Aircraft

Evergreen International Aviation has appointed the UK's Air Charter Service as European agent for its modified Boeing 747 Supertanker. Oregon-based Evergreen has been developing the advanced aerial firefighting aircraft since 2002. It won US certification last November.

"With a 77,600 litre [20,500USgal] capacity, it is capable of carrying almost twice the amount of retardant than any other firefighting aircraft. It is also the only aircraft to have a variable pressure delivery system, and is able to perform segmented drops, meaning it can fight more than one fire in a single mission. It also has loiter capability enabling ground control to direct it to specific areas," says Air Charter Service.

The Supertanker also has the ability to respond quickly to a variety of environmental and homeland security threats. Wide area decontamination, soil stabilisation, oil spill response and radiation knockdown are all within the response capability of the Supertanker, making it the most versatile aerial application vehicle in the world.

The Supertanker - which will be operated by Evergreen - is being targeted at governments, forestry commissions, and firefighting agencies "in all countries in Europe", says Air Charter Service.