Jumbo combats Israel bushfires

[QF WP]

A Boeing 747 supertanker has been brought in to help bring Israel's worst bushfires under control.

[There is a great video (well the first 10 seconds) of the Evergreen Supertanker doing a drop]

 

[samh004]

How economical is that thing to run? Looks like it’d burn a lot of fuel at the altitude it’s flying. Still very cool, and a lot of information on the net about it. The best video I could find is this one:

[video=youtube;uUEqbLVfpGc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUEqbLVfpGc[/video]

I know they say it’s equivalent to 7 normal tankers, but I’m guessing it can’t just suck up water as it flies over a nearby lake like other tankers I’ve seen so I’d still wonder if a smaller tanker refilling from a lake would drop more loads than it, however if there’s nowhere nearby to collect water from, then I can see how useful it is.

 

[tuppaware]

I know they say it’s equivalent to 7 normal tankers, but I’m guessing it can’t just suck up water as it flies over a nearby lake like other tankers I’ve seen so I’d still wonder if a smaller tanker refilling from a lake would drop more loads than it, however if there’s nowhere nearby to collect water from, then I can see how useful it is.

I believe its more as a preventive measure in large areas to stop continuing burn. The ABC footage seems that its putting some retardant mixed with water.

 

[markis10]

I know they say it’s equivalent to 7 normal tankers, but I’m guessing it can’t just suck up water as it flies over a nearby lake like other tankers I’ve seen so I’d still wonder if a smaller tanker refilling from a lake would drop more loads than it, however if there’s nowhere nearby to collect water from, then I can see how useful it is.

You would also need to factor in the eta on site compared to the smaller units, the Supertanker could be there hours ahead of the smaller C130s or PBYs, depending on the location it could get in, get the job done and be heading home before any other airborne resource could arrive, such as the location in Israel!

The Supertanker is equal to 8.3 Elvis's if you are looking at it from a local perspective, the supertanker carrys retardent because that is what is specified by the USFS, its also effective hours after the drop.

 

[samh004]

The Supertanker is equal to 8.3 Elvis's if you are looking at it from a local perspective, the supertanker carrys retardent because that is what is specified by the USFS, its also effective hours after the drop.

However if the Wikipedia article is to be believed, the FAA certified it for water and the retardant that they now use will shorter the life of the airframe substantially as it’s denser. Will be good if they convert a few more though, a fleet of them could be very useful.

 

[NM]

The Supertanker is equal to 8.3 Elvis's if you are looking at it from a local perspective, the supertanker carrys retardent because that is what is specified by the USFS, its also effective hours after the drop.

but remember that "Elvis" and other rotary aircraft can "refill" from a reservoir, river, dam, sea etc, while the Supertanker needs a considerable length of tarmac and quite some time to refill the fuel and dump tanks.

So in many cases, Elvis could make more than 8.3 dumps before the Supertanker can get through one cycle.

Its horses for courses as usual. Plenty of need for all types for different situations.

 

[markis10]

However if the Wikipedia article is to be believed, the FAA certified it for water and the retardant that they now use will shorter the life of the airframe substantially as it’s denser. Will be good if they convert a few more though, a fleet of them could be very useful.

Wiki is never to be believed unless it referenced The current supertanker is certified, and is in fact a 40 year old 100 series that once graced our shores in Garuda colours. The certification happened back in 2008 however the idea of supertankers has turned a little cold since the DC10 almost crashed.

 

[straitman]

However if the Wikipedia article is to be believed, the FAA certified it for water and the retardant that they now use will shorter the life of the airframe substantially as it’s denser. Will be good if they convert a few more though, a fleet of them could be very useful.

I have very limited belief in Wikipedia for this sort of thing as they tend only to present a very limited scope of an overall situation.

The B747 or DC10 type of fire bombing does not work well in this country as the amount of flexibility is very limited. It was actually tried a few years ago using C-130's and that only had limited success due turn around times.

That is why small helicopters work well in some situations, larger ones in some areas and helicopters with long-line buckets work well in other areas. But their flexibility is also why they all work better than the large a/c in this country.

 

[QF WP]

Spoken like a man with considerable knowledge in the area

 

[rtyuiop]

Don't forget the Beriev amphib tankers - they're just about the coolest thing ever! Regardless of how difficult it may be to find long enough bodies of water...

I will be turning the non-tanker version into a flying house boat and garage, just after my visit from the Billionaire Fairy...

Danny