AussieNick asked
just a question bout these big water bombers? considering the speed they would be going to just stay airbourne, and a safety height that they would be dropping from, wouldn't the force of the fluid/retardent hitting the fires cause more spot fires due to splash than its worth?
With the aircraft that we're using now, dropping from 100'ATreeL gives the retardant time to achieve terminal velocity and fall vertically. Given the manufacturer's specified drop height of 400-800"ATL, splash is not likely to be a problem.
Higher speeds also cause greater initial dispersion.
Regards............ Peter