British Aerospace BAe-146 and Berieve Be-200

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has recently reported on the status of two fixed-wing aircraft that might have implications for aerial wildland firefighting here in America: the British Aerospace BAe-146-200 and the Russian Berieve Be-200. Some of you may already be familiar with these developments, either through Bill's reporting or from other sources. I found these articles of interest, and am passing them on to you.

Bill reported in an article posted on March 28 that Tronos has converted a British Aerospace BAe146-200 for use as an air tanker. The tanker, which made a drop on a fire in Prince Edward Island Canada last August October has retardant tanks capable of holding 3,000 gallons of retardant. Bill also reports that Minden Air is in the process of converting another BAe-146 for use as a tanker. You will want to see Bill's article located here for more details, including information on approvals and certifications that have to happen before this tanker can fly in the U.S.

And those of you in California may get a chance to see the Russian Berieve Be-200 air tanker, an amphibious aircraft. The Be-200 is scheduled to appear at the Santa Maria (CA) airport for one week starting April 10. If approvals are obtained, plans call for a demonstration of the Be-200 in action, scooping water from Lake Cachuma and then making a demo drop. Negotiations between the U.S. and Russian governments, facilitated by David Baskett of Santa Maria, are ongoing. Mr. Baskett hopes to acquire 10 of these aircraft for eventual use as air tankers in America.

The Be-200 cleared customs in Alaska last week on its way to South America for a tour before a planed re-entry into the U.S. For more details, including some links to youtube videos of the Be-200 in action, see this article written by Bill Gabbert on Wildfire Today. Bill also noted that a website has been set up for the visit of the Be200.

I'd like to thank Bill for his blog, and for his good write-up on what is happening with both of these aircraft. I was aware of the pending visit of the Be-200 but other projects kept me from finding out more details. Then I saw Bill's article, along his article on the BAe-146, making my life easy! Thanks Bill!