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NPR - Bigger, Faster Air Tankers Help Forest Service Tackle Wildfires
In the battle against wildfires, the Forest Service often draws on a fleet of air tankers — planes that drop fire retardant from the sky. But the fleet shrank dramatically in the early 2000s, and by 2012, the Forest Service was woefully low on planes. Now, the agency is quickly increasing the number of planes at its disposal — and modernizing the fleet in the process by adding bigger, faster and more efficient planes. (www.npr.org) さらに...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I don't know a lot about a lot, but here's my pedigree- I was a USFS Hotshot, then got accepted for Smokejumpers and did that for four seasons out of KMSO. I was a C-130 Lead Crew AC and IP in USAF. Flew big stuff for Pan Am and United, then Falcons for Netjets. I might not be real smart, but I've been around. First, discount everything the East Coast Environmentalists say about Forestry- let them go plant a shrub in Central Park and shut up. Most people don't understand what Retardant does. It isn't like spraying water on a structure fire. The retardant, as the name suggests, retards the progress of the fire by covering the combustible stuff with a substance that doesn't burn real well. This helps a lot if (a) it is dropped in the right place and (b) if you have guys on the ground to take advantage of the time you have bought them. To me, this sugge4sts that just the ability to drop a gazillion gallons doesn't make a great tanker. My experiences "on the ground" would lead me to favor a more maneuverable airplane with less capacity. I all too well remember transitioning from a B777 to a DA2000- the controls might respond well, but all that airplane behind you has a lot of kinetic to move.
Herb, I too wondered about the maneuverability issue. I would hope that they DC-10s are not limited dropping all gazillion gallons at once, but I expect it would be nice to have that capacity if you did need the whole gazillion. But the maneuverability is something else--how well do those heavies work in really steep and rugged terrain? And can the DC-10s indeed drop partial loads as needed?
I'm pretty sure all the bigger airplanes can divide loads. They could even do that with the B-25's that were the most common Tankers back in 19(mumble,mumble)when I was Jumping. As an ex '130 driver, I tend to think that an airplane like the Herc might be the best compromise- big enough to carry a reasonable load (30,000-50,000 lbs) but having the maneuverability and- just as important- the acceleration and deceleration capability to operate safely in the mountains. Don't know if outsourcing this to military units is an answer. Having been one, I know that these guys are dedicated pros, but Firefighting is a different game!
Ain't nothing wrong with the (mumble, mumble) after we've all paid our dues. LOL
And thus MAAFS! You've seen this, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_eGiGG1B-Q I think it was squawked at the time of the fire.
There was a DC-10 tanker out at KAUS a few years ago for the conflagrations that where hitting central Texas.
Wonder if any of FedEx's old DC-10's have enough time left on their airframes to be converted to tankers?
Wonder if any of FedEx's old DC-10's have enough time left on their airframes to be converted to tankers?