747 Supertanker

747 Supertanker
Global 747-400 Supertanker, N744ST
Role Aerial firefighting
National origin United States
Manufacturer Boeing
Designer Evergreen International Aviation
First flight 2006
Introduction 2009
Status 1 747-400 operational (N744ST)[1]
Primary users Global SuperTanker Services
Evergreen International Aviation (former)
Number built
  • 1 active
  • 2 retired
Developed from Boeing 747-400 (N744ST)
Boeing 747-100 (N479EV)
Boeing 747-200 (N470EV)

The 747 Supertanker is an aerial firefighting airtanker derived from various Boeing 747 models. The aircraft are rated to carry up to 19,600 US gallons (74,000 L) of fire retardant or water for 400 miles (350 nmi; 640 km), and is the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.[2]

Initially developed by Evergreen International Aviation, the first Supertanker was based on a 747-200 (N470EV, tanker/tail number 947), and 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.[3] 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.[4][5][6]

Development

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 $US40 million on the project and was hopeful of 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

The 747 Supertanker during the 2010 Carmel forest fires in Israel

The Evergreen Supertanker is equipped with a pressurized liquid drop system, which can disperse fire retardant under high pressure or drop retardant at the speed of falling rain. This system allows the aircraft to operate within its design criteria.[10] Using the pressurized system, the aircraft can 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 Evergreen Supertanker’s tank system can 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 is capable of laying down a swath of fire retardant 3 mi (4.8 km) long and as wide as 150 ft (46 m).[11]

Because the tanker is based on an airliner, it can fly at speeds of around 600 mph (970 km/h; 520 kn) during cruise.

Operation

The Supertanker can operate from any airport with an 8,000-foot (2,400 m) long runway and suitable facilities. Evergreen identified several airports across the US that met or exceeded the criteria.[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.[12]

On December 5, 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.[13] 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 km2) burned and uncontained at the time.[14]

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.[15] Just a few weeks later, the company was awarded a one-year contract from nearby Douglas County to assist with wildfire containment.[16][17]

On November 24, 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.[18]

On January 25, 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 Avilés and her husband Benjamin Walton, who funded the costs.[19]

In September 2017, the Supertanker was contracted by Cal Fire.[20] In December 2017, the plane was leased by Cal Fire during the late-2017 wildfire season with most drops over the Thomas Fire.[21]

On July 5, 2018, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control signed a CWN contract to use the supertanker over US Forest Service lands.[22] 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.[23][24][25]

Evergreen financial difficulties

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 1 million USD. Because of financial difficulties, Evergreen deferred the maintenance, planning to have the Supertanker ready in time for the 2014 fire season.[26]

On November 30, 2013, Evergreen effectively shut down operations.[27] 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.[28]

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.

As of August 2015, Global SuperTanker Services (the successor to the defunct Evergreen Supertanker Services), has since purchased all the physical assets and intellectual property related to Evergreen’s original Supertanker (except the 747-100 airframe itself) from Jet Midwest. They have transplanted the existing sprayer tank system from the 747-100 into a newer Boeing 747-400 (N744ST) airframe.[2][29][29][30]

References

  1. ↑ "N744ST ✈ FlightAware". Flightaware.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Maye, Ryan. "Colorado Springs Airport will house largest firefighting aircraft in United States | Colorado Springs Gazette, News". Gazette.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ "FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry". Registry.faa.gov. October 31, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ ABC - El 'superavión' bombero no fue efectivo en incendio Serranía de Cuenca (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ Oak Glen Incident and Pendleton Branch Archived September 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. (map)
  6. ↑ Oak Glen Incident Archived January 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine., InciWeb
  7. 1 2 Alaska Journal of Commerce - Fighting fire with 747s
  8. ↑ Flight International - Evergreen modified firefighting 747-200 Supertanker poised to clinch FAA certification
  9. ↑ "Supplementary Type Certificate ST01912LA Installation and removal of internal tanks, associated systems and support structure for the aerial dispersant of liquids". US Federal Aviation Administration, October 27, 2006.
  10. 1 2 3 Evergreen International Aviation - Frequently Asked Questions
  11. 1 2 Fahrenheit 747: World’s Biggest Fire Extinguisher Douses L.A. County, Wired magazine, September 1, 2009
  12. ↑ Evergreen International Aviation - Markets
  13. ↑ Evergreen’s 747 Supertanker deployed to fight fires in Israel, Wildfiretoday.com, December 3, 2010
  14. ↑ Arizona's Wallow Fire Burns out of control, Christian Post, June 10, 2011
  15. ↑ http://gazette.com/worlds-largest-supertanker-moves-into-its-base-at-colorado-springs-airport/article/1575327
  16. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/23/douglas-county-supertanker-firefighting/
  17. ↑ http://fireaviation.com/2017/05/23/colorado-county-approves-first-of-its-kind-deal-with-global-supertanker-services/
  18. ↑ Firefighter Supertanker Set to Arrive in Israel, IB Times, November 24, 2016
  19. ↑ http://www.chvnoticias.cl/nacional/la-burocracia-que-enfrento-lucy-aviles-por-traslado-de-avion/2017-01-24/190722.html
  20. ↑ "CalFire enlists Global SuperTanker to fight fires".
  21. ↑ http://fireaviation.com/2017/12/07/video-of-multiple-air-tankers-working-the-liberty-fire-near-murrieta-ca/
  22. ↑ McMillan, Andrew (July 6, 2018). "Colorado state officials sign contract with Global SuperTanker". KRDO. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Forest Service not using Global SuperTanker to fight Colorado wildfires". FOX31 Denver. June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Verify: Should Colorado firefighters be using the 747 Supertanker to fight wildfires?". KUSA. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  25. ↑ Pelton, Katie. "Call for Action: Can SuperTanker help with Colorado fires?". KKTV.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  26. ↑ Author Bill Gabbert (July 4, 2015). "747 Supertanker still stored at Marana, but now has engines – Fire Aviation". Fireaviation.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ "Evergreen Aviation bankruptcy reveals schism among lenders, creditors". OregonLive.com. May 15, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  29. 1 2 Collin Krum. "Evergreen's Defunct 747 Supertanker Is Rising From The Ashes". Flightclub.jalopnik.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  30. ↑ "747 – Fire Aviation". Fireaviation.com. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
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