Tag: air tanker

The DC-10 air tanker being tested in the state of Victoria in Australia was used on a fire down under for the first time on Sunday, January 31. Here is an excerpt from an article on ABC News:

Victoria’s new water bomber aircraft was used for the first time to tackle a blaze near Mildura yesterday.

The DC-10 dropped fire retardant on the 250 hectare blaze in the Murray Sunset National Park.

Ewan Waller, chief fire officer with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) says operationally from the ground, it certainly helped getting the fire under control.

Fire crews have now contained the blaze, along with several others that started in the Dandenong Ranges yesterday.

The incident controller, Russell Manning, says the water bomber helped control a line of the fire that was moving quickly.

“We had an edge of the fire in the north-east corner that was threatening to run away with the south westerly winds,” he said.

“The DC-10 was sent here and very quickly put a retardant line in and suppressed that edge of the fire and enabled us to track the edge of the fire.”

However, speaking to ABC Radio’s Jon Faine, Mr Waller says the trial of the DC-10 tanker, nicknamed Vicky, is continuing.

“We’re circumspect. We want to make sure we get the trial information in and do the objective scientific study and seeing does this thing work and we’ll be advising Government at the end of the trial,” he said.

The DC-10 can drop up to 42,000 litres of recycled water or retardant, which is loaded at a pumping station at Avalon in about 10 minutes.

On January 28 we published our most recent update on the DC-10 in Australia.

We have not heard very much about air tanker 911, the DC-10, since it arrived in Australia on December 14 to evaluate its effectiveness on bush fires. But we do know that in early January it received certification from the Australian regulatory authorities to operate in the country.

The Country Fire Authority recently put together a fact sheet and this video about the aircraft.

(THE VIDEO IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Here are some photos of Air Tanker 911 down under, courtesy of the Country Fire Authority.

Neptune Aviation Services, based in Missoula, Montana, has been supplying P2V air tankers to the wildland fire community for 17 years. Despite having lost two air tankers and six of their employees in crashes over a 7-month period in 2008 and 2009, they still think of others and routinely donate to charities.

This year is no exception. The company has given $22,000 to the Poverello Center in Missoula, an organization that provides “food, shelter, help, and hope” for the homeless and at-risk families and children.

Here is an excerpt from an article by Jamie Kelly in the Missoulian:

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Each month, Ellie Hill opens up the Pov’s NorthWestern Energy bill like everyone else in Missoula, but it’s a good bet that the check she writes is bigger than yours.

Those 12 heating bills this year added up to $22,000.

That is a large stack of money, especially during a recession, for an agency that relies heavily on donations. In last Saturday’s Missoulian, Hill mentioned the Pov’s need in the newspaper’s “We Care” column.

Neptune Aviation saw it. And got out the checkbook. And made out the check for $22,000.

“This donation literally comes at no better time for the Pov,” said Hill, who was taken aback by the gesture. “As you know, with the economic crisis, the demand on our services is totally unprecedented, but financial contributions are down.”

The board of Neptune Aviation, which annually gives thousands to local charities, quickly agreed that the Poverello

Center’s need would be fulfilled.

“We’re just so touched by this community and what they’ve done for us personally and professionally,” said Neptune president Kristen Nicolarsen.

The donation is being made in memory of Nicolarsen’s mother, Jo Rainbolt, who died three years ago and all her life “never turned anyone away,” said Nicolarsen.

Rainbolt, a former Missoulian reporter, was also a philanthropist, artist and lover of nature.

It has not been the easiest year for Neptune Aviation. Last April, Neptune, which employs around 90 people, lost three of its crew members in a plane crash in Utah. Seven months earlier, three others were killed in a crash in Nevada.

Neptune provides air tankers to battle wildfires across the nation.

Four years ago, the federal government grounded Neptune planes, and it was the Missoula community and Montana’s congressional delegation who came to the company’s defense.

“The community is the reason we’re still here,” said Nicolarsen. “We feel like we can’t do enough for this state and especially this community.”

“Their generosity epitomized the spirit of Christmas,” said Hill. “It’ll keep the heat and the lights on for the elderly, poor and out-of-work families, and the homeless.”

Thanks Dick