The Russian-made Be-200 air tanker made a demonstration drop at Santa Maria, California yesterday. The ship dropped 3,000 gallons of water in a field near the airport and also performed a series of maneuvers. As Wildfire Today reported earlier, the aircraft is on a world tour in a marketing effort. A company in Santa Maria hopes to buy 10 of them which will be leased to U.S. air tanker operators.
If anyone has any videos or photos of the demonstration, please let us know. Here is a photo taken last weekend during a static public viewing.
BE-200 air tanker at Santa Maria, California. Photo courtesy of Michael Lynn.
