The 747 Supertanker is ceasing operations

The company in charge of the Boeing 747-400 SuperTanker operations, the Tanker 944, which is used in firefighting around the world, may be discontinuing operations with its massive aerial firefighting aircraft.

The information was gathered from an e-mail sent on April 21st to employees in the United States (Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) as well as the United States government, in which Dan Reese, president of Global SuperTanker Services, wrote: “This week, the Global SuperTanker investor-owners just told me that they had made the difficult decision to cease operations of the firm, as of this week.” It’s a huge letdown because the plane was outfitted with a new system and other upgrades to make it safer and more powerful. ” The aircraft’s future is unclear.

Courtesy : Global super tanker services

The SuperTanker can transport more than 20,000 gallons of water. The US government, however, has licensed it to carry 19,200 gallons. However, the plane normally consumes less than 17,500 gallons.

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When it comes to firefighting aircraft and their capabilities, the Boeing 747-446(BCF) has the most capacity for this form of service, followed by the Ilyushin IL-76 – with a total capacity of 11,574 gallons – and the DC-10, which was previously allowed to hold 11,600 gallons but is now limited to 9,400 gallons.

About Super tanker :

The Boeing 747 Supertanker is one of many aerial firefighting airtankers derived from different Boeing 747 versions. The planes can hold up to 19,600 US gallons (74,000 L) of fire retardant or water. They are the world’s biggest aerial firefighting aircraft. Evergreen Aviation suggested converting up to four of its Boeing 747-200 Freighters to Supertankers. On February 19, 2004, the first converted Boeing 747 (N470EV) took to the skies.

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First drop on a fire

The initial version of the Supertanker installed by Evergreen in a 747-100 made its first ever drop on a fire 12 years ago at the Railbelt complex in Alaska in 2009. When Evergreen went bankrupt Global Supertanker bought the hardware and the rights to the retardant system and installed it in a newer more powerful 747-400.