Fire-bomber Jet P-38

[nev]

Evan - maybe an engineer is like a ref in football - over here we say the refs had a good game if you don't notice him.......

Tophe - great find on the californian fire bomber!    

[Captain Canada]

Yeah, all those fire-bombers in western USA and Canada rock !

There's even a tour from Europe that goes around to a bunch of the bases......Martin Mars, Cansos, DC-6, Electras, A-26, CL-215/415, Neptunes, Hercs, Broncos, Trackers.........an enthusiasts dream !

     

[elmayerle]

I thought this was a dream...  What if twin-boomers that I love were fighting forest-fires that I hate ?   But looking closer, this seems a true story, thanks to the California Department of fire...

*G* I believe that's the California Department of Forestry.  As I remember, the main commercial airtanker operator is located about 100 miles north-northwest of Sacramento (interviewed there once upon a time).  

[elmayerle]

Yeah, all those fire-bombers in western USA and Canada rock !

There's even a tour from Europe that goes around to a bunch of the bases......Martin Mars, Cansos, DC-6, Electras, A-26, CL-215/415, Neptunes, Hercs, Broncos, Trackers.........an enthusiasts dream !

   

As I remember, they also use Orions - what few they can get out of the US Navy.  

[Tophe]

Thanks for the Forest correction instead of Fire. I had just tried to guess, from a German source about a CFD Bronco, but that did not matched the CDF marking. Now all is explained, thanks, and Ollie will tell us the name of the Quebec department using his P-38, I hope...

[Ollie]

Oh, I painted the P-38 like a bird out West.  We don't need P-38s here, we have CL-415s, eh!  Plus with all the lakes we have, it's an amphib we need.


And no, I will not participate in any way into designing an amphibious jet P-38.


   

[Tophe]

I did not mean Canada needs badly P-38 fire bombers, as I respect plainly CL-215 & 415 as the best tools in the world for that, I was just meaning : "Ollie will tell us : what-if the QDF (?) had considered using this jet-P-38, before refusing as the Canadairs were far better ?". Not insulting our dear flying-boats, summer heroes on both sides of the Atlantic...

[Ollie]

You want a background?  Here is one.

This aircraft was developped jointly by Burt Rutan and Aero Union, using left overs P-38 parts in the Davis-Montana bone yard.  A new carbon fiber wing was developped, along with new booms.  J-85s were selected as powerplants.

Aircraft began operations in March 1997 in California and was proposed to various agencies, including SOPFEU in Québec.  When the leaders of the French-Canadian were shown the plane, they laughed so hard that one of them had to be treated because of hyperventilation.

SOPFEU still operates CL-415s.  

SOPFEU = Société de protection des forêts contre le feu.

 

[Tophe]

Thanks a lot, Ollie !    And glory to the STOPFEU, even without twin-boomer...  

[Ollie]

Ahem, c'est SOPFEU Tophe.....