The work to fight the forest fires continues unabated and the government has spared no effort or resources to deal with the emergency. In this regard, one of the most important weapons that will be used is the Ten Tanker plane, an aircraft with a large capacity for launching water. It will arrive after midday at Concepción’s Carriel Sur Airport.
This plane will join the 79 aircraft, including planes and helicopters from both the public and private sector, that are in this area of Chile supporting brigade members and firefighters in the fight against these forest fires.
Characteristics of the Ten Tanker
- The aircraft is the largest that will be used to fight forest fires in Chile; it has a capacity of 35,000 liters of water.
- This tanker plane, from the 10 Tanker Air Carrier company, is a DC10 model with a length of 55 meters and a height of 18 meters.
- Its crew is made up of the pilot, a second in command and a flight engineer who controls the AC systems and entry conditions for the requested drop loads.
- Its cruising speed towards a fire is 555 to 648 km/hr.
- The tank system can launch a full charge of retardant in four seconds, between 60 and 90 meters above ground level and at a speed of 277 km/hr.
- Each aircraft is attended by a ground crew of seven maintenance technicians to assist in case of any inconvenience.
- It has three tanks: one of 10,222 liters, a second of 15,000 liters and a third of 10,220 liters.
- It will be guided by a Navy plane to make its work more efficient.
- It will be based at Concepción’s Carriel Sur Airport.