Dalby’s Keyland Air Services gears up for intense fire season with addition of two new aircraft

A Dalby aerial company have purchased two new fire fighting aircraft which are expected to be vital for the upcoming bushfire season. Find out more.

Keyland Air Services has added two new firefighting aircraft to their arsenal ahead of an expected busy bushfire season.

A Dalby aerial operator has acquired two new firefighting planes in preparation for the upcoming fire season.

Keyland Air Services recently purchased a 710 plane to be used for water bombing as well as an eight seater transport plane.

Owner Frank Drinan said the new 3000 litre water bomber was one of only seven in the region.

“We have a new 710 which is our third one and that is an aircraft used for agricultural work and water bombing, it is fitted out with the latest GPS guidance system and a fire door for water bombing for our work with the Queensland Fire Department,” he said.

“On the Western Downs there are probably seven water bombing aircraft, including the scoopers, but they are more around the lakes to the east.

“We’ve also taken delivery of an eight seater transport aircraft that will be used to support Queensland Fire Department on fire spotting and air attack duties. We will also use it for charter operations.

“It has a six hour range so we can reach out as far as Charleville, Gladstone and Townsville.

“It’s ideally suited to taking people out to smaller airfields such as those on farms, transporting equipment from here to a maintenance bases or taking equipment for agriculture and mining that are required quickly.”

Keyland Air Services Frank Drinan with their new water bomber

Mr Drina said the new planes would be vital with meteorologists forecasting an intense fire season ahead.

“We get used pretty regularly by Queensland Fire Department on bushfires, it is a great asset to Dalby because we can react quickly to fires if we are placed on standby,” he said.

“We have worked on all the local fires around here for the last few years particular the Tara and Halliford Road fires, Miles, as far South as Stanthorpe, and out towards Goondiwindi and North up past Bundaberg.

“It is good to have these capabilities that Queensland Fire Departments can call on, we can be at a place in 30 minutes that would normally take three hours to get to and can take over a tonne of equipment so having that capability is great.”

Keyland Air Services new 710 aircraft

The group also recently achieved AIMS accreditation which only 22 out 120 aerial operators in Australia have achieved.

“We are members of the aerial application association of Australia, and there are a couple of different levels of accreditation and the highest one is the aerial improvement management system,” he said.

“This ensures we have the right procedures and quality assurance that meet those standards and there are a number of different components of it.

“We had to pass an audit and that took a couple of days.

“It's fantastic, it's all procedures we have been doing for a long time it’s just the acknowledgment.

“There are continued requirements of it as well, we will be checked again in 18 months time.”