Originally Posted by
M.Maus
OOOPPPS
That should have been 18 tonnes a minute, not hour. In other words, the Croatian Canadair fleet delivers more water in a minute than the 737 historically delivers in two hours. The 146 will have a similar delivery rate to the 737 and, like the 737 can only load as fast as the local water mains can supply the water. To speed that up will cost millions in installing large diameter water pipes to an apron on each airport and having suitable pumps to load at the maximum rate the aircraft can accept. All up she could get two Canadairs for our taxes and have a potent fire fighting asset.
And Canadairs can carry people and supplies, like the 737, though not as many/much. I do not know what the 146 can carry but I suspect it cannot carry people..
You’re forgetting right tool for the right job. you don’t use a ball peen hammer when a sledge hammer is needed.
i used to wonder about VLATS until one day I was bombing in a Bell 412 and was working side by side with a Coulson C130 near ballarat. It was amazing to see the effectiveness for that particular strategy that day on that particular fire and I can categorically say that that particular fire would have gone on for at least another 2-3 weeks of it weren’t for the VLAT and small machines mopping up and directing it to the VLAT lines.