DC-10 Air Tanker
Tanker 910 is the call-sign of the only wide-body jet air tanker currently in service. The aircraft, operated by 10 Tanker Air Carrier, is a converted McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft used for fighting wildfires, typically in rural areas. The turbofan-powered craft carries up to 12 thousand gallons of water or fire retardant which can be released in eight seconds.
Development
The aircraft was developed as a joint venture under the name of 10 Tanker Air Carrier between Cargo Conversions of San Carlos, California and Omni Air International, with conversion work being performed by Victorville Aerospace at the Victorville Airport. Tanker 910 was debuted at the 2005 Paris Air Show.[1]
The aircraft, currently registered as N450AX, was originally delivered to National Airlines in 1975, and subsequently flew for Pan Am, American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Omni.[2]
The number of drops it can make in a day is only limited due to the time it takes to reload the jet with water or fire retardant and its need for a proper landing field, which may well be a considerable distance from the subject fire. Because of the aircraft's limited maneuverability, California Department of Forestry (CDF) officials have said that it will not be used on all fires, and will not be used as an initial attack aircraft[3] One drop from Tanker 910 is equivalent to 20 drops from an S-2 Tracker.[4] Initially, the aircraft is intended to be operated primarily in California, and the entire state will be serviced from the plane's Victorville base, but in 2007 the CDF began looking into setting up a second operations base at the former Mather Air Force Base outside of Sacramento, California.[3]
10 Tanker Air Carrier announced in 2007 that a second aircraft would be built for the 2008 fire season.[3]
Tanker 910 was to get competition from a Boeing 747 that has been converted to tanker use by Evergreen International Aviation and which is able to carry up to 22,000 gallons, but that project has been placed on hold.[3]
Contracting
In 2006 the aircraft was operated on a limited evaluation contract from the State of California. During the 2006 season, the aircraft flew on six fires in California and one in Washington.[3] For the 2007-2009 fire seasons, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized a contract for exclusive use of the aircraft at a cost of $5 million per year, or an average of about $41,000 per day for the June 15 to October 15 fire season. The exclusivity of the contract allows the aircraft to always be ready for dispatch, and it will be able to launch to a fire within one hour of being called.[3][5]
The aircraft has not been certified by the U.S. Forest Service, so it is not permitted to fly on fires which are on USFS land in California.[6]
Fire use
Tanker 910 was first used in July of 2006 when it fought the Sawtooth Complex fire in San Bernardino County, California. While the fire was burning, Tanker 910 initially sat on the ground at Victorville, as it had not received CDF approval to operate. The mayor of Victorville, Mike Rothschild, became concerned and investigated why it wasn't flying, finding that the approval process was expected to take up to six months to complete. After a call to California State Senator George Runner, the CDF was able to complete the necessary training and paperwork in a matter of days, with the California certification being granted on July 15, 2006.[7] The following day, July 16, the aircraft made two drops on the Sawtooth fire, and CDF personnel were reported to have said that "the two fire drops made a greater impact on containing the fire than the 12 helicopters drops for the past 10 days."[7]
The second usage was during the Horse Fire later in the same month, in San Diego County, California.
Incident
Tanker 910 experienced its first incident while helping to fight the White Fire in the Kern County mountains on June 25, 2007. While making a dropping run, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence and descended 100 to 200 feel lower than expected, with the left wing striking the tops of several trees, before pilots were able to power out of the descent. The aircraft returned to its base in Victorville, where it made an emergency landing and was grounded pending an investigation, inspection, and repairs.[5][6] Despite the accident, the CDF has stated that they are happy with the aircraft.[8] The aircraft was expected to return to service by the end of July.[8]
References
- ^ Aircraft International News
- ^ Census data from Jetphotos.net
- ^ a b c d e f "Supertanker ready for summer of fighting California's fires", Inland Wildfires, June 14 2007, accessed August 6 2007
- ^ News Article regarding Tanker 910
- ^ a b Curtis, Bill, "Firefighting jet grounded after grazing trees in Kern County", Fresno Bee June 26, 2007, accessed same date
- ^ a b Marcus Wohlsen, "Grounded firefighting jet raised doubts among USFS officials", North County Times, June 26 2007, accessed August 8 2007
- ^ a b City of Victorville news release, "Mayor Rothschild Intervenes in the Sawtooth Fire, Use of DC-10 Tanker Helps Contain the Fire", accessed August 6 2007
- ^ a b Patrick O'Driscoll, "Use of jets to fight fires up in air", USA Today, July 17 2007