As wildfires burned across the Greek island of Rhodes in July, covering about 15 percent of the island, the European Union decided to invest in up to 12 new firefighting aircraft. The EU then sent 11 planes and a helicopter to Greece — nearly half EU’s firefighting fleet — reported euronews.
Janez Lenarčič, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, said he expects individual member states to order an additional 12 planes, and said that manufacturer De Havilland Canada, headquartered in Toronto, has agreed to re-launch production of its iconic “Canadair” aircraft if the EU places the orders.
Canadair Super ScooperThe Canadair super scoopers start at around €30 million, which is currently nearly $32 million USD. (And De Havilland Canada is hiring, by the way, if you’ve got transferable skills.)
De Havilland Aircraft has manufactured over 3,500 aircraft including what’s arguably the most advanced turboprop in the air today. The manufacturer closed down scooper production back in 2015 but now plans to design and build a new generation of Canadair scoopers, the DHC-515 — which probably will be delivered beginning in 2027. New design and production costs may very well push the price tag higher than €720 million for 24 new aircraft.
De Havilland’s been around longer than Smokey Bear. The DHC-1 Chipmunk — an all-metal trainer developed for the Royal Canadian Air Force — was the first all-Canadian design to come out of De Havilland Canada.
The company followed that with the De Havilland Beaver, a rugged and versatile bush plane that can take off and land almost anywhere, helping connect communities in Canada’s most remote northern regions. The U.S. Forest Service started flying planes on floats out of Ely, Minnesota in 1929 — still before there was a Smokey Bear — and they’re still flying Beavers today. Fire personnel in the know call this the agency’s best-kept secret weapon.
De Havilland’s other notable fire aircraft include the Twin Otter and the Dash-8.
The Calgary Herald reported last month that interest in its new waterbomber is growing as the company prepares to launch its new program to build the amphibious DHC-515 in Alberta.
Hunter D’Antuono with the Flathead Beacon, by the way, captured some 5-star photos of scoopers owned by Montana’s Bridger Aerospace over the Elmo Fire on the western shore of Flathead Lake last year in August. Bridger recently purchased four more scoopers — CL-215Ts — from the Spanish government.
2 Comments
I hope that DHC , could restart the production chain to be able to cover the demand of future customers.
To be clear the price requested for a CL 415 raise up to 62M € per unit and it’s still a CL 215-6-B11 that means the same aircraft since the 60’s except the avionics updated.
For the CL515 they probably pass trough a certification if they want to input changes, so we are at a crossroad in terms of development.
Build a new one ( more powerful and technological evolution) or stay on the same frame without possibilities of evolution.
I consider that we need a new tool for facing new threats due to climate change.
Lets not forget Conair’s Q400 is established in Europe, too. Plus I am sure Coulson can put out a 737 for cheaper than a CL-515. That being said, the amphibious CL is a really effective and capable airplane not tethered to a big runway.
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