Tag: T-944

Videos of firefighting aircraft in Chile

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wingTags , , , , , 3 Comments on Videos of firefighting aircraft in Chile

We gathered some videos of firefighting aircraft in Chile, including the 747, IL-76, and the CASA.

The first one shows the 747 creating a rainbow.

The video below shows some of the capabilities of the military CASA aircraft that is serving as a lead plane in Chile. It is in Spanish but English speakers will be able to get the drift.

Below is a great shot of the 747 dropping.

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SuperTanker works on a fire near Navidad, Chile

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wingTags , , , 13 Comments on SuperTanker works on a fire near Navidad, Chile

Just a quick video of the 747 SuperTanker pulling up to the reload pit at Santiago, Chile airport after completing its seventh sortie on February 1, 2017, making a total of 11 drops on the 7 sorties. Six of the sorties were near Navidad and Matanzas 115 miles (185 km) southwest of the Santiago airport where many structures were threatened. The seventh was near Concepcion, 404 miles (650 km) south of Santiago. In total, 138,400 gallons (508,759 l.) were delivered to assist the firefighters on the ground who actually put out the fires.

Photos of the IL-76 at Santiago

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The Russian-made IL-76 air tanker was parked near the 747 SuperTanker at Santiago, Chili today January 30. The 747 was off duty to take care of some maintenance, while the IL-76 went on two missions, dropping water on fires south of Santiago.

IL-76 air tanker
The interior of the IL-76, showing the two tanks. Photo by Tom Parsons, pilot of the 747 Supertanker.
IL-76 air tanker
The counterweights on the levers help the large flapper valves to open, releasing the 11,574 gallons of water from the Russian IL-76. Photo by Tom Parsons, pilot of the 747 Supertanker.
IL-76 russian air tanker
The Russian IL-76 Taxiing past the 747 SuperTanker. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

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747 SuperTanker protects a village and later 5 firefighters

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wingTags , , , 10 Comments on 747 SuperTanker protects a village and later 5 firefighters

This article originally appeared on Wildfire Today.

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Above: A fire is approaching Llico, a small village near the Pacific Ocean about 130 air miles southwest of Santiago, Chile.

The 747 Supertanker had a productive day Friday in Chile. They completed four missions and were taxiing to take off on another when the lead plane pilot called saying smoke had degraded visibility making another drop impossible.

Elena Carretero, who has been associated with the flight crew, said one of the drops in the morning helped protect the lives of five firefighters who were in imminent threat of being overrun by a fire.

747 Supertanker Chile
At middle-left is Laguna de Torca. Beyond it is the village of Llico, and just beyond the village is the fire. This is looking southwest toward the Pacific Ocean.

All of these photos were taken from the 747 by the drop system operator, Don Paulsen. The images of the fire were shot just before 6 p.m. local time on Friday near Llico, a small village near the Pacific coast about 130 air miles (209 km) southwest of Santiago, Chile (map). Elena told us the village was in danger, like the five firefighters, of being overrun by the fire until the SuperTanker used all 19,200 gallons of water to make one long drop between the fire and the village, saving it.

747 Supertanker Chile Llico
The village of Llico being threatened by the fire.
747 Supertanker Chile
Structures in Llico can be seen at the bottom of the photo.

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747 Supertanker in the Chilean media

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Fixed wingTags , , , 2 Comments on 747 Supertanker in the Chilean media

Above: The front page of the El Mercurio newspaper in Chile, January 26, 2017, shows one of the two drops the aircraft made on Wednesday. 

The arrival of the 747 Supertanker in Chile is generating a great deal of media interest, as well as capturing the attention of the Chilean people. A press conference at the airport the morning it arrived in Santiago drew a large number of reporters who shouted their questions at the government officials who were speaking.

747 Supertanker
Some of the camera operators at the press conference the morning the 747 Supertanker arrived in Santiago, Chile.

The largest air tanker in the world combined with the busiest fire season in years and five firefighters killed (one pilot and four on the ground) would be big news anywhere.

The expectations of the aircraft may be a little high. Air tankers do not put out fires. Under ideal weather and vegetation conditions they can slow the spread of a fire, allowing firefighters on the ground to move in and construct a line around the fire and actually put it out.

Chile fires
The morning the 747 arrived, Alfredo Mascareno of CONAF is mobbed at the Santiago Airport during a press conference about the aircraft and the wildfires in Chile.