peters of Colorado will talk about
the Pacifi c Fruit Express Company’s ice house, which
operated in North Powder from 1910 to 1937, during
a free event Sunday, Sept. 15, at 4 p.m. at the Eastern
Oregon Museum, 610 Third St. in Haines.
Women’s empowerment and training
event, ‘Compel,’ set for September 21
Stonecroft will hold a one-day women’s empower-
ment and training event titled “Compel” on Sept. 21.
The program, aimed at training Christian women
to reach others with the Gospel, will be from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. at Community Connection, 2810 Cedar St. The
cost of lunch will be $10. To RSVP, contact Jerri Wick-
ert at jerrijohn2@gmail.com or call 541-519-4708.
Writing workshops planned at Churchill
School in September, October
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
Tim Foust of Bozeman,
Montana, is a helicopter
mechanic for Central
Copters.
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
Pilot Brian Sigler says he much prefers the small helicop-
ter's cockpit, which accommodates only the pilot.
tail rotors make helicopters
more maneuverable, they also
divert some of the engine’s
power.
The K-MAX, by contrast, is
designed so that “100% of the
power goes to lifting,” he said.
The design of the rotors has
another benefi t for fi refi ght-
ing — the K-MAX generates
much less downdraft than
typical helicopters, Sigler
said, so it’s less likely to waft
embers a long distance, po-
tentially spawning spot fi res
ahead of the main blaze.
Although the rotors are
mounted side by side rather
than one atop the other —
what’s known as a “synchro-
copter” — they are angled so
they can spin simultaneously,
in opposite directions, without
one hitting the other (clearly
something to avoid with a
two-rotor helicopter).
Sigler said the K-MAX
actually has a few features in
common with an airplane.
In place of the tail rotor the
K-MAX has a vertical rudder
similar to what you’d see on a
Cessna.
Foust said the rudder has
no effect when the helicopter
is hovering, but it can be used
to maneuver the craft when
it’s moving forward.
The K-MAX’s rotors are
equipped with fl aps — mov-
able extensions much like
those on airplane wings.
Sigler said the fl aps, which
twist the rotors, are the main
way he changes direction.
The K-MAX also has a pair
of elevators, one on either side
of the fuselage.
What this design means
for a pilot is that, unlike in a
conventional helicopter, Sigler
doesn’t have to coordinate his
hand control of the machine’s
“collective” — which affects
the rotor pitch angle — with
foot pedals.
In that way the K-MAX
is simpler to fl y than many
other helicopters, said Sigler,
who has been a pilot for 13
years and has fl own several
types of choppers.
Mechanically, the helicopter
is also more straightforward
than most in that it lacks a
hydraulic system.
That makes the K-MAX
easier to maintain, said
Foust, since hydraulic sys-
tems, which use fl uid-fi lled
lines, can be complicated.
“Hydraulics not being
there is a big plus — it really
simplifi es my job,” Foust said.
“This particular machine is a
pretty reliable machine.”
Foust said the K-MAX,
befi tting its role as a heavy
lifter, is “overbuilt.”
“It’s built like a tank,” he
said.
Except considerably more
nimble in the air.
Sigler said the excellent
visibility — the wheel struts,
for instance, are behind the
cockpit so his view of the
bucket and the fi re are unob-
structed — helps him make
precise water drops based on
directions from fi refi ghters
on the ground he talks with
by radio.
He can release the entire
contents of the bucket in one
drop or, with a single blip of
a button that actuates a re-
lease valve, dump as little as
200 pounds of water — about
24 gallons.
Aircraft, Sigler said, help
prevent fi res from spreading
beyond control lines but they
don’t, by themselves, put out
the fi res.
“People on the ground do
that,” he said with a grin.
Each fl ight from Baker to
the 204 Cow fi re — a “cycle”
in pilot lingo — lasts two
hours.
Sigler said he can fl y as
many as four cycles per day,
as his daily allowed limit is
eight hours of fl ying.
“I’m perfectly happy fl y-
ing 8s (8-hour days) in this
machine,” he said.
Up to two of the cycles can
involve a “hot fuel” — mean-
ing he stays in the cockpit,
with the engine running,
while Foust and the chopper’s
third crew member refuel the
aircraft.
Hot fueling saves time,
Sigler said, because once the
engine is shut down he has to
wait at least half an hour for
it to cool before restarting it.
“Once they’re running
they’d just rather run all the
time,” Foust said.
But Sigler said he appreci-
ates the chance to hop down
and take a break, too.
As the lone crew member
in the air, he doesn’t even
have a chance to drink water
during each two-hour cycle.
“It’s pretty taxing,” Sigler
said.
Stephen Howard will offer two writing workshops
in Baker City in September and two more in October
aimed at helping writers hone their craft.
All the workshops will take place at Churchill
School, 3451 Broadway St. (entrance is off 16th
Street).
The cost of each workshop is $15 and includes a
workbook. Space is limited to 15 participants. Bever-
ages are not included in the workshop price, but
drinks will be available for purchase from Copper Belt
Winery and Barley Brown’s Brewpub.
Participants can register through the website www.
churchillbaker.com.
Howard’s fi rst session, called Beer-storming, is set
for Friday, Sept. 13, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. His ses-
sion will be “Characters and Cabernet” on Sept. 20,
also at 7 p.m. The price is the same.
Howard will lead “Milestones and Merlot” on Oct.
18 and “Hops and Plots” on Oct. 25.
Soil and water conservation districts
schedule meetings for September
Baker County’s four soil and water conservation
districts have scheduled meetings during September.
Agendas for any of the meetings are available by call-
ing Tara at 541-532-7121, extension 100.
• Burnt River, Sept. 10, 5:30 p.m. at the USDA Ser-
vice Center, 3990 Midway Drive in Baker City.
• Baker Valley, Sept. 12, noon at the USDA Service
Center.
• Eagle Valley, Sept. 23, noon, location to be deter-
mined.
• Keating, Sept. 24, noon at the USDA Service
Center.
Baker City, Baker County planning
commissions set work sessions
The Baker County Planning Commission has sched-
uled a work session for Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. at the Court-
house, 1995 Third St. Planners will discuss potential
revisions to the county’s zoning ordinance.
The Baker City Planning Commission will have a
work session Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1655 First
St. Commissioners will discuss possible updates to the
city’s development code and to the economic section of
the city’s comprehensive land-use plan.
More information about either meeting is available
by calling the city/county planning department at
541-523-8219 or by emailing Eva Henes at ehenes@
bakercounty.org.
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