Emergency Dispatch Vol 4 2014

8
AIRTANKER ARRIVES
IN VICTORIA
The first operational trial of the very large
airtanker took place in Victoria this bush fire
season.
The VLAT was based at the Avalon Airport
in Victoria from December 2009 and was
available for operational use until March 2010. It
is the first trial of the large water-bombing plane
in Australia.
The Bushfire CRC will evaluate the operational
trial and will prepare a series of reports on the
airtanker by mid 2010. The airtanker has the
capacity to drop approximately 45,000 litres of
water or 42,000 litres of fire retardant - up to five
times the amount of the high-volume helicopters
such as Elvis and Isabelle. Its volume is 15 times
the amount of our largest fixedwing bombers.
The plane can land, refuel, reload and be ready
to take-off again in approximately 30 minutes,
depending on circumstances. It is likely to have a
minimum flying altitude of 300ft and its minimum
speed is approximately 150 knots. CEO of the
Bushfire CRC, Gary Morgan said the trial will
assess the effectiveness of the VLAT in Australian
conditions.
“The Bushfire CRC will bring its broad expertise
to the trial of this very large aircraft and will share
the outcomes with firefighting agencies around
Australia and internationally,” said Mr Morgan.
The Bushfire CRC researchers are from the CSIRO
and from Australian firefighting agencies,
who will work closely with the U.S. aircraft crews.
An S76 helicopter from Canada accompanied
the researchers in their task. “This helicopter is a
vital part of the trial because it has the speed and
responsiveness to keep pace with the DC-10 and
it is equipped with all the necessary monitoring
equipment to ensure that each aerial drop can be
properly assessed,” he said.
Leased by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre
(NAFC) and funded by the Victorian State
Government, the DC-10 was the largest aircraft
ever to be used in aerial firefighting in Australia.
The airtanker can be used to build retardant lines
in remote areas and to provide fire suppression
on the flanks of bush fires. There has also been
extensive trialling in non-operational situations
in landscapes unique to Australia such as dense
eucalyptus forest, grass fuels, flat terrain, hilly
terrain and with a range of payloads (water,
retardant).