Living 40 miles south of Colorado Springs Super Tankers have been in the news lately. Global Super Tanker Services is resurrecting the Evergreen 747 Super Tanker Project and will initially base it at COS.

http://flightclub.jalopnik.com/evergreens-defunct-747-supertanker-is-rising-from-the-a-1723914413

This has raised some controversy about the effectiveness of tankers this size. It is thought they will be absolutely useless in mountainous terrain like the Waldo Canyon fire west of Colo. Springs that destroyed 349 homes several years ago.

Here is a video, a copy of which is imbedded in the above link, of a DC-10 drop straight down the face of a mountain and steep pull up to clear a rise that took place in California in 2014. It is very impressive what a plane of that size can do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QJTZXl_5BE&feature=player_detailpage

One of these days, one of those 'supertankers' will end up in a hillside.

These big tankers are great at laying long lines on open, flat terrain. Quite a few Forest Service guys thought they were good for PR and photo ops but not much else.

A few AT-802s with a heli and the occasional P2V load/return was a very effective combination. Those SEATs and helis can get awfully close to the terrain and can put their gallons exactly where the ATGS wants it.

Amen

Give me a couple Fire Boss's and a couple UH-1H's with 703's and comp. blades/strakes/fast fins and throw in a Good D6R and let me and a few good men/women start in the morning while the humidity is low.......... Oh yah, put a Beech 18 overhead to watch the show too!!

And in Calf. the S2T's do one heck of a job. Quicker than the SEATS and with max 1200 and a normal load 1000 gallons of mud. And they also hot turn them for quicker load & returns.

I think Stan would even agree

Funny, I would not have known what a SEAT is until i recently watched Planes 2 Fire and Rescue!

Me too! It's my 17 month old son's favorite movie, so we've watched it a lot. 20 times through and I'm starting to get tired of it.