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Why is it a good idea to have a firefighting plane? Find out why the countries of our region should consider having at least, a tanker plane.
Aerial firefighting is not new, but unfortunately as a region we have not learned how important it would be to have adequate equipment to be able to better combat these phenomena generally caused by unscrupulous people, but this will not be the point of this post.
Here the important thing will be to create awareness about the importance of having specialized aerial firefighting teams in our countries, so that when there are catastrophes like the one that is happening in the Amazon these days or others in dry seasons Of summer, do not reach uncontrolled magnitudes and a more rapid control of these is allowed.
aerial firefighting
They exist in general, two types of aircraft for these missions, the first are helicopters adapted for these tasks or with the so-called "bambi bucket" and airplanes also adapted for this purpose.
helicopters
We are sure that many of our cities have the first, helicopters of the fire departments or the armed forces and that we can see them flying very often when there are fires with those orange devices "hanging" from it. This is a very good alternative for small fires or attempts, since they are also very practical to reach spaces with little room for maneuver, but when it comes to serious fires, their influence is minor or nil, so here come the planes.
Helicopter models we can highlight the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane with a capacity of 10 thousand liters. Other helicopters will be able to transport between 270 liters up to 9 thousand liters of water, depending on your load lifting potential with the bambi bucket.
Planes
The point of this post is to talk about the advantages that airplanes have over helicopters when it comes to forest fires and as a very important method to stop them., but that in the end every contribution adds up to take care of nature. On the market there is a wide variety of aircraft that have been adapted or created for this purpose with an endless capacity of liters of water that can carry. For instance, there is the Bombardier 415 with an approximate capacity of 5 thousand liters, el Beriev Be-200 with 12 thousand liters or the Boeing 747 SuperTanket with capacity of more than 74 thousand liters of water.
Advantages
The important point of airplanes versus helicopters are the advantages and differences of the operation:
- Greater discharge capacity per flight, performing a more affective job.
- Flexibility to operate from the ground or directly at the water source depending on the type of aircraft.
- Speed: For example a Bombardier 415 could perform 100 downloads in 4 hours depending on distance from water source.
the buts
As in everything that analyzes the positive, we can find some disadvantages, but in the end it shouldn't matter, since the main thing should be to take care of our planet at any cost, no matter what else:
- Higher operating costs and requires a larger number of crew.
- Limited later missions when it is not fire season (although they could be subleased to other countries in different hemispheres when it is their turn for the dry season)
- Limited access to areas of difficult geography, although this has been demystified as we can see in the video below, which is very similar to the complicated geography of our countries.
- Buying a plane is more expensive than a helicopter, but its benefit has no comparison.
We must be aware that the economies of our countries and cities could not afford to buy planes or exclusive equipment to put out fires. (or maybe yes with the necessary political will), but with a good commercial strategy they could even be made profitable and why not propose the creation within Latin America of a large air combat squadron against fires, where all countries contribute investment capital for this and that it is available to all for when nature needs it most.
The important thing is to look for alternatives, our countries as well as have a complex geography, They also have hundreds of lakes and lagoons that could serve as a power source for these aircraft., everything is to avoid damage to nature in an extended way.
Countries like Colombia and Brazil have adapted Hercules C-130 aircraft for these missions., it's a good step, But these proposals must continue to grow and what is happening in the Amazon is a clear example of this urgent need..
Boeing Evergreen 747 Super tanks
This is currently the largest fire tanker aircraft in the world and its involvement in the region is not new., having had an important presence in Chile and more recently in Bolivia.
Based on the traditional Boeing fuselage 747-400 "The Queen", first flew in july 2009 in a mission in Spain and has gradually been required in various parts of the world with important effects.
Equipped with a crew of 4 people, can transport 14 passengers who are part of the technical and maintenance team of the aircraft, with a load capacity of 19.630 liters of water and/or retardant.
Your operation is different, given that despite being able to fly with a range of more than 8.000 nautical miles, its refueling is done on land, where a series of special equipment and pools are installed for the large load of this aircraft, but the important thing is that it can be released in parts according to specific sources identified by firefighters on the ground and by the guide plane that accompanies the Supertanker on its missions.
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I am a firefighter pilot in the Air Tractor 802. The quality is 3200 liters and is the cheapest option. 1.7 millions. Much cheaper than a helicopter. You load it with tankers next to the runway. There is also the Fire Boss which is an Air Tractor with floats. The doctrine is to use SEAT(single engine air tankers) that they are small planes of immediate reaction so that the fire never becomes big. They are used at the first sight of a fire.
About the number of applications per hour, the data given by the article 100 on 4 hours is impossible.
Thanks Richard, are data obtained by aircraft operators, maybe they were 10, instead of 100.
interesting analysis, the relevance will have to be analyzed considering that forest fires are not all year round, another possibility could be an agreement with neighboring countries in order to share operating expenses, logistic and administrative.
Precisely, that would be the idea, share costs and in non-fire season, lease them to other countries.
Given the scarcity of airports for air operations, especially big planes, It is not more practical for a country like Ecuador to use helicopters? Considering the load weight that means to carry water, planes might need to travel to the coast to load and then back to the Sierra to unload. Or airports like Quito or Latacunga, yes they would be useful in these operations?
Guayaquil, Manta, Latacunga and Quito could easily receive large planes for these tasks, note that it also depends on the plane. Some should not land at airports to carry water, but they can do it in lakes and lagoons.
I agree that an airplane is much more effective in fighting fires.. In Quito there is a helicopter that stops the height (2500 mts o mas) has a minuscule capacity to carry water in the bambi bucket. Personally, since its acquisition more than a year ago, I have requested the external load capacity at height to be reported and they have not responded. For our city, the minimum must be a Sky Crane S64, BH 212, aircraft such as the Bombardier CL 415, Canadair CL 215.
In my opinion, it all adds up in the end, the helicopter will help certain missions and situations, but before greater affectations, a plane is imperative.
A tanker plane is very expensive, the country is small, what we could do is have a fleet of Thrush or Air Tractor planes with Walter engines. 601 ,market price is 300.000 and for some 6 planes would be enough to equip one fire department that attends emergencies throughout the country
So is, we know it is expensive and there are alternatives, the thing is to have them, analyze them, but above all, execute them.