July 6, 2008, about 11 am...
A fixed wing aircraft seems to be busy today over the fire lines, passing over us frequently. I've just gotten a glimpse of it and here's what it is. In this morning's fire information news release from the U.S. Forest Service, Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest, there was a mention of additional incoming air support in the form of a Canadian water tanker called a "Martin Mars" flying boat, once made for the U.S. Navy during WWII.
This is an impressive aircraft and there are only two remaining! The above link is to a Wikipedia description of this "largest-ever flying boat to enter production."
Here's more from Wikipedia: "The two surviving tankers are now operated by the Coulson Group, based at Sproat Lake near Port Alberni, British Columbia. When converted, the original powerplants were replaced with four Wright R-3350-24WA Cyclone engines of 2500 hp (1860 kW) each. The aircraft can carry up to 7,200 US gal (27,250 litres) of water, enough to cover an area of 4 acres (16,000 m²). They are used to fight fires along the coast of British Columbia, and even sometimes in the interior."
YouTube carries some in-flight video of the aircraft performing.
This link shows a Mars dropping a load of water over a forest fire.
In this link, you see a Mars landing on the water in Vancouver (Canada) harbor.
And in this one, the aircraft lands on the water and scoops in a belly full - 7200 gallons - of water, to airdrop later on.
Note: these links may be tenuous... if so, just search for MARTIN MARS on YouTube, and you'll get a menu of videos to choose from!
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