Tanker 160 goes through retardant drop grid tests
Tanker 160 goes through retardant drop grid tests
30 December 2013
published by http://fireaviation.com
USA — On December 11 Air Tanker 160 began a series of retardant drop tests for their Avro RJ85 at Fox Field in southern California. The aircraft was expected to perform 20 to 25 drops over a two or three day period. The process involves dropping retardant over a grid of thousands of cups, intended to measure the volume and consistency of the pattern when it hits the ground. The Interagency AirTanker Board requires passing this and other certifications before an aircraft can be carded as a federal air tanker, which makes it eligible for a contract to fight fires. Both paid and inmate fire crews were on hand at Fox Field to assist with the set-up of the grid and the collection of the cups after each drop.
Tanker 160, an RJ85 which is similar to a BAe-146, is being converted by Conair for Aero Flite, which received a contract June 7 for two RJ85s. The aircraft were not ready and missed the contractual start date a couple of months later. The U.S. Forest Service then issued cure notices to Aero Flite and two other companies that received the next generation contracts for five air tankers, none of which met the required start date. Aero Flite responded saying the aircraft would be available between April and June, 2014. Later in a justification for awarding a sole source contract to Neptune for two BAe-146 air tankers, the USFS wrote they were not confident that five of the seven contracted NextGen airtankers will be available to fight fires in 2014″.
Please click for a video of the demo the retardant drop test:
http://fireaviation.com/2013/12/30/tanker-160-undergoes-retardant-drop-grid-tests/
