WA Radio Scanner Users' Group

Not necessary. They have been used over east in scenarios you have just described. They can drop water close to houses, and have done so many times before. With crews working near the fire, procedures for the aircrane are no different than fixed wing or helitaks. You recieve a 1 minute inbound and you then move clear of the fire line.

Also I believe the aircrane we have has a capacity of upto 7500l, not 9000l.

the aircraine has be stated but numorous people from fesa that it does carry 9000L maybeyou should do some research

observer is right. The Sky crane that is here is a smaller version of the big sky crane. As always the media run with what they think they know and in this case they are wrong. Don't always believe what you read or hear from the media.

Straight from FESA 24/7 magazine which is avalible for everyone on there web site http://www.fesa.wa.gov.au/newsandmedia/ ... Issue3.pdf

'the erickson will make a big difference to the fire fighting effort as a large, versatile aircraft that can load very quickly and accurately deliver up to 9,200 liters of water and foam mix'

I'll double check, but I thought i remember reading an internal document stating it actually had a 7500 tank fitted to it. The aircranes can be fitted with a 9000l or a 7500l tank. The aircranes are promoted as having the ability to deliver upto 9000l, which is true (and is what FESA would promote, but what FESA state publically and what actually happens can be very different), but if you fit the 7500l tank then it makes it hard to deliver the 9000l.

Saying this I could be wrong and getting my wires crossed with another aircrane

after some quick google search. i have located some fact sheets from NSW RFS/VIC CFA about the sky cranes and they show booth skycranes carry 7500L and 9000L. but was unable to loacte Marty N243AC / 741

did find an interestng page of wa aircraft that also says it carrys 9000L, also sho other helitacks and the new air intel before and after mods for the specialised gear
http://www.aviationwa.org.au/ACMovements/Movements.html

This story also says 9500 litres
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/wa-b ... 6233479900

Can anyone confirm whether or not it has the capability to do segmented drops or controlled flow drops like the ones over east do? If so then there wouldn't be an issue of safety when dropping regardless of the ammount of water it carries

yes it can i seen it do it with my own eyes at a fire

I've been on several fires where one Aircrane or another has done segmented drops or long line drops. One of which was direct property protection in an urban area with us probably less than 10metres from the drop zone. The pilots are freaking awesome, I know in theory its possible for them to make mistakes but after seeing them work I believe using that as an excuse as to why they shouldn't drop in a particular area is a bit hollow. They do come with both tank sizes, I have no idea what 741 is using.

Does anyone know the running cost/hour of the S61s vs the S64E?

i have been told that the one we have is $18,000 for standby for 24hrs/ $38,000 for every hour its in the air but thats what i have been told

S64E 7500lt (Marty)
S64F 9000lt

As for using the skycrane near houses, she works well I can assure you that. I am pretty certain that the skycrane is also controlled by DEC at the moment.

The aircrane here in WA cost $28,000 per day plus $13,000 per hour it is used.
It has the ability to carry up to 7,500lt but this is affected by things like weather and how much fuel it is carrying at the time.

There are other aircranes that that can carry up to 9000lt but these are slightly different models and cost more. You cant simply put a larger tank on the model we have.

macca wrote:As always the media run with what they think they know and in this case they are wrong.

As a professional member of the media for nearly 30 years that statement is offensive. DO NOT generalise.

auntys_eyes wrote:

macca wrote:As always the media run with what they think they know and in this case they are wrong.

As a professional member of the media for nearly 30 years that statement is offensive. DO NOT generalise.

I don't think you should be offended so easily auntys_eyes.

Some media have a bad name, not all. I don't think you should take one persons opinion to heart.

At work my area had been burnt by channel 7, therefore channel 7 get nothing. But andre from news@nite will get helped everytime because he is respected.