Sat, Jan 28, 2023
Coulson Aviation's Boeing 737 to Serve as High-Speed Firestopper
Coulson Aviation has been awarded the contract for Australia’s National Large Air Tanker (LAT) program.
The converted Boeing 737, Tanker 139, will become the newest addition to Coulson’s FireLiner fleet. Its home base will remain in Sydney, New South Wales but will support additional locations throughout Australia whenever required. As the National LAT, Tanker 139 will wear the name “Phoenix” as a result of a naming competition held with local schools.
The 737 is funded by the Commonwealth Government through a partnership with the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC). The contract currently stands for 2 years with the option to extend once again. Coulson's patented Retardant Aerial Delivery System (RADS), tanking and release tech allows the Phoenix to drop up to 4,000 gallons of retardant or water at flow rates up to 3,000 gallons per second. Australia's scary eucalyptus-fed wildfires make for a perfect target for such quantities of retardant, dampening the blaze before it ever has a chance to spread further.
Coulson's Boeing is the only commercial 737 airliner converted to their FireLiner spec, giving it excellent range, speed, and performance above its usual turboprop competitors in the tanker game. The company's Australian roots have provided a solid base of experience fighting fires across multiple states, and now they bring their experienced crews and varied fleet to the table among other NAFC supporters.
“Coulson is proud to provide our state-of-the-art aircraft to the Federal Australian Government. This aircraft is an incredibly efficient bomber and the crews that operate each of our aircraft are second to none,” said Coulson Aviation Australia CEO Britt Coulson. “Working alongside dedicated Australian firefighters, Phoenix will be one of the key assets supporting this upcoming bushfire season,” said Britt.
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