Aerial Firefighting 09
Aerial Firefighting 09 : Equipment: Airtankers: Category legend: Light: under 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L), Medium: under 10,000 US gallons (38,000 l), Heavy: under 20,000 US gallons (76,000 L), Super Heavy: Over 20,000 US gallons (76,000 L) - currently only used for the B747 Supertanker. Leadplanes: The Lead Plane function directs the activities of the airtankers by both verbal target descriptions and by physically leading the airtankers on the drop run. The leadplane is typically referred to as a "Bird Dog" in Canada or "Supervision" aircraft in Australia. The O-2 Skymaster, Cessna 310 and OV-10 Bronco have been used as spotter and lead plane platforms. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has also used the Cessna 337. The Beechcraft Baron was long used as a leadplane or air attack ship, but most were retired in 2003; more common now is the Beechcraft King Air and the Twin Commander 690. A Cessna Citation 500 jet owned by Air Spray Aviation was used by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests beginning in 1995 and used for two fire seasons to lead the very fast, Electra L188 air tanker to the fires. This was the first time a jet aircraft was used as an lead plane or "bird dog". The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), in Western Australia operates a fleet of nine American Champion Scouts 8GCBC during the summer months as spotter aircraft and Air Attack platforms
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