Quote:
Originally Posted by USA Supersonic
I hope someone in the US gets over their Russian Bear fear because, as a water bomber, this aircraft would be indispensable in fighting our frequent forest and brush fires. Purchasing these airplanes is probably cheaper in the long run than modifying heavily used commercial and military aircraft for that role.
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Please, let's not ship any more manufacturing overseas. I like Beriev aircraft a lot but they don't make anything over there that we can't make better here. I spent most of my working life in the Aerospace Industries. Let's pay more to keep the American standard of living. Produce more in America. We import way too much already. I think the Erickson offers a better precise solution. The Beriev can only carry 3170 gallons while the DC-10 ( Tanker 910) can carry up to 12,000 gallons of fire retardant (
http://www.fire.ca.gov/communication...heets/DC10.pdf). Retrofitting and restoring aircraft is often far cheaper than making new ones. It is done all the time and is a major industry in the U.S.. It employs and trains 1000's of people in the areas of expertise that we can ill afford to lose.
This is a suitable solution, people are working on this and the solution is at hand, see link:
Evergreen Supertanker