Month-Long Demonstration Tour to Span 11 States
Evergreen International
Aviation has announced that its firefighting 747 Supertanker will
visit 11 states during a month-long, nationwide tour to demonstrate
the capabilities of the world’s largest firefighting aircraft
to wildland firefighters at the federal, state and local levels.
Details for each demonstration visit are available on Evergreen
Aviation’s website.
Beginning in April, the tour will include coast-to-coast
briefings and scheduled water drops at 13 locations, commencing in
Phoenix, Ariz. (IWA) and concluding in Anchorage, Alaska (ANC).
“The Supertanker tour comes at a time when firefighting
capabilities are increasingly important for the U.S. Forest Service
and the states that face escalating risks from forest fires,”
said Sam White, Evergreen’s Vice President in Washington, DC.
“We believe the Supertanker, a modified 747-200 with more
than 20,000 gallons of tank space, offers exceptional drop
capabilities and safety standards. The Supertanker is a
multi-mission aircraft that is capable of supporting firefighting,
weather modification, oil spill response, and biochemical
decontamination emergency response missions worldwide.”
The multi-role 747 Supertanker is the largest tanker aircraft
available today. It has more than seven times the drop capability
of a P3, and its patent-pending pressurized system has the
capability to disperse retardant at high pressure for an
overwhelming response, or drop retardant at the speed of falling
rain in single or several segmented drops. It also offers a
significant value for American taxpayers, saving homes, lives and
jobs. Evergreen believes its Supertanker will also save the U.S.
government hundreds of millions of dollars in fire suppression and
rehabilitation costs every year.
“The U.S. Forest Service is encouraging the aviation
industry to look at new firefighting technologies that are more
effective and create safer conditions for firefighters on the
ground,” said Marc Rounsaville, Deputy Director of Fire and
Aviation Management for the Forest Service. “The Forest
Service will continue to evaluate advanced firefighting
technologies and we will continue to challenge industry to develop
safer and more effective tools that offer better value for the
taxpayer.”
Water drops at locations on the tour are planned at an altitude
of 400-800 feet, which allows for a “falling rain drop”
that not only provides maximum benefits for fire suppression but is
also environmentally friendly and safe for fire fighters.
Evergreen International Aviation, which has more than 70 years
of firefighting experience and nearly one million hours of 747
operating experience, has invested three years and more than $40
million of its own funding to develop this next generation of
firefighting aircraft.
“The Forest Service has challenged us to prove that the
Supertanker will be a safe and effective firefighting tool, and we
have accepted their challenge,” said White. “We are
honored to offer the Supertanker to federal and state organizations
that are working tirelessly to protect Americans from the threat of
fire and other catastrophic events.”