The grounding of DC-10s and MD-11s has accelerated the plans of a major air tanker conversion company to start making firefighting aircraft out of Boeing 767s. Coulson Aviation launched its 767 Very Large Air Tanker program on Monday to fill the void left by the converted trijets grounded by the tragic crash of a UPS MD-11 in Louisville, Kentucky, that killed three on board and 11 on the ground. It’s not clear if the aircraft will ever return to the air because of the potential cost of reengineering and retrofitting their engine pylons. Four converted DC-10-30s are used by 10 Tanker Air Carrier for firefighting. Coulson says its new design is a modern and sustainable replacement.
“The 767 is a proven widebody platform with global support, parts availability, modern systems, and compelling operating economics,” said CEO Britt Coulson. “Our program builds on those strengths and will deliver performance beyond what legacy VLATs can provide.” Coulson says the converted 767s will carry more fire retardant than existing air tankers (the company doesn’t specify how much they’ll hold) but there will still be room for 160 passenger seats. Coulson currently converts four types of helicopters along with C-130s and Boeing 737s for firefighting. It was also the owner of the last two flying Martin Mars flying boats, which it donated to museums over the last two years.
I think Coulson knows what will work for the budget and can make the conversions do the job. Likely to be a smart move.
An Airventure Vintage volunteer buddy of mine used to fly Evergreen’s Global Supertanker B747s around the world to fight fires. There are some heart-stopping videos on the Internet of him dropping retardant from treetop level in mountainous terrain. They offered world-wide 24-hr on-station service. He said it flew quite sprightly when the tanks were empty, but when loaded with 80 tons of water/retardant at 200agl, it took a fair amount of his attention.
He’s one of the folks that established my First Rule of Oshkosh: “Everyone you meet is bigger than they seem.” Like the old codger at the EAA chapter meeting who flew “FIFI” in WWII or his 27-year-old modern counterpart, or the editor of a global internet aviation discussion group, you just don’t know who you might be talking to.