Originally Posted by
goatface
An AGCAT firefighting? I have clear memories of these machines doing agricultural work in the UK, as robust and manouverable as they may be, I could never imagine them to be an effective fire fighting aircraft.
I live very near MPL (Montpellier, Southern France) where they have both AgCats (biplane) and AirTractors (low-wing monoplane, looking similar to the PZL in the photo).
Big radials... I only need to hear them, to think "oh sh*t", and know what they are and where they're going....
They can carry several hundred litres of retardant, and usually operate in pairs, so they can be quite effective as a 'first response', well before the "big ones" (Canadairs, Trackers) can get here from places like Marignane (near Marseille).
Also they can rotate back into and out of MPL quite rapidly, and being "low and slow", they can also then remain on station to direct the local fire engines converging on the fire.
So yes, they can be very effective in certain areas, as around here, when they can act as a "quick reaction force".
CJ