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92-512: The DC-10 Air Tanker is a series of American wide-body jet air tankers, which have been in service as an aerial firefighting unit since 2006. The aircraft, operated by the joint technical venture 10 Tanker Air Carrier , are converted wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 passenger jetliners, and are primarily used to fight wildfires , typically in rural areas. The turbofan -powered aircraft carry up to 9,400 US gallons (35,583 liters) of water or fire retardant in an exterior belly-mounted tank,

184-407: A Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) AN/ASQ-8 mounted on an extendable rear mounted boom were also fitted. Early model Trackers had an Electronic Support Measures (ESM) pod mounted dorsally just aft of the front seat overhead hatches and were also fitted with a smoke particle detector or " sniffer " for detecting exhaust particles from diesel-electric submarines running on snorkel . Later S-2s had

276-502: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 registered as N450AX, was originally delivered as a civil passenger plane to National Airlines in 1975, and subsequently flew for Pan Am , American Airlines , Hawaiian Airlines and Omni Air International . The conversion of the original airframe to a fire-fighting aircraft was a joint venture under the name of 10 Tanker Air Carrier between Cargo Conversions of San Carlos, California and Omni, with conversion work being performed by Victorville Aerospace at

368-542: A "call-when-needed" basis, which came with a US$ 26,500 per-flight-hour (three hour minimum) cost and a 12- to 24-hour activation delay. Under these terms, Tanker 910 flew on six fires in California and one in Washington. For the 2007–2009 fire seasons, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger authorized a contract for exclusive use of the aircraft at a cost of US$ 5 million per year, or an average of about US$ 41,000 per day for

460-616: A 15-inch (38 cm) ground clearance. All three tanks can be filled simultaneously on the ground in eight minutes. The retardant is gravity-fed out of the tanks, and the entire load can be dumped in eight seconds, although the actual drop rate is computer controlled by the flight crew in order to produce the desired retardant spread over the fire lines. The aircraft is capable of applying a line of retardant 300 feet (91 m) wide by 1 mile (1.6 km) long. The external retardant tanks are designed to be filled from standard 3-inch (76 mm) cam-lock couplings. Utilizing one, two or three hoses,

552-587: A DC-10 Air Tanker was dispatched to a Forest Fire in Utah , known as the Parleys Canyon Wildfire. A DC-10 Air Tanker, along with Utah National Guard Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks and other forest fighting aircraft, contained the fire successfully on August 22, 2021. In May 2022, DC-10 Air Tankers fought the Calf Canyon / Hermit's Peak complex fire west of Las Vegas, NM. In August 2022, DC-10 Air Tankers fought

644-752: A DC-10 Air Tanker was used on The Sherpa, San Gabriel Complex and Pine Fires in Southern California. In December 2017 Tanker 911 was seen over the Thomas Fire making multiple drops, based in Santa Maria, California . On December 8, Tanker 911 assisted in mop up operations for the Lilac Fire in Bonsall . In November 2017, Tanker 912 was contracted to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service for

736-459: A call to California State Senator George Runner , Cal Fire was able to complete the necessary training and paperwork in a matter of days, with the California certification being granted on July 15, 2006. The following day, July 16, the aircraft made two drops on the Sawtooth fire, and Cal Fire personnel were reported to have said that "the two fire drops made a greater impact on containing the fire than

828-474: A deliberately lit fire in a hangar at Nowra destroyed or badly damaged a large proportion of the RAN's complement of Trackers. Of the 14 original aircraft, one was away from Nowra undergoing maintenance at the time of the fire and three aircraft were damaged but only two of these were repaired. The destroyed aircraft were subsequently replaced with 16 ex-USN aircraft. The replacement aircraft were all S-2Gs, including

920-525: A diameter of 3 to 4 m (10 to 13 ft), with a single aisle, and seats between two and six people abreast. Wide-body aircraft were originally designed for a combination of efficiency and passenger comfort and to increase the amount of cargo space. However, airlines quickly gave in to economic factors, and reduced the extra passenger space in order to insert more seats and increase revenue and profits. Wide-body aircraft are also used by commercial cargo airlines , along with other specialized uses. By

1012-618: A fan diameter of 290 centimetres (116 in), slightly smaller than the GE90 engines on the Boeing 777. The Trent 900 is designed to fit into a Boeing 747-400F freighter for easier transport by air cargo . The interiors of aircraft, known as the aircraft cabin , have been undergoing evolution since the first passenger aircraft. Today, between one and four classes of travel are available on wide-body aircraft. Bar and lounge areas which were once installed on wide-body aircraft have mostly disappeared, but

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1104-558: A few have returned in first class or business class on the Airbus A340-600 , Boeing 777-300ER , and on the Airbus A380. Emirates has installed showers for first-class passengers on the A380; twenty-five minutes are allotted for use of the room, and the shower operates for a maximum of five minutes. Depending on how the airline configures the aircraft, the size and seat pitch of

1196-424: A four-door fire retardant tank replacing the weapons bay and adjacent mid-fuselage section. Firecats were made in two variants: the piston-engined Firecat and the turboprop-powered Turbo Firecat. In 1958, CAL FIRE , then CDF, contracted with a private air tanker service for the use of their converted World War II aircraft. By 1970 the department began to evaluate the use of former military Grumman S-2 aircraft. Over

1288-596: A pilot, co-pilot and a flight engineer. The tanker works with a lead plane and can be an effective tool in combating wildfires when working directly with ground resources. 10 Tanker Air Carrier added a second DC-10 (N17085), formerly flown by Continental Airlines, to its fleet in July 2008, to be used on an on-call basis. In late 2014, the company added two additional DC-10s which had previously served with Omni and Northwest Airlines , N612AX and N522AX, which were numbered as Tankers 910 and 912 respectively. The original aircraft, N450AX,

1380-598: A second aisle, the wider aircraft could accommodate as many as 10 seats across, but could also be easily converted to a freighter and carry two eight-by-eight freight pallets abreast. The engineers also opted for creating "stretched" versions of the DC-8 (61, 62 and 63 models), as well as longer versions of Boeing's 707 (-320B and 320C models) and 727 (-200 model); and Douglas' DC-9 (-30, -40, and -50 models), all of which were capable of accommodating more seats than their shorter predecessor versions. The wide-body age began in 1970 with

1472-628: A series of accidents caused by the advanced age and fatigue of the airframes. The Uruguayan Navy received the first three S-2A Trackers on 10 April 1965 at the Capitan Curbelo Navy Base. On 15 September 1982, one S-2G arrived. On 2 February 1983, another two S-2Gs arrived. By September 2004, the remaining Uruguayan Trackers were not in flight condition. From the late 1970s until the mid-1990s Conair Aviation of Abbotsford, British Columbia , Canada took possession of retired Canadian and U.S. Trackers and converted them into Firecats , with

1564-526: A single prototype. The Turkish Navy had retired its entire Tracker fleet 1994, so these aircraft were readily available for modification. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) undertook a study in 1997 to investigate if it was possible to convert any of these S-2Es for firefighting. After re-engining with Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engines, at a cost of about $ 3 million per aircraft, it was expected to provide at least twenty years of service. TAI ordered an S-2T Turbo Tracker upgrade kit for conversion of one of

1656-621: A total of seven Next Generation airtankers for wildfire suppression. 10 Tanker Air Carrier was among the five companies selected and one of the companies' DC-10s is contracted for five years with the USFS. In addition to the long term exclusive use contract awarded in 2013, the company also received short term contracts for other available aircraft. Tankers 910 and 911 flew extensively on fires in Washington, Oregon and California, and were joined in early September by Tanker 912. 10 Tanker aircraft flew over 325 fire missions in 2014. All three aircraft flew for

1748-495: A twinjet. Most modern wide-body aircraft have two engines, although the heaviest wide-body aircraft, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8, are built with four engines. The upcoming Boeing 777X-9 twinjet is approaching the capacity of the earlier Boeing 747. The Boeing 777 twinjet features the most powerful jet engine, the General Electric GE90 . The early variants have a fan diameter of 312 centimetres (123 in), and

1840-521: Is the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy . Designed and initially built by Grumman , the Tracker was of conventional design — propeller-driven with twin radial engines, a high wing that could be folded for storage on aircraft carriers, and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around

1932-721: The Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB . The proposed Comac C929 and C939 may also share this new wide-body market. The production of the large Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380 four-engine, long-haul jets has come to an end as airlines are now preferring the smaller, more efficient Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 twin-engine, long-range airliners. Although wide-body aircraft have larger frontal areas (and thus greater form drag ) than narrow-body aircraft of similar capacity, they have several advantages over their narrow-body counterparts, such as: British and Russian designers had proposed wide-body aircraft similar in configuration to

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2024-649: The Catalina Foothills in Tucson, Arizona to prevent the Bighorn Fire from reaching the cities of Tucson and Oro Valley . Pilot Dan Montelli praised the tankers for their maneuverability within the steep mountain ridges and inside the tight canyons of the Catalina Foothills. The tankers dumped 9,400 gallons of retardant at a time from a height of 200 to 300 feet above ground level. The tankers successfully prevented

2116-715: The President of the United States . Some wide-body aircraft have been modified to enable transport of oversize cargo . Examples include the Airbus Beluga , Airbus BelugaXL and Boeing Dreamlifter . Two specially modified Boeing 747s were used to transport the U.S. Space Shuttle , while the Antonov An-225 was initially built to carry the Buran shuttle . Grumman S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker ( S2F prior to 1962)

2208-771: The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). 99 Trackers were actually built by DHC, with the first Canadian-built aircraft flying on 31 May 1956. From 1957 onwards, these aircraft operated from the newly deployed aircraft carrier HMCS  Bonaventure and various shore bases. All the Canadian Trackers were built to the earlier "A" model airframe design with a length of 42 feet (13 m) (c.f. 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) for later model Trackers) in order to fit in Bonaventure ' s hangar. In 1960–1961, 17 CS2F-1 aircraft, which had been relegated to training and utility duties by

2300-530: The Sawtooth Complex fire in San Bernardino County, California . While the fire was burning, Tanker 910 initially sat on the ground at Victorville, California as it had not received Cal Fire approval to operate. The mayor of Victorville, Mike Rothschild, became concerned and investigated why it was not flying, finding that the approval process was expected to take up to six months to complete. After

2392-587: The Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California . The air tanker modification can be carried out to either a DC-10-10 or DC-10-30 series and involves the addition of an external tank and associated systems and support structure. The water or retardant is carried in three center-line belly tanks. The tanks have internal baffles to prevent fluid shift (and consequent shift in center of gravity ) while in flight, and sit with

2484-717: The United States , it is a requirement to suffix the aircraft's call sign with the word heavy (or super ) when communicating with air traffic control in certain areas. Wide-body aircraft are used in science, research, and the military. Some wide-body aircraft are used as flying command posts by the military like the Ilyushin Il-80 or the Boeing E-4 , while the Boeing E-767 is used for airborne early warning and control . New military weapons are tested aboard wide-bodies, as in

2576-551: The Vickers VC10 and Douglas DC-9 , but with a wide-body fuselage. The British BAC Three-Eleven project did not proceed due to lack of government backing, while the Russian Ilyushin Il-86 wide-body proposal eventually gave way to a more conventional wing-mounted engine design, most likely due to the inefficiencies of mounting such large engines on the aft fuselage. As jet engine power and reliability have increased over

2668-411: The airline seats will vary significantly. For example, aircraft scheduled for shorter flights are often configured at a higher seat density than long-haul aircraft. Due to current economic pressures on the airline industry, high seating densities in the economy class cabin are likely to continue. In some of the largest single-deck wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, the extra space above

2760-562: The carrier onboard delivery (COD) (US-2A conversions, ) maritime patrol, and ASW roles. They were extensively used in the 1982 Falklands War , first from Veinticinco de Mayo , from where they detected the British task force, and then from the mainland when the carrier returned to port after the sinking of the cruiser ARA  General Belgrano . In the 1990s, six remaining airframes were refurbished by Israel Aerospace Industries with turboprop engines as S-2T Turbo Trackers. As of 2010, with

2852-493: The unification of Canadian forces in 1968. After Bonaventure was decommissioned in 1970, all remaining Canadian Trackers were transferred to shore bases. This limited their usefulness for ASW patrols, and between 1974 and 1981 gradually all but 20 were placed in storage and the remainder were stripped of their ASW gear. The remaining active-duty Trackers served until 1990 on fisheries protection and maritime patrol duties. A handful of Trackers were kept in flying condition until

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2944-561: The wake turbulence they produce. Because wake turbulence is generally related to the weight of an aircraft, these categories are based on one of four weight categories: light, medium, heavy, and super. Due to their weight, all current wide-body aircraft are categorized as " heavy ", or in the case of the A380 in U.S. airspace, "super". The wake-turbulence category also is used to guide the separation of aircraft. Super- and heavy-category aircraft require greater separation behind them than those in other categories. In some countries, such as

3036-625: The 12 helicopters drops for the past 10 days." Later in the same month, the aircraft was used against several smaller California fires, as well as the Columbia Complex Fire in Washington . In September 2006, Tanker 910 was activated by Cal Fire for use against the Day Fire , and the following month it flew against the Esperanza Fire . Under the terms of the exclusive-use contract, Tanker 910

3128-489: The 1960s, it was also believed that supersonic airliners would succeed larger, slower planes. Thus, it was believed that most subsonic aircraft would become obsolete for passenger travel and would be eventually converted to freighters. As a result, airline manufacturers opted for a wider fuselage rather than a taller one (the 747 , and eventually the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ). By adding

3220-406: The 707 and DC-8 seated passengers along either side of a single aisle, with no more than six seats per row. Larger aircraft would have to be longer, higher ( double-deck aircraft ), or wider in order to accommodate a greater number of passenger seats. Engineers realized having two decks created difficulties in meeting emergency evacuation regulations with the technology available at that time. During

3312-578: The AN/AQA-3 and later AQA-4 detection sets, whereas the introduction of active sonobuoys (pingers) and AN/AQA-7 with the S-2G conversion saw these removed. Smoke dispensers were mounted on the port ventral surface of the nacelles in groups of three each. The Tracker was eventually superseded in U.S. military service by the Lockheed S-3 Viking ; the last USN Tracker operational squadron (VS-37 with S-2G models)

3404-492: The Boeing 747 was not surpassed until October 2007, when the Airbus A380 entered commercial service with the nickname "Superjumbo". Both the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 "jumbo jets" have four engines each (quad-jets), but the upcoming Boeing 777X ("mini jumbo jet") is a twinjet. In the mid-2000s, rising oil costs in a post- 9/11 climate caused airlines to look towards newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Two such examples are

3496-618: The CS2F designation were manufactured in Canada under license by de Havilland Canada . U.S.-built versions of the Tracker were sold to various nations, including Australia, Japan, Turkey and Taiwan . The Tracker had an internal torpedo bay capable of carrying two lightweight aerial torpedoes or one nuclear depth charge . There were six underwing hard points for rocket pods and conventional depth charges or up to four additional torpedoes. A ventrally-mounted retractable radome for AN/APS-38 radar and

3588-599: The CS2F-2, were transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy . From 1964, 45 CS2F-2s were upgraded by fitting revised electronic equipment and sensors, becoming CS2F-3s. Also in 1964, a pair of CS2F-1 aircraft were stripped of armament and ASW electronics, converted to transports, and subsequently used for carrier onboard delivery. The CS2F-1, -2, and -3 were redesignated as the CP-121 Mk.1, Mk. 2, and Mk. 3 respectively following

3680-448: The DC-10 arrives at a Fire Traffic Area weighing significantly less than its certified maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW). This is principally due to the reduced fuel load carried on fire missions. As a result: One drop from the aircraft is equivalent to 12 drops from a Grumman S-2 Tracker . Initially, the aircraft was intended to be operated primarily in California, and the entire state

3772-514: The DC-10 became operational in Australia in early January 2010, based at Avalon . The Premier of Victoria at the time, John Brumby , described the leasing of the tanker as being part of a record financing program to make sure the state was as fire-ready as possible. In April 2011, and again in September, the aircraft was deployed to Texas to assist in fighting an outbreak of wildfires . Tanker 910

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3864-542: The DC-10 type for development. A Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for modifications of DC-10 aircraft to be used for the aerial dispersant of liquids was issued in March 2006. 10 Tanker then obtained a 14 CFR Part 137 Operating Certificate for aerial firefighting and Interagency Airtanker Board (IAB) approval for agency use. The first converted aircraft,

3956-569: The DC-10-based Tanker 910 and the 747-200 -based Evergreen Supertanker . Some wide-body aircraft are used as VIP transport. To transport those holding the highest offices, Canada uses the Airbus A310 , while Russia uses the Ilyushin Il-96 . Germany replaced its Airbus A310 with an Airbus A340 in spring 2011. Specially-modified Boeing 747-200s ( Boeing VC-25s ) are used to transport

4048-514: The June 15 to October 15 fire season; there was an additional US$ 5,500 per-flight-hour charge. The exclusivity of the contract allowed the aircraft to always be ready for dispatch, and it was able to launch to a fire within one hour of being called. In 2011, the exclusive use contract was cancelled by the State of California due to state budgetary constraints. Tanker 910 was first used in July 2006 when it fought

4140-851: The Ponderosa Fire just outside Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Chips Fire in Plumas National Forest near the Lake Almanor Basin. Tanker 911 flew missions on the Taylor Bridge Fire in the Cascade Range , near Cle Elum, Washington , during the 2012 wildfire season. On May 6, 2013, US Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell announced that the Forest Service had issued a notice of intent to award contracts to five companies to provide

4232-564: The RAN's 816 Squadron , which embarked aboard the Majestic -class aircraft carrier HMAS  Melbourne as part of the 21st Carrier Air Group whenever that ship was deployed; and with 851 Squadron , the S-2 training squadron. Australia initially acquired 14 S-2Es. During approximately 17 years of operation of the Tracker, the RAN lost only one S-2 during aircraft operations due to an accident at sea on 10 February 1975. However, on 4 December 1976,

4324-755: The ROCN Aviation Command on 1 July 1999. In 2013, the S-2s were transferred back into ROCAF service. In May 2017, all S-2Ts were withdrawn from active service. The Turkish Navy received a number of ex-U.S. Navy S-2E Trackers under the MAP program and operated them from the Cengiz Topel Naval Air Base starting in the 1960s. These were later supplemented by retired S-2A (or S-2N as called by the Dutch) airframes from Netherlands. Turkish Trackers were retired in 1994 after

4416-528: The S-2Es. Following its conversion in 1999, the aircraft was used during the 1999 Antalya wildfires and the Tüpraş Izmit Oil Refinery fire, started after the 1999 İzmit earthquake . Although up to fifteen aircraft were intended to be converted, the project was cancelled in 2002 for unclear reasons. TAI's Flight Test Engineering Group flew the lone converted aircraft as a testbed for new technology until

4508-953: The Slide Fire and the Grass Fire near Lake Arrowhead . The next activation came on November 24, 2007, when the tanker joined the effort to fight the Corral Fire above Malibu, California . In June, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger activated Tanker 910 in response to the state of emergency regarding the Humboldt Fire in Butte County, California , in order to combat the over 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) fire in adverse conditions on rough terrain. It flew sorties out of Sacramento McClellan Airport in Northern California. It made 14 drops, totaling 168,000 U.S. gallons (640,000 L) of retardant, to quell

4600-526: The State Government of New South Wales. The aircraft was based at RAAF Base Richmond , located 64 km Northwest of Sydney. In the five months Tanker 910 was stationed in Australia, it flew 32 missions in the three Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Tanker 910 returned to Albuquerque on February 26, 2016, to begin preparations for the North American fire season. In June 2016

4692-483: The US National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the aircraft had suffered damage to the left wing's leading edge slats , ailerons and flaps . Despite the incident, Cal Fire stated that they were happy with the aircraft. The aircraft returned to the sky for a test flight after repairs on July 30, 2007. Wide-body aircraft By comparison, a typical narrow-body aircraft has

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4784-549: The US Forest Service in 2015 and for a short period in Canada, two on call when needed contracts and one on exclusive use. It was a particularly busy fire season in the American West with extensive work in California, Washington and Oregon. In total over 435 missions were flown by the three 10 Tanker aircraft in 2015. In late September 2015 Tanker 910 flew from Albuquerque to Australia to begin an exclusive use contract with

4876-482: The Vantage Highway fire east of Ellensburg, WA, as well as the Cow Canyon fire south of Ellensburg. In September 2022, DC-10 Air Tankers responded to the Mosquito Fire in Foresthill CA . Tanker 910 experienced its first serious aviation incident on June 25, 2007. While on its third run over the White Fire in the Kern County mountains near Tehachapi, California , the aircraft was in a left bank while turning from base to final approach . It encountered sinking air,

4968-402: The WF Tracer and TF Trader, which became the Grumman E-1 Tracer and Grumman C-1 Trader in the tri-service designation standardization of 1962. The S-2 carried the nickname "Stoof" (S-two-F) throughout its military career; and the E-1 Tracer variant with the large overhead radome was colloquially called the "stoof with a roof.". Grumman produced 1,185 Trackers and another 99 aircraft carrying

5060-404: The aircraft to Aeroflot. However, in 1976 the Soviet Union launched its own first four-engined wide-body, the Ilyushin Il-86 . After the success of the early wide-body aircraft, several subsequent designs came to market over the next two decades, including the Boeing 767 and 777 , the Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 , and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 . In the "jumbo" category, the capacity of

5152-484: The aircraft with water/fire retardant and fuel, as well as its need for a proper landing field, which may well be a considerable distance from the fire. Skeptics have argued that the DC-10s lack maneuverability. However, despite its size, field experience has proven the plane’s agility above all types of terrain and in all atmospheric conditions deemed suitable for fixed wing operations in a Fire Traffic Area (FTA). Unlike most existing and proposed Large Air Tankers (LATs),

5244-417: The cabin is used for crew rest areas and galley storage. The term "jumbo jet" usually refers to the largest variants of wide-body airliners; examples include the Boeing 747 (the first wide-body and original "jumbo jet"), Airbus A380 ("superjumbo jet"), and Boeing 777-9 . The phrase "jumbo jet" derives from Jumbo , a circus elephant in the 19th century. Aircraft are categorized by ICAO according to

5336-583: The contents of which can be released in eight seconds. Four air tankers are currently in operation, all DC-10-30 aircraft, with the call-signs Tanker 910, 911, 912 and 914 . The original Tanker 910 , a DC-10-10, was retired in 2014. 10 Tanker Air Carrier, a New Mexico -based company, began researching the development of Next Generation airtankers in 2002. Company personnel were assembled with an extensive history of heavy jet operations, modifications and ownership. After two years of research into aerial firefighting requirements and future direction, 10 Tanker selected

5428-407: The core, then the engines may be shipped on a Boeing 747 Freighter. The General Electric GE9X , powering the Boeing 777X, is wider than the GE90 by 15 centimetres (6 in). The 560 tonnes (1,230,000 lb) maximum takeoff weight of the Airbus A380 would not have been possible without the engine technology developed for the Boeing 777 such as contra-rotating spools. Its Trent 900 engine has

5520-482: The design also continued to provide excellent service with the naval forces of other countries for years after the U.S. retired them. For example, the Royal Australian Navy continued to use Trackers as front line ASW assets until the mid-1980s. Argentine Naval Aviation received seven S-2As in 1962, six S-2Es in 1978, and three S-2Gs in the 1990s. They were operated from both aircraft carriers, ARA  Independencia and ARA  Veinticinco de Mayo , and used in

5612-475: The end of 2017, nearly 8,800 wide-body airplanes had been delivered since 1969, with production peaking at 412 in 2015. Following the success of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, airlines began seeking larger aircraft to meet the rising global demand for air travel. Engineers were faced with many challenges as airlines demanded more passenger seats per aircraft, longer ranges and lower operating costs. Early jet aircraft such as

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5704-431: The entry into service of the first wide-body airliner, the four-engined, partial double-deck Boeing 747 . New trijet wide-body aircraft soon followed, including the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the L-1011 TriStar. The first wide-body twinjet , the Airbus A300 , entered service in 1974. This period came to be known as the "wide-body wars". L-1011 TriStars were demonstrated in the USSR in 1974, as Lockheed sought to sell

5796-486: The fire from reaching Tucson, as it continued to burn into the Catalina Foothills, and away from the cities. On August 19, DC-10 Air Tanker Tanker 910 responded to the Copeland Fire, east of McCall, Idaho. On August 23, Tanker 911 responded to the LNU Lightning Complex Fire in Northern California. At the same time, other DC-10 air tankers were deployed to assist with the Pine Gulch Fire burning over 125,000 acres north of Grand Junction, Colorado . On August 14, 2021,

5888-400: The larger GE90-115B has a fan diameter of 325 centimetres (128 in). This is almost as wide as the 3.30 metres (130 in) Fokker 100 fuselage. Complete GE90 engines can only be ferried by outsize cargo aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 , presenting logistics problems if a 777 is stranded in a place due to emergency diversions without the proper spare parts. If the fan is removed from

5980-415: The laser weapons testing on the Boeing YAL-1 . Other wide-body aircraft are used as flying research stations, such as the joint German–U.S. Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Airbus A340, Airbus A380, and Boeing 747 four-engine wide-body aircraft are used to test new generations of aircraft engines in flight. A few aircraft have also been converted for aerial firefighting , such as

6072-442: The last decades, most of the wide-body aircraft built today have only two engines. A twinjet design is more fuel-efficient than a trijet or quadjet of similar size. The increased reliability of modern jet engines also allows aircraft to meet the ETOPS certification standard, which calculates reasonable safety margins for flights across oceans. The trijet design was dismissed due to higher maintenance and fuel costs compared to

6164-425: The late 1990s but were no longer used for active service. DHC purchased a single U.S.-built S2F-1 from Grumman for testing avionics and anti-submarine systems and also for evaluating Engineering Change Proposals created by Grumman; it was initially given RCN serial number 1500 and counted as one of the 100 contracted airframes. In 1954, this aircraft was transferred to the RCN for operational testing, and assigned

6256-473: The left wing dropped, and the aircraft descended 100–200 feet (30–61 m) lower than expected. The left wing struck several trees before pilots were able to power out of the descent. The aircraft climbed to altitude for a controllability check and to dump its load of retardant, then returned to its base in Victorville, California where it made an emergency landing and was grounded pending an investigation, inspection, and repairs. A post-incident investigation by

6348-483: The light aircraft carrier Karel Doorman until a fire in 1968 took that ship out of Dutch service. A total of 18 aircraft were converted to S-2N (for Netherlands) standard by Fairey Canada in 1968–1970 for ASW and MR use with 1 Sqn (at Hato International Airport ), of which four were converted to US-2N trainer/transport standards in May 1971. Most of the de Havilland Canada-built CS-2As were scrapped by 1970 or used for ground instruction. The last Tracker in MLD service

6440-401: The navy proceeded with procurement and the delivery of four tanker aircraft are expected by 2021. As noted under Argentina above, Trackers of that country have been flown from the São Paulo until its decommissioning in early 2017. In 1954, de Havilland Canada (DHC) entered into a contract to build 100 Trackers under license to replace the outmoded Grumman TBM-3E Avengers being used by

6532-405: The next ten years CAL FIRE continued to build up its fleet of S-2A air tankers and in 1987, CAL FIRE began the process of converting their piston engines to turboprop. By 2005 all of CAL FIRE's airtanker fleet had been converted to S-2T air tankers. The Tracker was considered for Turkey's firefighting aircraft project. The project, which began in the late 1990s, never went beyond the conversion of

6624-587: The original aircraft modified by the USN to that status. This saw the introduction of AQA-7 acoustic gear into RAN service and all RAN operational Trackers were subsequently modified to this standard. The Brazilian Air Force flew Trackers from the aircraft carrier NAeL Minas Gerais . Both the S-2A and S-2E were used (respectively as P-16A and P-16E). At the end of its service in Brazilian Air Force, one S-2T Turbo Tracker

6716-811: The raging blaze, Hill said. The aircraft also participated in the defense of Big Sur at the end of June and into July. The aircraft was used during the Station Fire in La Cañada and Acton, California in August 2009. On December 19, 2009 Tanker 911 arrived in Melbourne , Australia for the Australian fire season. Leased by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre on behalf of the Victoria state government,

6808-656: The retirement of Argentina's only aircraft carrier, the Trackers were annually deployed on board Brazilian Navy aircraft carrier São Paulo during joint exercises ARAEX and TEMPEREX. and with U.S. Navy aircraft carriers during Gringo-Gaucho maneuvers. As of 2023, at least one S-2T was reported still operational in the maritime surveillance role. Between 1967 and 1984 the Royal Australian Navy operated two Squadrons of S-2E and S-2G variants, based at NAS Nowra ( HMAS  Albatross ). These aircraft served with

6900-535: The same year, converting the remaining S-2E/G to a military S-2T configuration. The conversion involved the installation of two Garrett/Honeywell TPE-331-15AW turboprop engines, each rated at 1,227 kW (1,645 shp), with four-blade propellers This resulted in a payload increase of 500 kg. The upgrade also included new mission equipment of AN/AQS-92F digital sonobuoy processor, A/NARR-84 99-channel sonobuoy receiver, Litton AN/APS-504 radar, AN/ASQ-504 MAD and AN/AAS-40 FLIR. The 27 S-2Ts upgraded were transferred to

6992-530: The sniffer removed and had the ESM antennae moved to four rounded extensions on the wingtips. A 70-million-candlepower searchlight was mounted on the starboard wing. The engine nacelles carried JEZEBEL sonobuoys in the rear (16 in early marks, 32 in the S-2E/G). Early Trackers also carried 60 explosive charges, dispensed ventrally from the rear of the fuselage and used to create sound pulses for semi-active sonar (JULIE) with

7084-812: The state. Tanker 910 also made drops last fire season on the Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona, which eventually became the largest wildfire in Arizona history, burning more than 800 square miles (2,100 km). 2012 was one of the most active fire seasons in United States history. It also marked the first time that Tankers 910 and 911 were deployed simultaneously in the US On August 17, 2012, Tankers 910 and 911 began operations from Sacramento McClellan Airport on numerous fires in California. The total of retardant dropped had exceeded 1.7 million U.S. gallons (6.4 million liters) as of September 8, 2012. The largest fires included

7176-523: The successor of Minas Gerais , NAe São Paulo . Following the bankruptcy of Marsh Aviation in 2009 the program suffered delays and the upgrade of the airframes was resumed in partnership with Elbit Systems 's subsidiary, M7 Aerospace . The decommissioning of the São Paulo in 2017 means that the Brazilian Navy does not have an immediate need for carrier-based tankers, transports and AEW aircraft, however

7268-543: The summer fire season. It was based at was RAAF Base Richmond and on November 3 was named Nancy Bird after pioneering Australian aviator Nancy Bird Walton . In October 2019, Tanker 912 was seen at the Kincade fire while Tankers 910, 911 and 914 were used at the Maria fire in southern California. During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season , DC-10 Air Tankers were deployed. In June 2020, two DC-10 Air Tankers were deployed to

7360-409: The tanks can be filled as quickly as base loading capabilities permit, typically 15–20 minutes. The tanks are vented to atmosphere by a vent system installed on top of each tank to allow sufficient air into and out of the tanks during retardant drops and filling. Accurate quantity gauges are part of the installation. The number of drops it can make in a day is only limited by the time it takes to reload

7452-492: The test code X-500 . In 1956, it was upgraded to CS2F-1 standards and assigned serial number 1501; it was last used as a stationary instructional airframe at Shearwater until 1972. It is not known whether this aircraft was ever assigned a U.S. Navy bureau number . The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force received 60 S2F-1s in 1957 from U.S. stocks, and were operated until 1984. After being received, six S2F-1s were reconfigured into four S2F-U and two S2F-C variants. The S2F-1

7544-466: The world. Introduced in 1952, the Tracker and its E-1 Tracer derivative saw service in the U.S. Navy until the mid-1970s, and its C-1 Trader derivative until the mid-1980s, with a few aircraft remaining in service with other air arms into the 21st century. Argentina is the last country to still operate the Tracker. The Tracker was intended as a replacement for the Grumman AF Guardian , which

7636-567: Was activated against the 2007 White Fire, where it flew two runs before incurring its incident . After repairs were completed, it was activated for use on the massive Zaca Fire , the second-largest fire in modern California history, in August 2007. Tanker 910 was also activated for the Moonlight Fire in Plumas County in September 2007. On October 22, Tanker 910 became involved in the effort to extinguish several California wildfires , including

7728-576: Was disestablished in 1976. The last Navy S-2 was withdrawn from service on 29 August 1976. For many years the TS-2A version of the Tracker was used by U.S. Navy training units, culminating with its use by Training Squadron 27 ( VT-27 ), Training Squadron 28 ( VT-28 ) and Training Squadron 31 ( VT-31 ) for Student Naval Aviator training in the multi-engine pipeline with Training Air Wing FOUR (TRAWING 4) at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , Texas. A number of Trackers live on as firefighting aircraft while

7820-409: Was evaluated as a possible upgrade, but due high costs the program was canceled. However, in 2010 the Brazilian Navy contracted Marsh Aviation to convert four S-2Ts to Airborne Early Warning configuration and upgrade four additional Grumman C-1 Traders for tanking and carrier onboard delivery transport duties. The latter were scheduled to be back in service by 2015 and were expected to operate from

7912-722: Was expected to assist firefighters in tackling the Bastrop County Complex fire , the most destructive single wildfire in Texas history, but it was not deployed due to delays in preparing the fire-retardant mixing facility at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport . Tanker 910 was ultimately used to fight a prioritized fire north of Houston, Texas , as the Bastrop County Complex fire had been largely contained by September 16. The aircraft operated from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, conducting fire-fighting operations across

8004-526: Was for a large high-wing monoplane with twin Wright Cyclone R-1820 nine cylinder radial engines , a yoke type arrestor hook and a crew of four. Both the two XS2F-1 prototypes and 15 S2F-1 production aircraft were ordered at the same time, on 30 June 1950. The first flight was conducted on 4 December 1952, and production aircraft entered service with VS-26, in February 1954. Follow-on versions included

8096-671: Was nicknamed Aotaka(あおたか, Blue Hawk) . They were replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion . The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (Marineluchtvaartdienst - MLD), the air arm of the Royal Netherlands Navy , received 28 S-2A (S2F-1) aircraft under MDAP from the US Navy in 1960. An additional 17 Canadian-built CS-2A (CS2F-1) aircraft formerly operated by the Royal Canadian Navy were delivered between December 1960 and September 1961 after being overhauled by Fairey Canada. These aircraft were operated from Valkenburg Naval Air Base as well as from

8188-402: Was serviced from the plane's Victorville base at the Southern California Logistics Airport , but in 2007 Cal Fire began looking into setting up a second operations base at Sacramento McClellan Airport in Northern California. 10 Tanker Air Carrier announced in 2007 that a second aircraft would be converted to tanker usage for the 2008 fire season. The DC-10s operate with a flight crew of three,

8280-502: Was subsequently withdrawn from use in November 2014. Accepted for use as an air tanker by the US Forest Service (USFS) in 2006, and flying under state and international contracts ever since, the DC-10s were first employed directly by USFS in 2011. In 2006, the aircraft was operated on a limited evaluation contract with the State of California. During the 2006 season, the aircraft was offered on

8372-576: Was the first purpose-built aircraft system for anti-submarine warfare . The Guardian operated in two aircraft "hunter-killer" pairs, with one aircraft (the AF2-W) carrying the detection gear to find the submarine and to direct the second aircraft, the AF-2S, which carried weapons to attack and destroy the submarine. The Tracker combined both functions in one aircraft, saving deck space aboard carriers and making for more efficient operations. Grumman's design (model G-89)

8464-711: Was withdrawn in January 1976, with some transferred to the Turkish Navy. The Peruvian Navy operated with S-2E and S-2G from 1975 until 1989, they were assigned to Naval Aviation Squadron N°12 (Escuadron Aeronaval N°12). A total of 12 S-2Es were bought from the U.S. Navy in 1975 and 4 S-2G in 1983. The Republic of China Air Force initially operated the S-2A in 1967. In 1976, they received S-2Es. The S-2As were later converted into target aircraft and later decommissioned in batches from 1979 to 1992. In 1986, several S-2Gs were purchased to make up for attrition. A modernization program began

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