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| Known as a Very Large Air Tanker or (VLAT ) 10 Tanker can be on scene within 24 hours of notice anywhere in the world. |
One of the DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers has been activated by CAL FIRE. Capable of carrying 11,600 gallons (44,080 liters) of retardant, gel, foam, or water in its constant flow external tank system, known as a game changer the DC10 has consistently proven to be effective in both direct and indirect applications.
Equivalent fire suppression gallonage of 4 C-130 MAFF′s.
Rick Hatton, President of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, the company that operates the two DC-10 air tankers, confirmed today that it will come on duty tomorrow, May 4. He said most likely the one they will use will be Tanker 910 on the way back from scheduled maintenance in Michigan.
Neither CAL FIRE nor the U.S. Forest Service have exclusive use contracts for the DC-10s, so they operate on a call-when-needed basis, which results in a slower activation, higher per day costs, and less assurance that they will be available.
The USFS call-when-needed and exclusive use contracts for Very Large and Large air tankers all expired on December 31, 2012, but some were extended for a few months.
Equivalent fire suppression gallonage of 4 C-130 MAFF′s.
Rick Hatton, President of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, the company that operates the two DC-10 air tankers, confirmed today that it will come on duty tomorrow, May 4. He said most likely the one they will use will be Tanker 910 on the way back from scheduled maintenance in Michigan.
Neither CAL FIRE nor the U.S. Forest Service have exclusive use contracts for the DC-10s, so they operate on a call-when-needed basis, which results in a slower activation, higher per day costs, and less assurance that they will be available.
The USFS call-when-needed and exclusive use contracts for Very Large and Large air tankers all expired on December 31, 2012, but some were extended for a few months.
Several weeks ago the agency awarded eight new exclusive use contracts for large “legacy” air tankers, with seven of them being Korean War vintage P2Vs, but it has been 520 days since they first began an attempt to contract for large “next generation” air tankers, with no results yet.
10 Tanker Air Carrier is a private company that has developed the DC10 without any government funding. The Company will grow its fleet to accommodate the requirements of local, state, and federal fire fighting agencies world wide.
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