Momentum Aeronautics

06/02/2026

The Star Tribune ran a feature on Heatwave and the northern Minnesota wildfire response. 🔗Link in comments.

06/02/2026

Heatwave is headed into fire season in the Pacific Northwest. Grateful to the team at Coastal Air Strike for the work they do. Good luck this season. 🙏

06/02/2026

Thank you Aaron, Riley, and the Coastal Air Strike team for bringing the next generation up close to the mission.

Coastal Air Strike pilots Aaron Vince and Riley White spent the day in Brainerd, MN teaching local middle school students how the scooper aircraft work! ✈️💧

It’s always fun sharing aerial firefighting, aviation, and the mission behind these incredible aircraft with the next generation.

Thanks to everyone who came out and asked great questions - we may have even inspired a few future pilots! 👨‍✈️👩‍✈️

05/19/2026

We're humbled and proud. WCCO came to the hangar yesterday and the story is live. Thank you to Derek James for telling it so well, and to Aaron Vince and the Coastal Air Strike team for everything you're doing up north right now.

At a hangar in St. Paul, Minnesota, engineers at Momentum Aeronautics are building Heatwave, a new generation scooping float system designed to make one of firefighting aviation's most dangerous jobs safer.

05/18/2026

If you've been watching the Minnesota wildfires this weekend, you've probably seen the planes.

Those low-flying aircraft skimming across lakes near the fire aren't just dramatic to watch, they're one of the most effective tools in wildland firefighting. They scoop water directly from lakes close to the fire and drop it on the fire edge in a continuous loop. No waiting at a base. Just water, delivered fast, over and over.

The first few minutes of aerial attack can determine how fast and far a fire spreads. Every pass matters. Every minute of early aerial response affects how a fire like this develops.

One of the aircraft flying the northern Minnesota fires right now is equipped with Heatwave floats, a platform our team at Momentum Aeronautics redesigned and built specifically for this mission. It's operated by Coastal Air Strike under contract with the Minnesota DNR.

To everyone fighting these fires in the air and on the ground, thank you. You're doing extraordinary work.

🔗 Read more on how these amazing airplanes do their work: https://www.momentumaero.com/what-those-planes-are-actually-doing-over-minnesotas-wildfires/

If you’ve been watching coverage of the northern Minnesota wildfires the past few days, you’ve probably seen them – low-flying aircraft making pass after pass over lakes near the fire, with trailing plumes of water. People have been asking: what are those planes, and what are they actually doi...

04/23/2026

🔥 Heatwave is EASA Certified!

FAA STC ✔️
EASA Validation ✔️

After years of work, Heatwave Floats are officially certified and ready for operations.

Built for the Air Tractor 802A.
Engineered for safety.
Designed for the realities of rapid initial attack.

2026 delivery slots are sold out.
Reserve your set now as production slots are limited.

See our website for more information.

10/30/2025

📣 It’s official. The FAA has issued the STC for Heatwave Floats.

After years of engineering, testing, and refining, Heatwave is fully certified and ready for action. 🔥✈️

Demand is already surging—2025 is sold out, and 2026 orders are filling fast. If you want your spot in line, now’s the time.

Stay tuned for the official press release and more details coming soon. But for now, we’re celebrating this milestone—because the future of rapid initial attack has officially arrived.

06/13/2025

🔥 Big news out of D.C.—a new Executive Order from signals major changes ahead for wildfire prevention and response.

The landscape is shifting, and we’re proud to be right in the middle of it—building something that matters.

After years of development, we're nearing the finish line in certifying Heatwave Floats. But it’s the beginning, our work in helping put out wildfires is just getting started. 💪✈️

05/27/2025

🛬 Inside Heatwave: Landing Gear Spotlight

Take a closer look at the smart design behind our Heatwave Floats main landing gear. Every feature is built for pilot safety, easy maintenance, and rock-solid reliability:

Trailing Link Design — ensures gentle, smooth landings.

Increased Braking Capacity — critical for safe, precise control.

Oil-Bath Wheels — engineered for trouble-free, long-lasting performance.

Simple Hydraulic Actuation with mechanical down-lock for dependability.

Single-Bay Access — maintenance-friendly, quick part swaps, less downtime.

At Momentum Aeronautics, good design means safer flights and smoother operations—every single day.

🔧✈️

03/26/2025

We're exhibiting Heatwave Floats at the Aerial Firefighting Europe Conference in Bordeaux, France!

Aerial Firefighting industry professionals are gathering from all around the world to share and learn about what's happening and what's coming.