Dash 8 Waterbomber?

[Capt. Cool]

I've heard from a friend that a company in B.C. is converting a Dash 8 into a waterbomber.. apparently they are almost finished the first one and testing will begin soon..anyone else heard anything about this or know any info? Seems pretty pointless to me.

[quickflight]

Better than that I used to have a charter client that was converting Ba146's in Summerside PEI to do fire suppression. It was actually a pretty cool system.

[Scuba_Steve]

How about a 747, I remember seeing a proposal video for it awhile back

Maybe they can use the one sitting in YQT

[quickflight]

Now we're talkin'

[120@8']

Conair finished tanking a Q400 a month or two ago which was owned by the french. It has been flying there for awhile now.

[TG]

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/896286/L/

The Dash 8 Q400 (waterbomber) is undergoing its French certification plus training flights.
A second one should be delivered to the "securitee civile" in september.
(replacing Fokker 27)

[NovaBoy]

I brought one of our 737-700's over to YXX for the TV install awhile back and saw the 2 Q400's there being converted for bombing. I also saw some pics on the wall of the 747 dropping water. Pretty amazing.

[EI-EIO]

Neptune Aviation are converting a Q300 and are looking to convert further Q200s and Q300s to replace their older aircraft since the Q series are thought to have long fatigue life.

The Q400s are ex SAS Commuter and modded by Cascade Aerospace in Abbotsford.

Check out the wikipedia articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_fir ... #Equipment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_Dash_8

[CLguy]

The Americans are in the process of converting quite a few different types. Yes the 747 has been converted but I don't think final approvals have been given for it yet. A company is in the process of converting a DC-10 and also some BAE-146's as well as the Dash 8 series. Should be interesting to watch all of this come on line!!

[talkinghead]

http://www.evergreenaviation.com/supertanker/

[hazatude]

Ok. Even I'll admit that the 747 bomber is pretty cool.

[quickflight]

That 47 video very cool

[KAG]

Yeah that 47 video is pretty cool. I wonder how useful that would be in BC?

[DC6driver]

useless in BC



...unless you have a uniform 5 mile grass flame front, straighter and more flat than a 10 year old nun

[tower controller]

The DC 10 bomber is already flying, it was through here a few months back on it's way back to California from an airshow (Paris I believe). It's a pretty impressive airplane.

[swede]

A Q 400 would be quite a water bomber. The cowboys would probably drag the ass on them. I believe about 5 degrees nose up is a tail strike. They are way to friggin long with that spindly stupid gear - the boys at bombardier should have lengthened the gear struts by another 16 feet or so and installed an elevator , an 8-300 would be a better plan.

[cedar tree]

The Q400 might not be the greatest tanker due to it's fragile construction and length. The 200/300 series are more realistic for longevity.

These super tankers (747/DC10) would be useless in British Columbia due to steep terrain. I fly the Firecat, a stol aircraft, slowing it to 95kts (when req'd) before a push to a target, sometimes I'm 140+ at the drop, now imagine doing this with a heavy turbofan?

The Convair is turning out to be an excellent air tanker. The future is pointing towards the 1002, an amplified version of the 802 Air Tractor. But there will need to be replacement heavy air tankers, the future is yet to be determined. Cost is a huge factor in Western Canada.

[cedar tree]

SWEDE,

"Cowboys" is a term of the past in the firebombing business. Strict SOP's are followed to the fullest to ensure a safe operation on any target, they are just trees. Interface fires are treated the same way. Sharing airspace with multiple aircraft at low altitudes in tactical environment is no place for a bad attitude. BC Forestry has strict guidelines to operating air tankers in their system, not following the SOP's or any stunting is grounds for dismissal. Putting all that aside, the flying is very rewarding!

Cheers!

[swede]

Yes, I know about sop's re firebombing operations, I was pulling your collective leg(s)..

[ajet32]

Just read this afternoon in a BAE news sheet that Minden Airtankers from the US in concert with a Canadian company has completed conversion of a BAE146 for fire tanking. Low fuel burn and British built like a tank could make this one interesting.

[swede]

146 would probably do ok, they have pretty good slow flight characteristics, for their size, and are indeed built like a tank.

[TG]

146 would probably do ok

The monster power with 5 APU ?

[Caracrane]

none of those were designed for fire fighting. Wings are not strong enough to sustain such treatment years after years. Apparently, 1 season of water bombing=7years of age. So stick to the mighty 215/T/415 which was specificly designed for this job. I understand though that many coutrys go with other types cause of lack of water plans.

[Jaques Strappe]

Just read this afternoon in a BAE news sheet that Minden Airtankers from the US in concert with a Canadian company has completed conversion of a BAE146 for fire tanking. Low fuel burn and British built like a tank could make this one interesting.

The AVCO Lycoming engines on the BAe 146 are a nightmare and I think the term " It's not broken, it's British," best describes it. It does have a big slow speed wing though which I guess makes it appealing, however, I would hope they would re-engine it.

That 747 video is cool but I have to wonder how effective that would be manuevering in Mountainous terrain?

[EI-EIO]

The LF507s on the RJs are supposedly better, and now the RJX is gone the AS977 probably isn't an option for re-engining.