User:Akradecki/Sandbox6

An airtanker is an aircraft that is modified with on-board water/fire retardant tanks and is used in aerial firefighting to combat and control wildfires. A wide variety of terminology has been used in the popular media for the aircraft used in aerial firefighting, as well as the methods used. In the U.S., the terms airtanker or air tanker generally refer to fixed-wing aircraft, with "airtanker" being the form used in official documentation. In Europe, water bomber is the predominant term, and this name also appears frequently in popular media. Helicopters, when their sole function is dropping water or retardant (as opposed to also moving personnel) are referred to as helitankers.

Categorization

Airtankers in the U.S. are considered a "national asset", but typically are owned and operated by civilian companies and contracted to government agencies who then direct their usage on a fire.

Airtankers are broadly divided into four classes based on retardant capacity:

• Type 1 - 3,000 gallons or greater
• Type 2 - 1,800 to 2,999 gallons
• Type 3 - 800 to 1,799 gallons
• Type 4 - Less than 799 gallons (SEAT or Single Engine AirTankers)

SEAT operations

Air Tractor AT-802 SEAT (Single Engine Air Tanker) landing at Fox Field, Lancaster, California, while fighting the North Fire.

Single Engine Air Tankers, or SEATs, operate on a somewhat different set of guidelines than the larger aircraft. SEATs have the advantage of quicker turnaround times, as they typically carry only 400 to 800 gallons, and can land on improvised dirt or gravel landing strips near a fire. SEATs can be used individually on a fire, or in conjunction with helicopters and larger tankers.

U.S. operations and contracting

In the U.S., civilian airtanker operations are contracted by the Federal government for firefighting operations on Federal land,, and to individual states for land not federally controlled.

There are five federal agencies which manage firefighting efforts on their respective lands (Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), but because airtankers are considered a "national asset", these agencies coordinate their efforts through the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC), which sets national priorities for the use of assest and resources.

The use of civilian contracted airtankers on fires on federal lands is goverened by the National Airtanker Services Contracts, which are bid on and awarded each year prior to the fire season.

List of airtankers and lead planes

Purpose-built aircraft

• Air Tractor AT-802
• Beriev Be-200
• Canadair CL-215
• Canadair CL-415

Converted aircraft

Obsolete aircraft

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
• Consolidated PBY Catalina
• Consolidated PB4Y Privateer
• Douglas A-26 Invader (Group 322)
• Douglas DC-4
• Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (2,000 gallons)
• Grumman TBM Avenger
• North American B-25 Mitchell

Currently operated

• Beriev Be-200
• Douglas DC-6
• Douglas DC-7 (3,000 gallons, the only currently-operating civilian Type 1 airtanker)
• Grumman S-2 Tracker, both original reciprocating engined and variants modified with turboprop engines
• Lockheed C-130 Hercules, either permanently converted or military aircraft fitted with MAFFS removeable modular tanking equipment
• Lockheed P-2 Neptune
• Lockheed P-3 Orion
• Martin Mars, currently the oldest still-operating air tankers
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10, one flying, Tanker 910
• PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader

Lead planes

• Beechcraft 58P Baron
• Beechcraft Kingair

List of operators

• Conair Group
• Aero Union
• T&G Aviation, later International Air Response
• 10 Tanker Air Carrier
• Hawkins & Powers
• TMB Inc.
• Hemet Valley Flying Service
• Neptune Aviation
• Zenith Aviation
• Minden Aviation
• Butler Aircraft

In popular culture

• Always - story centers around the lives of airtanker pilots; the filming utilized two Douglas A-26 Invaders.