947 747 at kennedy

[Zoneload]

The Evergreen Fleet
1 A/C:734.0 747-100 Pratt powered
3 A/C:750.0 747-100 Pratt powered
5 A/C:800.0 747-200 Pratt powered
3 A/C:833.0 747-200 GE powered

They did get the STC from the FAA and they passed all the USFS requirements for the Supertanker. But I think they are still working some other problems that will keep them from this fire season. That is why the plane is out flying cargo now.

 

[Rottweiller]

The FAA signed off on the STC, the problem is that no government agency wants to pay per hour what we are asking for it.

The main problem from what I have been told is that someone in the wonderful FAA decided to say that for every one fire bomb flight that would count as six airframe cycles!! This just seemed to be a figure the Fed's pulled out of the air. So the cost of MX goes way up.

Why would one slow pass dropping 24,000 gallons of water mean 6 cycles who knows.

 

[Oh-ryan]

The main problem from what I have been told is that someone in the wonderful FAA decided to say that for every one fire bomb flight that would count as six airframe cycles!! This just seemed to be a figure the Fed's pulled out of the air. So the cost of MX goes way up.

Why would one slow pass dropping 24,000 gallons of water mean 6 cycles who knows.

I don't think it's the slow pass/water drop that decreases service life. IF anything, I would guess it's the beating the aircraft takes from the heat generated turbulence generated at low altitudes by forest fires while carrying a belly full of water. If the FAA pulled that number out of their arse it's kind of a silly figure unless they provide the data to support it.

But what do I know... I'm no rocket surgeon.

 

[propsarebest]

470 doesn't have 6 cycles to give up...

 

[Zoneload]

DC-10 tanker makes emergency landing at SCLA

Victorville SCLA fire crews look oJames Quigg / Staff Photographer
ver the 10 Tanker Air Carrier on the tarmac at SCLA Monday afternoon after a harrowing flight fighting the White Fire near Tehachapi.
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TATIANA PROPHET

VICTORVILLE — A DC-10 firetanker that was fighting the White Fire near Tehachapi hit the treeline and recovered from severe turbulence, then made an emergency landing at its home base of Southern California Logistics Airport on Monday evening.

The wide-body jet, the first of its kind built to fight fires and the only one in operation, performed two drops where it did an “awesome job” on the fire, which was 9,100 acres Monday night, said Sean Dakin, fire information officer for state agency CAL FIRE.

With a 12,000-gallon capacity, it carries 10 times the amount of water or fire retardant as a standard S2T firefighting prop plane and has performed effectively on large-scale wildland fires, CAL FIRE officials have said.

On Monday, after helping out the 800 firefighters on the ground, the tanker started to have trouble near Bison Peak, south of Tehachapi, said Janet Upton of CAL FIRE.

“It encountered severe turbulence, which caused the aircraft to descend and strike several trees,” she said. “The flight crew was able to apply power and fly out of the turbulence, and they safely returned to their base at Victorville.”

Fire officials were standing by after the plane landed safely at SCLA at about 5:45 p.m.

There were no injuries to the crew or anyone on the ground, Upton said. The incident is under investigation, she added, which will include a complete structural examination of the aircraft.

A CAL FIRE team will be arriving today to look at the tanker, and the plane will be grounded until the investigation is completed, she said.

Rick Hatton, a partner with the plane’s co-developer, San Carlos-based Cargo Conversions LLC, told the Daily Press earlier in the day about the tanker’s activities on the White Fire.

After the emergency landing, Hatton did not want to comment.

“I have no information at this time,” he said.

The terrain at the White Fire is highly difficult to access, Dakin said.

“It’s a tough place to be, very steep,” he said.

About 50 structures were threatened, Dakin added, with some damaged but no information yet available. A team will be going in today to assess damage.

CAL FIRE recently hired the tanker exclusively for the next three years, at about $5 million per year — making the plane available for 122 days from June to October.

It has not yet been certified by the U.S. Forest Service, so on Forest Service lands, such as the site of the Angora Fire at Lake Tahoe, it is not authorized to fight fires.

 

[DC4boy]

The DC-10 struck approximately 21 trees. According to flight crew, the bottom fell out on final. Lost portins of the right aileron and a good chunk of leading edge slat. As well as some elevator....

The crew has zero firefighting experience and made some serious mistakes.

Glad no one was hurt.

 

[propsarebest]

I have 2 pictures of it on the ground after it landed. A big ole section of the slat on the left wing is gone, and the aileron is all twisted to hell.