Firebombers!

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FLYBOYJ

"THE GREAT GAZOO"
28,097
8,751
Apr 9, 2005
Colorado, USA
Went out flying around on Sunday and came across a few ole "Seadogs" hanging around my local aerodrome. Had my camera phone close by so snapped a few photos while taxi-ing by. Enjoy!
 

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evangilder said:
Nice! Having some flying fun, I see.
Click to expand...

Yep! My kiddies went with their mom early and the weather was still nice in my neck of the woods so I went out to do some stalls and falls. Started heading north towards Fort Collins and you could see a front heading south (and started getting the crap beat out of me), so did a 180 and called it "Miller Time." Was going to watch the football game but decided on flying, after seeing Denver choke I made the right decision.
 
FJB, you have a VERY nice camera in your phone, excellent quality, but remember, non-pilot here. are these the forest service planes that drop retardent or water?
 
Nice shots, looks like a modified PC3-Orion. Do you remember that Privateer plane, (Navy version of the B-24 Liberator), that use to fly out of Jeffco? I liked that plane. It seems we lost a few of our old bombers and fighters to the Forestry service as fire bombers. That was how the last two flyable P-61's were lost.
 
Thanks FJB, i like the planes that fly over some body of water and scoop up water into their belly tanks then drop it over the fire. must be some very tricky flying, the drag of the water then the sudden increase in weight as water is taken on.
 
I don't think they pick up water that way. I know the helicopters using large water buckets can do that but the planes would have to go back to their base to reload on water. There was an article some years back where a scuba diver in a lake got picked up by accident in a bucket for firefighting. It ended well but it was still interesting to read.
 

Actually, there are some that skim the water to pick up. We use them here in SoCal during the fire season. They are leased from Canada. They are the Super Scoopers. Here is a shot that someone caught of one of them doing a pickup.



The scuba diver story is an urban legend.
 
thanks evan, i knew i had seen planes doing that as well as the helo's with their buckets. that has got to be very tricky flying, the frictional drag, weight change, c of g change
 
Thanks, that makes more sense. I hadn't seen this plane before but figured if there were such a plane that could fly and scoop it would have to be a modified sea plane.
 
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