2009 firefighting aircraft modification
The
747 Supertanker
is a retired
aerial firefighting airtanker
derived from various
Boeing 747
models. The aircraft is rated to carry up to 19,600 US gallons (74,000 L) of
fire retardant
or
water
. It is the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.
[1]
Initially developed by
Evergreen International Aviation
, the first Supertanker was based on a
747-200
(N470EV, tanker/tail number 947), but never entered service. The second Supertanker (N479EV, tanker/tail number 979) was based on a
747-100
originally manufactured by Boeing in 1971 for
Delta Air Lines
.
[2]
It entered service for the first time in 2009, fighting a fire in
Cuenca, Spain
, and made its first American operation on August 31, 2009 at the
Oak Glen Fire
in California. It is no longer in service.
[3]
[4]
[5]
The third 747 Supertanker was developed by Global Supertanker Services (which acquired most of Evergreen's assets), who owns and operates the aircraft currently. The Global Supertanker (N744ST, tanker/tail number 944) is a Boeing 747-400 dubbed the Spirit of
John Muir
. It was certified for firefighting flights by the Federal Aviation Administration in September 2016 and fought fires in Chile and Israel before being contracted by U.S. officials to fight California wildfires in 2017.
[6]
It also took part in firefighting in Bolivia in August 2019. It was retired in 2021.
Development
[
edit
]
Development started after the 2002 fire season, which saw the
fatal crashes of two air tankers
in the United States. The accidents, involving a
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
and a
Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer
, prompted the
US Department of Interior
to issue an official
request for information
on next-generation airtankers.
[7]
Evergreen proposed to convert up to four of its Boeing 747-200 Freighters into Supertankers. The first converted Boeing 747 (N470EV) made its maiden flight on February 19, 2004.
[7]
By June 2006, Evergreen had spent $40 million on the project and was waiting for both
US Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) certification and an evaluation contract from the
US Forest Service
.
[8]
In October 2006 the FAA issued Evergreen a supplementary type certificate for the "installation and removal" of internal tanks, associated systems and the support structure for the aerial dispersal of liquids.
[9]
Design
[
edit
]
The Global Supertanker was equipped with a pressurized liquid drop system, which could disperse
fire retardant
under high pressure or drop retardant at the speed of falling rain.
[10]
Using the pressurized system, the aircraft could deliver retardant to the scene of a fire while flying at a height of 400 to 800 feet (120?240 m), at approximately 160
mph
(260
km/h
; 140
kn
), configured as if it were on approach for landing. The Supertanker's tank system could be configured for segmented drops, allowing the contents of the tank to be released at multiple intervals while in flight.
[10]
According to the company, the aircraft was capable of laying down a swath of fire retardant 3 mi (4.8 km) long and as wide as 150 ft (46 m).
[11]
A top speed of nearly 600 mph (970 km/h; 520 kn) allowed it to be almost anywhere in the U.S. in approximately 5 hours and reach most of the world in under 20 hours.
[12]
Operation
[
edit
]
The Supertanker can operate from any airport with an 8,000-foot (2,400 m) long runway and suitable facilities.
[10]
In late 2009, the aircraft was under a call-when-needed (CWN) contract with
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(Cal Fire) and was stationed at
Sacramento McClellan Airport
outside of
Sacramento
,
California
.
[11]
Regulations allow for five individuals that are not crewmembers to be carried in the upper deck. This area could be used for command and control, mapping, incident monitoring and video/communications operations.
[13]
In December 2010, the Supertanker was deployed to Israel to fight the
Mount Carmel forest fire
. This was carried out along with crew and utilities donated by other international fire agencies.
[14]
On June 9, 2011 the Supertanker was also deployed to fight the
Wallow Fire
in the US state of Arizona which was at 607 square miles (1,570 km
2
) burned and uncontained at the time.
[15]
Since May 2016, Global SuperTanker has been based in Colorado at the
Colorado Springs Airport
, chosen in part for its convenient location for quick deployment to the western US and necessary infrastructure for the large and heavy aircraft.
[16]
Just a few weeks later, the company was awarded a one-year contract from nearby
Douglas County
to assist with wildfire containment.
[17]
[18]
In November 2016, the newer N744ST 747-400 Global Supertanker was deployed to Israel to help fight the wildfires raging in the northern port city of Haifa and elsewhere throughout the country.
[19]
In January 2017, the Global Supertanker was deployed to
Santiago
,
Chile
, to help the local authorities to combat one of the biggest series of wildfires in the country's history. The wildfires in the south of the country, at the time of the arrival of the 747-400, had burnt more than 494,000 acres (200,000 ha) of forests and hundreds of houses. The operation of the aircraft was the initiative of philanthropist Lucy Aviles and her husband Benjamin Walton, who funded the costs.
[20]
In September 2017, the Supertanker was contracted by Cal Fire.
[21]
In December 2017, the plane was leased by Cal Fire during the
late-2017 wildfire season
with most drops over the
Thomas Fire
.
[22]
In July 2018, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control signed a CWN contract to use the supertanker over US Forest Service lands.
[23]
This followed media inquiries earlier in the summer as to why the supertanker wasn't contracted to fight the fires burning in its home state.
[24]
[25]
[26]
In November 2018, the Global SuperTanker was deployed to northern California to assist with the out-of-control Camp Fire
[27]
in Butte County.
[28]
[29]
[30]
Evergreen financial difficulties
[
edit
]
On June 14, 2013, the Supertanker received a call-when-needed contract from the
United States Forest Service
, despite not being operational. The aircraft was sitting without engines at the
boneyard
and maintenance facility at
Pinal Airpark
outside
Marana, Arizona
, in need of a
“C” check
and other maintenance, which would cost US$1 million. Evergreen deferred the maintenance because of financial difficulties, planning to have the Supertanker ready in time for the 2014 fire season.
[31]
On November 30, 2013, Evergreen effectively shut down operations.
[32]
In December 2013, Marana Aerospace Solutions proceeded with the sale of the Supertanker, in lieu of rent and other payments that Evergreen had failed to make. An involuntary
bankruptcy
case was filed against Evergreen later in the month, and then Evergreen itself filed for dissolution under
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
on December 31, 2013, freezing the sale.
[33]
On December 31, 2013, Evergreen International Airlines filed a Chapter 7 petition with the US Bankruptcy Court in
Delaware
with substantially all assets (including all 747 airframes) subsequently sold to a parts salvage re-seller, Jet Midwest Aviation. On July 12, 2017, tail number 979 was intentionally destroyed for salvage at
Pinal Airpark
, in Marana, Arizona.
In August 2015, Global SuperTanker Services (the successor to the defunct Evergreen Supertanker Services), purchased all the physical assets and intellectual property related to Evergreen's original Supertanker (except the 747-100 airframe itself) from Jet Midwest. They transplanted the existing sprayer tank system from the 747-100 into the newer
Boeing 747-400
(N744ST) airframe.
[1]
[34]
[35]
In 2021, Global SuperTanker Services began facing financial difficulties, and in April 2021, the company shut down. They sold the Supertanker to
National Airlines
to be converted into a cargo aircraft.
[36]
[37]
[38]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Maye, Ryan (August 12, 2015).
"Colorado Springs Airport will house largest firefighting aircraft in United States | Colorado Springs Gazette, News"
. Gazette.com
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry"
.
Registry
. FAA. October 31, 2014. Archived from
the original
on March 5, 2016
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
El 'superavion' bombero no fue efectivo en incendio Serrania de Cuenca
Archived
October 6, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
, ABC (in Spanish; dead link).
- ^
Oak Glen Incident and Pendleton Branch
, Rim of the world
Archived
September 2, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
(map).
- ^
Oak Glen Incident
, Inciweb
Archived
January 10, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
,
InciWeb
- ^
Firefighting Boeing 747 takes on California wildfires
, 2018 Aug 8 Seattle: Biz journals.
- ^
a
b
"Fighting fire with 747s"
.
Alaska Journal
. March 14, 2004.
- ^
"Flight International - Evergreen modified firefighting 747-200 Supertanker poised to clinch FAA certification"
.
- ^
"Supplementary Type Certificate ST01912LA Installation and removal of internal tanks, associated systems and support structure for the aerial dispersant of liquids"
Archived
August 22, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
. US Federal Aviation Administration, October 27, 2006.
- ^
a
b
c
"Evergreen International Aviation - Frequently Asked Questions"
. Archived from
the original
on October 5, 2013
. Retrieved
August 7,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Fahrenheit 747: World’s Biggest Fire Extinguisher Douses L.A. County
,
Wired magazine
, September 1, 2009
- ^
B747-400 SUPERTANKER
- ^
"Evergreen International Aviation - Markets"
. Archived from
the original
on October 5, 2013
. Retrieved
August 7,
2008
.
- ^
Evergreen’s 747 Supertanker deployed to fight fires in Israel
,
Wildfiretoday.com
, December 3, 2010
- ^
Arizona's Wallow Fire Burns out of control
,
Christian Post
, June 10, 2011
- ^
"Supertanker moves into its base at Colorado Springs Airport"
. May 3, 2016.
- ^
"Douglas County approves deal to use SuperTanker in firefighting"
. May 24, 2017.
- ^
"Colorado county approves first-of-its-kind deal with Global SuperTanker Services"
. Fire Aviation. May 23, 2017
. Retrieved
March 27,
2022
.
- ^
Firefighter Supertanker Set to Arrive in Israel
,
IB Times
, November 24, 2016
- ^
"La burocracia que enfrento Lucy Aviles por traslado de avion"
.
- ^
"CalFire enlists Global SuperTanker to fight fires"
. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2017
. Retrieved
September 10,
2017
.
- ^
"Video of multiple air tankers working the Liberty Fire near Murrieta, CA"
.
Fire Aviation
. December 8, 2017.
- ^
McMillan, Andrew (July 6, 2018).
"Colorado state officials sign contract with Global SuperTanker"
.
KRDO
. Retrieved
July 6,
2018
.
- ^
"Forest Service not using Global SuperTanker to fight Colorado wildfires"
.
FOX31 Denver
. June 13, 2018
. Retrieved
July 6,
2018
.
- ^
"Verify: Should Colorado firefighters be using the 747 Supertanker to fight wildfires?"
.
KUSA
. June 29, 2018
. Retrieved
July 6,
2018
.
- ^
Pelton, Katie (June 14, 2018).
"Call for Action: Can SuperTanker help with Colorado fires?"
.
KKTV.com
. Retrieved
July 6,
2018
.
- ^
"Camp Fire"
.
www.fire.ca.gov
. Archived from
the original
on December 7, 2018
. Retrieved
November 11,
2018
.
- ^
Forster, Liz.
"Colorado Springs-based Global SuperTanker deployed to California fires"
.
Colorado Springs Gazette
. Retrieved
November 11,
2018
.
- ^
"The world's largest firefighting airplane has arrived in California to battle the devastating wildfires"
.
The Denver Post
. November 11, 2018
. Retrieved
November 11,
2018
.
- ^
Bishop, Taylor (November 10, 2018).
"Global SuperTanker deploys to fight fires burning in California"
.
KXRM/Fox21 News
. Retrieved
November 11,
2018
.
- ^
Bill Gabbert (July 4, 2015).
"747 Supertanker still stored at Marana, but now has engines ? Fire Aviation"
. Fireaviation.com
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
McKirdy, Eric (January 2, 2014).
"UPDATE x2: Will They Stay or Will They Go? The Saga of Evergreen International Airlines"
. Nycaviation.com
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Evergreen Aviation bankruptcy reveals schism among lenders, creditors"
. OregonLive.com. May 15, 2014
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
Collin Krum (August 13, 2015).
"Evergreen's Defunct 747 Supertanker Is Rising From The Ashes"
. Flightclub.jalopnik.com
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
"747 ? Fire Aviation"
. Fireaviation.com
. Retrieved
December 8,
2016
.
- ^
"What a grounded 747 Supertanker means for fighting California wildfires"
.
cbs8.com
. April 28, 2021
. Retrieved
May 5,
2021
.
- ^
Newdick, Thomas (April 23, 2021).
"The Mighty Boeing 747 Supertanker May Have Fought Its Last Fire"
.
The Drive
. Retrieved
May 5,
2021
.
- ^
Goggins, Shawn (June 8, 2021).
"Sun sets on Global Supertanker; aircraft sold to freight company"
.
ifiberone.com
. Retrieved
June 8,
2021
.
External links
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Notable aircraft
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