Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Supertanker readied for wildfire season
The 747, a former passenger jet, awaits federal OKs at business in Marana
LARRY COPENHAVER
Tucson Citizen
A massive weapon is expected to be unleashed for what could be a horrendous wildfire season.
A Boeing 747 parked at Pinal Airpark north of Marana is slated for final flight testing this month.
Federal Aviation Administration approval is expected in mid-April, said Jordan Hanson, a spokeswoman for Evergreen International Aviation.
Evergreen has spent nearly $35 million converting the 747 into a supertanker capable of carrying 24,000 gallons of fire retardant in one trip, Hanson said.
Even with a full load of fire retardant, the 231-foot-long airplane with a 196-foot wingspan flies at more than 150,000 pounds below its maximum takeoff weight.
The company expects the supertanker to be the first of a new generation of firefighting equipment for the nation, Hanson said.
It's not clear how long it will take Evergreen to recoup its investment. Hourly rates have not been established, and public agencies this week could provide no data on rates paid to other contractors.
Evergreen plans to work with state, federal and worldwide officials to redefine how fires are fought, Hanson said.
The tanker, which carried up to 490 passengers, carries 12 hours worth of fuel. That means it could make one pass at a big fire, then move on to another hundreds of miles away.
The jet can drop retardant under high pressure for an overwhelming response or dispense it at the rate of falling rain in a swath up to five miles long.
With the plane's pressurized dispersal system, retardant drops are effective from up to 800 feet, an altitude considered much safer than standard heavy tanker drops conducted at 200 feet, she said.
"(The supertanker) is impressive," said Teresa-Ann Ciapusci, a spokeswoman for Coronado National Forest. She saw a series of demonstration drops over the desert of southern Arizona.
"(Forest Service) folks are waiting to see what the official test results show," added Pete Gordon, deputy fire management office for Coronado National Forest. "Safety is primary, and that's a mighty big airplane to have in the mountains. It's important to understand that it has not been approved (for firefighting)."
Firefighting agencies are curious and want to look at Evergreen's certification tests, Ciapusci said. "Anything that helps us do the job more efficiently and more safely is something we are interested in."
But until the plane is approved and certified, agencies will continue to depend on the nation's 16 available "heavy tankers" - DC-4 and P-3 Orions - and 16 type-one Erickson Sky-Crane helicopters for aerial attacks, said Sarah Davis, a spokeswoman for Coronado National Forest. Two heavy tanker planes, from Silver City, N.M., and San Diego, worked the 1,000-acre Montezuma fire south of Sonoita, straddling the international border with Mexico.
On the ground, fire engines already are patrolling public lands, she added. Those units are stationed around Safford, Nogales, Palisades Ranger Station on Mount Lemmon and two in Sierra Vista.
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