Manufacturers prepare variety of air tankers in anticipation of Forest Service requirement
The US Forest Service (USFS) has yet to release a large air tanker modernisation strategy, but an eclectic mix of aircraft is being prepared to compete for a potential 30-40 aircraft order after 2007.
Among others, a Boeing 747-class supertanker, a Russian amphibian, a converted regional jet and enlarged version of a US-made single-engined tanker are each racing to obtain US Federal Aviation Administration certification and approval from an interagency air tanker board.
"There's a bewildering array of things that have popped up at the last minute," says Minden Air owner Leonard Parker, who is proposing a tanker based on the BAe 146/Avro RJ.
Each of the candidates is waiting for clear direction from the Forest Service, the agency that manages an outsourced fleet of 33 ageing multi-engined air tankers, of which two-thirds are inactive due to airworthiness concerns. It is widely thought the agency's strategy will be revealed in the Bush administration's fiscal year 2006 budget request to be released in February.
Minden Air is completing flight tests on an Avro RJ on lease from a private Canadian owner. Parker says the aircraft's performance so far has been encouraging and he he is likely to offer the aircraft to the Forest Service next year.
Meanwhile, a bid by Evergreen Aviation to offer as many as four 91,000 litre (24,000USgal) -capacity Boeing 747 Supertankers will be scrutinised by the Forest Service during an operational assessment starting in late January, says Evergreen director of supertanker operations Penn Stohr. At the same time, Evergreen will seek to wrap up criteria for a supplemental type certificate from the FAA.
Stohr says the California Department of Forestry is interested in staging a supertanker demonstration exercise next summer.
In the longer term, Russian manufacturer Irkut plans to offer the Beriev Be-200 amphibian as a primarily land-based air tanker after 2007. Irkut has enlisted EADS to guide the aircraft's certification process, which will probably result in a restricted type certificate in 2007 and be followed by standard type certification.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
