I made some inquiries and found out the status of Evergreen’s 747 air tanker. They are still in contract negotiations with the U. S. Forest Service and will soon submit to them a proposal. They are confident that they will have a contract soon thereafter. The aircraft will carry 20,000 gallons and can cruise at mach .85, or 600 mph.
Here is a 22-second video of the 747 dropping water.
A comparison of retardant capacities of air tankers, in gallons.
Type 1: >3,000
747: 20,000
DC-10: 12,000
Martin Mars: 7,200
KC-97: 4,000
C-130A: 3,000
DC-7: 3,000
P3A: 3,000
Type 2: >1,800
DC-6: 2,450
P2V: 2,450
DC-4: 2,000-2,200
SP-2H: 2,000
PB4Y2: 2,000
Type 3: >800
S-2 Turbine: 1,200
S-2: 800
Air Tractor: 800
Type 4: >100
Dromader: 500
Pierce Turbo Thrush: 450
Marsh Turbo Thrush: 380
I wonder why it has taken so long. A reasonable person would have thought that a contract would have been in place and become effective as soon as the ’47 had received its FAA certs