World’s largest water bomber and Heli-firefighters
Earth is getting hotter. The 2000s was the warmest decade in a thousand years. Global temperature, in general, keeps increasing, creating conditions that intensify wildfire danger, by warming and drying out vegetation and by stirring the winds that spread fires. Fast fires are hard to contain and likely to expand into residential areas. Already about 1 billion people live in areas prone to natural disasters.The United States suffer from one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world, with more than 2 million fires reported each year. More than 4,000 Americans, including 100 firefighters, lose their lives and another 26,500 are injured annually as the result of fire.
Fire Departments around the world call on “water bombers” to fight large fires. Carrying huge amounts of water and retardants, they actually are more cost-efficient than most other fire fighting methods.
One of these water bombers is the Erickson Helitanker. It can deliver 2,000 gallon (7,500 litres) of water in one drop, and refill from any water source 18 inches (45 cm) deep in about 45 seconds. The Helitanker can precision deliver 30,000 gallons (110,000 litres) per hour.
Other aircraft are used too, such as the C-130, Martin Mars and DC-6. But the largest and fastest of the water bombers is the turbofan jet Ilyushin-76TD (Il-76). It can reach a fire anywhere in the world within 12 hours. Carrying 11 gallons (42,000 litres) of water and fire retardants – 4 times as much as a C-130 – it can, in one run, dump enough water to cover 6 double-wide football fields, or an area 0.7 miles (1,1 km) in length.
Tanker comparisons
| Tanker | Gallons | Knots |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il-76 | 11 000 | 400 | |
| Martin Mars | 7 200 | 165 | |
| KC-97 | 4 500 | 210 | |
| C-130 | 3 000 | 250 | |
| DC-6 | 3 000 | 235 | |
| Heli- tanker | 2 000 | N/A |
The Il-76, the world’s largest water bomber. Outfitted with a twin-tank system capable of carrying 135,000 pounds of liquid, it can be filled and be ready for takeoff in 15 minutes.
The Helitanker can refill from any water source 45 cm (18 inches) deep.
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