Headline seems like a bit of a stretch, but the utility of this little aircraft cannot be understated for use is fighting wildfires.
Literally water carrying dive-bombers that scoop up water from lakes on the fly and dump it onto fire hotspots seconds later, only to repeat the process again and again. These aircraft have been out of production for a decade but will be brought back to production thanks to the fact that Europe is experiencing wildfires and is contracting with the new manufacturer to build a fleet of the planes for dispatch there.
Literally water carrying dive-bombers that scoop up water from lakes on the fly and dump it onto fire hotspots seconds later, only to repeat the process again and again. These aircraft have been out of production for a decade but will be brought back to production thanks to the fact that Europe is experiencing wildfires and is contracting with the new manufacturer to build a fleet of the planes for dispatch there.
The World’s Most Desperately Needed Airplane Is Back in Production
Monique Mulima and John Ainger
Fri, September 13, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT 5 min read
(Bloomberg) -- After the world posted its worst year for wildfires, with an area roughly the size of Nicaragua scorched in 2023, one plane model has become the most important aircraft on Earth.
A specialized amphibious firefighting plane — commonly called a Canadair after its original manufacturer — is unique in the market for its size and maneuverability. It can hold as much as 1,621 US gallons (6,137 liters) of water — about 20 bathtubs full — and travel at more than 200 miles per hour (322 kilometers per hour). In a quick swoop, the planes scoop up water from lakes or seas — filling up in 12 seconds — and fly as low as 100 feet (30 meters) above burning infernos to douse flames.
. . . these acrobatic water-bombers are needed now more than they’ve ever been before. Yet they were out of production for almost 10 years. This has now changed.
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd., which acquired the rights to the aircraft in 2016, reached new agreements with European Union countries this year to provide 22 DHC-515 firefighter planes, the brand successor of the Canadair. The order will be the first time De Havilland makes these €50 million ($55 million) planes. . .
“The so-called Canadair is the only functioning, operational aircraft in that category in this moment of time,” Hans Das, deputy-director general for European civil protection and humanitarian aid operations at the European Commission, said in an interview. “Over the last few years, we have seen forest fires expanding into all of Europe. Nobody escapes anymore.”
Wildfires have been raging across the continent this year — most ferociously in Greece and Turkey — as the world recorded its hottest summer ever. Across the Atlantic, Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has been on fire, wafting toxic smoke into the country’s largest city Sao Paulo in recent weeks. In North America California battled one of its worst wildfires on record in July and blazes have raged across De Havilland’s home province of Alberta. Fires were still smoldering under the snow in Canada in March after unprecedented wildfires in 2023.
