Private 747 Cost

Massif - and expensive - 747 join Cal Fire's armory to fight forest fires - San Bernardino Sun

These three words describe Cal Fire's latest wildfire gun - an aerial carrier big enough to support a spaceship on its back. One Boeing 747, which can fall up to 19,600 gal at once, is now under treaty with the state fire extinguishing authority. However, his possessor says he could rescue life, belongings and wilderness with the capacity to establish a line of retainer for more than a kilometer.

It has its own small aeroplane fleets and concludes agreements with private operators owning large aeroplanes. Although the 747 has a 19,600 gallon delayed memory capability, Cal Fire allows it to transport 18,500 gal. A DC-10, the next biggest DC-10, has a cargo hold of 11,600 gal. CALL FIRE is not the only airline to have contracted a "call when needed" for the plane based at McClelland Air Force Base near Sacramento.

Another three agents, all in Colorado, have similar agreements in place - which means the plane may not be immediately available for Cal Fire. U.S. Forest Service will also consider whether to enter into a usage agreement. Cal Fire said 23 major forest fires burned across the state on Tuesday, September 5.

Call Fire is hoping his latest deal will pay off. Not included are fuels and retardants. Phoschek, the fire extinguisher used during forest fires, costs $2.50 to $3.50 per gal, Upton said. This value results from the question of how much retarding agent the new air tanker can lose. The new 747 - identified by the number 944 on the rear - began as a Japan Airlines commercial airliner and was transformed into a freighter for Evergreen International Airlines in 2013, said Mr. Wheeler. However, the new 747 was also sold to the Japanese airline.

Wheeler was left parking until 2015 when it received a call from the private equity group that owned the airplane. Reconstruction was finished in May 2016 and the airplane flown its first fire missions in Israel in November. Upton said Cal Fire put it on order last month after performing airplane inspection and pilots evaluation.

She said the airline will resume its assessment of the plane in the next year and a half. Not the first 747 Cal Fire has signed; another was used in 2009, among others at the Los Angeles County station fire and the Oak Glen fire in San Bernardino County.

"There' s a place and a time," Brown said. Some have said, for example, that the new oil rig is the equivalents of 10 of Cal Fire's S-2 aircraft, which have a 1,200-gallon seating capacity. However, the new aircraft will also be able to carry a large number of other aircraft. "The S-2s are first strike aircraft that can disappear from the surface in five moments to reach the target of setting a fire within 20 minutes," Brown said.

This would be better suited for grooving lines where it can apply a long range of retardants. "Aeroplanes can also set off dispersants in the event of accidental pollution and combat off-shore fire," said Mr. Wheeler. In addition, the aircraft can be used to control the fire of platforms.