[smartd]

Noon News says 900,000 people have been evacuated.
The Martin Mars water bombers are being sent down from British Columbia

[Rush104]

It's be a good chance to use that Evergreen Air 747 waterbomber.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Watching the news last night i got to see the DC-10 i think it was as a fire bomber..Wow is that thing big..

[Rush104]

Here's the jets in question. I think the first 747 pictured become 947. As I understand it, there's a lot of red tape that Evergreen is going through to get this plane certified.
The DC-10 is the one that has been mentioned in the news lately.
Pics courtesy of Airliners.net and aviationtrivia.homestead.com.

[smartd]

Originally Posted by Rush104

Here's the jets in question. I think the first 747 pictured become 947. As I understand it, there's a lot of red tape that Evergreen is going through to get this plane certified.
The DC-10 is the one that has been mentioned in the news lately.
Pics courtesy of Airliners.net and aviationtrivia.homestead.com.

I guess they pre-mix retardant and water or it is just retardant?
Big machines are just what they need in this case. Looks like a logistic nightmare though. Staging must be a real task.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Holly Cow a 747 is a little costly don't you think......
The DC10 i saw last night on the news sure did fly low for as big as it was....The pilot must be forgetting he's flying
a big bird now not a C-54.....
I still remember watching that Lockheed C-130 fire bomber that the main wing spar snaped in mid-air a few years ago.
I really feel for those people in southern cal .....So many homes already lost..I'll be going to Red Cross later on today
and donate anything i have extra to help out.
JP

[Rush104]

I do not know what they use for the firefighting. I guess it depends on the type of fire being fought. But, I would suggest this to the SoCal budget authorities- look into the possibility of buying some water bombers. As I understand it, these Santa Ana winds are a regular occurence. Canadair makes some good planes, as does Beriev in Russia. I believe both the A-40 and Be-200 can handle firefighting duties. It may be an expensive option up front, but it may be cheaper in the long run...

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

Holly Cow a 747 is a little costly don't you think......
The DC10 i saw last night on the news sure did fly low for as big as it was....The pilot must be forgetting he's flying
a big bird now not a C-54.....
I still remember watching that Lockheed C-130 fire bomber that the main wing spar snaped in mid-air a few years ago.
I really feel for those people in southern cal .....So many homes already lost..I'll be going to Red Cross later on today
and donate anything i have extra to help out.
JP

Yeah, these airplanes go through some tremendous stresses fighting the fires.

[flyXwire]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/...rnia_wildfires

[1250ships]

Originally Posted by Rush104

I do not know what they use for the firefighting. I guess it depends on the type of fire being fought. But, I would suggest this to the SoCal budget authorities- look into the possibility of buying some water bombers. As I understand it, these Santa Ana winds are a regular occurence. Canadair makes some good planes, as does Beriev in Russia. I believe both the A-40 and Be-200 can handle firefighting duties. It may be an expensive option up front, but it may be cheaper in the long run...

California has a number of aircraft under lease including the DC-10 and two Superscoopers plus a bunch of helicopters. The problem was that the winds were so bad the first two days that none of them could operate- too dangerous.