Fire (water) Bombing

[W5]

The USAF originally had different intentions for these aircraft. The story is pretty sordid and a lot longer than this article implies.

https://aerialfiremag.com/2023/10/13/california-still-waits-for-5-new-firefighting-aircraft-5-years-on/

 

[Maverick]

There is still the second Mars at Sproat lake that is going to the Pima Air and Space museum in Tucson. How they will do that will be a must watch documentary! 

I've spent a lot of time in southern Arizona and there is no body of water large enough for it to land on and they've been pretty quiet about how they'll do it...

[Kip Powick]

2 hours ago, Maverick said:

There is still the second Mars at Sproat lake that is going to the Pima Air and Space museum in Tucson. How they will do that will be a must watch documentary! 

I've spent a lot of time in southern Arizona and there is no body of water large enough for it to land on and they've been pretty quiet about how they'll do it...

What about  Roosevelt Lake ????

[Malcolm]

29 minutes ago, Kip Powick said:

What about  Roosevelt Lake ????

According to the following, the aircraft will fly to roosevelt lake and then

Quote

One of the enduring mysteries of the summer aviation news cycle was just how the world's largest flying boat was going to get to one of the country's most land-locked museums, but that may have been solved. The folks who keep the A-26K "Special Kay" flying posted on Facebook Sunday that the massive Philippine Mars, which has no landing gear, will be flown from its current base on Sproat Lake on Canada's Vancouver Island to Lake Roosevelt, Arizona's largest body of water. It will then be dismantled and trucked 150 miles to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson where it will join about 400 other historically significant aircraft.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/philippine-mars-moving-plan/

[Malcolm]

EU firefighting planes to help tackle Portugal wildfires

47 minutes ago

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Jack Burgess

BBC News

Reuters

 

A firefighter works to extinguish a wildfire in Penalva do Castelo, Portugal

The EU will send eight firefighting planes to Portugal to help the country tackle blazes in its north that have injured 12 firefighters, two seriously.

Several fires broke out in the Aveiro region over the weekend, which have forced about 70 residents to flee, the civil protection authority has said.

Police have shut motorways, including the main road between the capital, Lisbon, and Porto.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was "urgently mobilising" the planes and thanked four states - France, Greece, Italy and Spain - for sending the aid. She urged other member states to send further assistance in a post to X.

 

Around 1,500 firefighters were battling blazes across the country on Monday, Portuguese officials said. The country already owns 30 water bombers, but authorities said the complex situation required additional support.

France has agreed to deploy two water bombers, the French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said. Officials in Lisbon expect two more to arrive on Monday from Spain.

"This is EU solidarity at its best," Ms von der Leyen said, hailing the four states for showing such rapid support.

So far 18 people have been injured by the blazes, including several who have received treatment. One firefighter has died due to "sudden illness", according to Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias.

Temperatures in Portugal exceeded 30C (86F) over the weekend and are expected to remain high for days.

"The situation is not out of control, but it is very complex. Today will be a difficult day, and so will tomorrow," national civil protection commander Andre Fernandes said.

He plans to keep for now the red alert for hot weather currently in place across mainland Portugal.

EPA

 

Wildfires have affected Portugal for several days

 

The Mayor of Albergaria-a-Velha, António Loureiro, said four houses have been burned down and 20 more are threatened around the town as the fires rage.

Two other homes have been destroyed at Cabeceiras de Basto, in the area of Braga, AFP has reported local authorities as saying.

The police say traffic has been stopped on three motorways in the region.

Portugal and neighbouring Spain have recorded fewer wildfires this year, largely due to a wet and rainy start to the year. But they remain vulnerable to blazes due to hot and dry conditions.

Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

[Malcolm]

CCC, Portuguese Air Force sign contract for Canadian waterbombers

July 18, 2024 08:44 ET| Source: Canadian Commercial CorporationFollow

 

OTTAWA, July 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CCC is proud to announce the signing of a government to government (G2G) contract with Portugal’s Air Force for the sale of two (2) DHC-515 FIREFIGHTER™ aircraft manufactured by De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC). Through CCC’s G2G contract, DHC will provide the DHC-515 aircraft to Portugal, along with spare parts, training, and maintenance support. The G2G contract is the result of ongoing cooperation between CCC, DHC, the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) and its Member States to supply the EU with Canadian-made waterbombers. Portugal joins Greece and Croatia in the acquisition of aircraft supported by rescEU, bringing a total of eleven (11) DHC-515 aircraft contracted through CCC.

Portugal has experienced in recent years more frequent and intense wildfires, largely due to rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and changing precipitation patterns. These fires have led to widespread destruction of property and loss of life. The Portuguese air force will use its new waterbombers to continue protecting the country’s citizens and rich biodiversity from the devastating impacts of wildfires.

Building on the iconic legacy of Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 aircraft, the DHC-515 FIREFIGHTER™ is a new purpose-built aerial firefighting aircraft. The DHC-515 aircraft delivers the highest quantity of water into the fire-zone per day (nearly 700,000 L), more than twice as much as its nearest competitor. It can refill its tanks in 12 seconds, from nearby fresh or saltwater sources including rivers, small lakes, and oceans, while land-based aircraft must return to airport after each drop. The next generation waterbomber matches the other aircraft in the De Havilland fleet in terms of lifespan, ruggedness, and Canadian aerospace engineering quality.

[Maverick]

On 9/15/2024 at 10:06 AM, Kip Powick said:

What about  Roosevelt Lake ????

I had not heard that, it'll be a great trip for sure!

[Malcolm]

 

From the Netletter: 

https://www.thenetletter.net/about-us

Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency - Convair 580's   Videographer Alex Praglowski, sends out some great photographs to members of his YouTube channel.    In his most recent post, he sent photos of a few active special aircraft with the following description:   "In August, I also made a quick side trip to Northern Saskatchewan to catch some little-known classic aircraft - The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's firefighting Convair 580s!"   I emailed Alex to ask permission to share these photos with our subscribers and he responded, "Absolutely you may". He also, very generously, sent us a group of photographs specifically for our use.   If you are unfamiliar with Alex's YouTube channel, do yourself a favour and Click Here to treat yourself.   Special thanks to Ken Pickford for his research on the history of these four aircraft.     Pictured above (and in this issue's header) is C-GSKR (fin #471), built in 1958. It was one of six variants of the Convair 440 ordered by the U.S. Navy but cancelled before being built. They were completed by Convair on speculation and stored pending future sale.   That aircraft was converted to VIP configuration and sold to a wealthy U.S. banking and newspaper publishing family. It was converted to a turboprop 580 in 1962. After multiple subsequent operators it was acquired by the Saskatchewan Government in 2005 and converted to its fire-fighting role.   It's noteworthy for being the second-last of 1,076 ConvairLiner aircraft built by Convair, not counting 10 final aircraft license-built by Canadair in Montreal in 1960/61 for the Royal Canadian Air Force, bringing total ConvairLiner production to 1,086.   Of those, 178 were converted to 580 turboprops using the Allison 501 engine. There was also a less popular Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop conversion program that modified 65 aircraft, 38 original 240's (known as Convair 600) and 27 340's/440's (known as Convair 640). Pacific Western Airlines acquired six of the latter, referring to them as "Javelin Jet-Prop".     The three aircraft pictured below were built in 1954/55 as military variants of the Convair 340 and delivered to the U.S. Air Force as VIP transports.   After conversion to 580 turboprops and modified for fire-fighting, they were acquired by the Saskatchewan Government. in 2006/07.     C-GVSK (fin #473)     C-GYSK (fin #474)     C-GSKQ (fin #475)    above and below.