Heads up!!! It's MAFFS...

July 20, 2008 about 10:30 pm...

Our good neighbor and one of the leaders of the Lavender Hill Mob, John Russo, took a pic of this Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) equipped C-130, flying directly overhead, during today's extensive air offensive to further secure the containment lines on the Basin Complex fire. 

MAFFS is a self-contained reusable 3000-gallon aerial fluid dispersal system that allows Lockheed C-130 cargo/utility aircraft to be converted to wildland firefighting airtankers. 

Five tank modules store the retardant under pressure; each module contains a pressure tank where compressed air is stored at 1200 psi. 

The control module includes the master control panel, the loadmaster's seat, and discharge valves. An air compressor module provides air pressure for charging the system; it stays at the airtanker base during air operations and is used to recharge the system between runs. Each unit weighs about 11,000 pounds, with a load capacity of 3000 gallons.

The system is pneumatically powered and includes tank modules, a control module, and a dissemination module. 

MAFFS can make variable drops over the fire, with flow rate preselected at the control module. At maximum flow rate, a MAFFS-equipped C-130 can discharge its entire load in under five seconds.