Jumbo air tanker going online
04:33 PM PDT on Wednesday, June 13, 2007
VICTORVILLE - It can hold 12,000 gallons, 10 times as much as California's other air tankers, and create a fire line three-quarters of a mile long in just eight seconds.
Now, the unique DC-10 air tanker will be available full time to battle the state's wildfires, thanks to a new $15 million, three-year contract that takes effect Friday.
"We think, and Cal Fire thinks, it is going to be a game changer," said Rick Hatton, a managing partner for 10 Tanker Air Carrier, the jet's owner. "It is very effective, especially when trying to contain a large fire."
The deal, ordered by Gov. Schwarzenegger earlier this year, comes after the Victorville-based jumbo jet debuted last year with a limited evaluation contract. It won praise in fighting six wildfires in California and one in Washington. Each of the fires the plane has worked are noted on the jet's windows.
The exclusive contract with Cal Fire makes the jet available for 122 days from June 15 to October 15. The cost to operate the air tanker totals $41,000 a day or $5,002,000 per year. There also is a $5,500 per flight hour cost.
The contract means the jet will be available immediately, rather than on a call-when-needed basis. The jet will be able to respond to fires within an hour, fire officials said.
"This is going to be a great tool," said Mike Padilla, chief of aviation for Cal Fire, the state's fire protection agency. "This aircraft has the speed and capacity to go to any fire in California."
No comments:
Post a Comment
CAL FIRE NEWS LOVES COMMENTS...
- Due to rampant abuse, we are no longer posting anonymous comments. Please use your real OpenID, Google, Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, Flickr name.