helitac question

[BuddahFRS]

hey

i know that the carson 767 fire king carries 4000L of water.
just wundering how much water do the skycranes carry in NSW??

[wasaint]

9000 Ltrs

[observer]

There are 2 Skycranes in NSW, 2 in Vic and 1 in SA. The water capicity of these range from 7000lt to 9000lt.

[Helitak_670]

All the S64E/F's which are there aircraft type all carry 9000lts of water. Then it goes down from there until you have the BK117's and B206's which only carry 500lts in bambi buckets. I got pics if your interested.

[dlcat1]

For some detailed info go here
http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_content.cfm?CAT_ID=519

Also worth checking out some of the photo galleries here
http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_content.cfm?cat_id=641

I worked on the first fire that the Aircrane was used directly on the urban interface in NSW. Absolutley amazing aircraft .

[observer]

Helitack_70. According to last years Victoria Aircraft call sign list, the Skycranes had tank capacities of 7500 and 9500. Saying that I am not 100% sure if they are using the same tanks as last year.

Reference document http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fires/updates ... 7%2008.pdf

[dlcat1]

Just to confuse things further, does anyone know if they are limited in hot or high conditions?

Do they have enough spare power to take a full load at altitude without busting any limits?

[RAG Inc]

All these aircraft are governed by temp, wind, how much fuel and passengers etc. Most claimed figures are often not achievable

[BuddahFRS]

ah ok cheers for that

[Helitak_670]

http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php ... &view=true
Some good shots of the S64 dumping water.

As far as I know the total capacity is 9000lts of water with the skycranes. Yes with the temp going up the water content goes down. Our Helitac's pending on the day can only have 3/4 of a tank (on a really hot day) it all depends on the conditions.

[Tyranus]

Pardon the lack of aviation general knowledge, I understand why they might not be able to lift as much but is there point where they can't fly because it's too hot and they can't get enough lift? Also would the convection effect of a big fire have an influence on the chopper or is that convection effect only felt close up?

[Helitak_670]

All aircraft can fly in hot conditions, they are however weight limited as the air is thinner and the engines don't perform at there best as the is less air going through them.

[BuddahFRS]

i think the calson is the only one that can have a full tank on hot days when the others can have 3/4, as the 767 has heaps of power in reserve.