Alaska’s wildland fire managers have a new tool in their toolbox this fire season – a Q-400 turboprop air tanker.
The Alaska Division of Forestry typically has two Convair 580 turboprop air tankers from Conair Group Inc. of Abbotsford, B.C. on contract during the Alaska fire season, one of which is based at the Mat-Su Area forestry station at the Palmer Airport and one which is based at the Fairbanks International Airport tanker base.
This year, Conair substituted one of the Convair 580 air tankers for a Q-400 twin turboprop at the same price. The company is planning to retire the Convair 580 fleet and is trying to get the Q-400 out in the market as soon as possible so potential clients can see how it works.
Equipped with two Pratt & Whitney PW 150A turboprop engines, the Q-400 is faster, more fuel efficient and has a bigger capacity than the old, trusty Convair 580s, which have served the State of Alaska well over the years. The Q-400 has a tank capacity of 2,600 gallons compared to 2,100 for the Convair 580, it has a fully-loaded cruising speed of 370 knots compared to 270 knots for the Convair 580 and it burns 25% less fuel than the Convair 580.
The Q-400 can operate with a full fuel and retardant load out of any of the state’s air tanker bases, giving it an additional 1-hour flight range over the Convair 580.
Read more on this story at AKFireInfo.com
