W5 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 This short presentation features selected scenes from the eighty minute Alan Simmons HD Production of "Firefighting Airtankers". Five different types of fixed wing tankers are featured fighting wildfires in Southern California. A brief description of each tanker is included. There is an Air Ops section narrated by Tony Duprey, retired USFS. A bonus section delivers footage of vintage airtankers most of which have now been decommissioned.There is even a clip of the DC-10, especially for Mitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Awesome! Thanks for that W5.... Seemed to me the rest of the boys may as well have gone home once that dear old diesel dixie got goin'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I really don't think the operation was a safe operation..............more of a 'lucky' operation. Hard to say. It might have been a series of training runs on an ideal "confined" location. Can't say whether spectators were at risk.The aircraft is capable of scooping thousands of gallons in 30 seconds. The only aircraft designed and built to do so. Canadair sure got it right with this one, especially after the retrofit of the PW123 engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Great video. That's quite a collection of aircraft types involved with fire fighting. I think the Neptune still had its RCAF lighting bolt on the fuselage. Thanks for the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say Again, Over! Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I don't want to seem naive as I don't fly and don't know that much about forest firefighting but if people are advised by police, for example, that scooping operations are going to start, can you afford to simply change lakes or overshoot and wait for them to go while the fire is burning? Aren't you depending a bit on people not to get in the way?Further to that, if you're focussing on lining up on a narrow waterway with a turn at the end, would it be reasonable to think that they might not even have noticed the folks on the sand bar until too late?Honest questions. Not trying to stir the pot.Felix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo32a Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 People are seldom advised of any fire suppression work that would entail scooping. The aircraft just come in and do a low approach to check the area out and then start. If there are any occupants in the area they get the idea to get out of the way pretty quick. It is the same with float planes landing on small lakes, there can be water skiers and boaters all over the place, the float plane will come down have a look around and set down or do a low and over. When you are sitting there in your boat and you see a C185 coming at you it is pretty easy to figure out that you better get out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEFCON Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 mo32aLooking for an answer...If they just show up and start scooping after doing a low & over, how do they avoid rocks that may be a few inches or so under the surface, especially in tamarack stained waters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Those lakes are scoped out WELL in advance of any pickup operations. They dont just pick a like and dive in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 mo32aLooking for an answer...If they just show up and start scooping after doing a low & over, how do they avoid rocks that may be a few inches or so under the surface, especially in tamarack stained waters?When viewed from a airplane at a few hundred feet rocks are easily seen and mapped out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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