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The DC-10 Air Tanker is a series of American wide-body jet air tankers, which have been in service as an aerial firefighting unit since 2006. [1] The aircraft, operated by the joint technical venture 10 Tanker Air Carrier, are converted wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 passenger jetliners, and are primarily used to fight wildfires, typically in rural areas.
The continuous improvements to meet the needs of forest firefighting have made these aircraft the aerial means most in demand over more than 30 years." [ 36 ] By 1999, a total of 51 orders had been secured for the type; operators have reportedly predominantly used the CL-415 for firefighting and maritime search and rescue purposes. [ 37 ]
A MAFFS II-equipped C-130 Hercules from the 302nd Airlift Wing drops water over the Hayman Fire burn scar during training in May 2021.. The Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) is a self-contained unit used for aerial firefighting that can be loaded onto both military cargo transport Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Embraer C-390 Millennium, which then allows the aircraft to be used as an ...
Aerial firefighting is "the closest thing to combat flying you'll find in civilian life," says Montie Vanlandingham, a retired chief pilot for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District who spent ...
The amphibious aircraft had been scooping up 1,500 gallons of water at a time from the ocean, then releasing it on nearby flames in a process Cal Fire spokesperson Chris Thomas told The War Zone ...
An Antonov An-32 of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine dumps water on a forest fire. Airtankers or water bombers are fixed-wing aircraft fitted with tanks that can be filled on the ground at an air tanker base or, in the case of flying boats and amphibious aircraft, by skimming water from lakes, reservoirs, or large rivers without needing ...
The planes are meant to skim the water at speed, Davis said, "fill up tanks in 10 to 12 seconds — 1400 gallons of water — and continuously scoop and drop water on one tank of fuel."
The operation of the aircraft was the initiative of philanthropist Lucy Avilés and her husband Benjamin Walton, who funded the costs. [20] In September 2017, the Supertanker was contracted by Cal Fire. [21] In December 2017, the plane was leased by Cal Fire during the late-2017 wildfire season with most drops over the Thomas Fire. [22]