Tag Archives: global supertanker

Global Supertanker

Some of the news clips I have seen recently were showing the firefighting activities underway in South America at the moment.  With their summer in full swing, wildfires have been springing up and they have brought in a variety of aircraft to fight them.  One of these is the Global Supertanker, a converted Boeing 747-400.  I saw this aircraft at the aerial firefighting conference that was held last year in Sacramento.  It was very close to approval at that time and we were allowed to check it out.

The systems had previously been used on a 747-100 airframe but they had been migrated to the 400 series jet.  The airframe was an ex-JAL aircraft that had undergone the freighter conversion program and seen some further service before being acquired for the firefighting role.  The tanks and piping had been installed and we got to see a bit of the interior during the event.  Unlike the 100 series prototype, this one had been given a nice new paint job and it looked great being straight out of the paint shop.

It dwarfed everything else on the flightline and ended up being the backdrop for the group photo of the conference attendees.  I don’t get to appear in that shot since I was taking it.  I can live without having my presence recorded I guess.  Now it is in operation, there are some rather more dramatic images being captured.  For the time-being, I will have to make do with these shots.

Pinal Air Park

AE7I6148-Pano.jpgPinal Air Park is located northwest of Tucson.  A number of business operate there.  It used to be a location for Evergreen International.  They carried out a number of programs of a spooky nature which meant there was strict security controlling access to the area.  Evergreen have gone bust so now the airport is a lot less restricted.  The hangars and ramp areas are still controlled but the roads around the field are now freely accessible.

AE7I6139.jpgThe airport is used for active operators but also for storage of airframes.  Some of these are planes that are clearly not going to be making it back into the air again.  They are either old enough to not be in demand or of a type that has more value in the spare parts they contain than as a complete airframe.  That isn’t the case for all of them though.  Many of them are stored awaiting another operator finding a use for them.  Consequently, you see a variety of aircraft from old TWA 747s to unmarked A330s.

AE7I6150.jpgWhile I was there, a Pratt and Whitney 747SP engine testbed was visible on one ramp while the Global Supertanker 747-400 was not far away.  There were also some stored Grumman Goose aircraft (should that be Geese?) that looked like they weren’t moving for a while.  A turbine Caribou was on the ramp obscured by a CASA 212.  Plenty of variety.  This would certainly be a fun place to tour with someone that has good access.