Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

The Martin Mars aircraft, the world’s largest flying water bomber, is making its EAA AirVenture debut this week at the 2016 edition of the annual airshow in Oshkosh, Wis. The massive airplane is moor﻿ed near the EAA Seaplane Base on Lake Winnebago, just a few miles east of the main fly-in grounds. It is also doing several fly-by demonstrations throughout the week during the daily afternoon airshows, as it did yesterday—making a big splash by dumping some 7,000 gallons of water on the runway at Wittman Regional Airport.

 


“There aren’t many airplanes that have never been to Oshkosh, but this is one of them, so this is both literally and figuratively a huge addition to this year’s lineup,” said Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs, who coordinates features and attractions at AirVenture. “Among flying boats, only the legendary Spruce Goose is bigger, but the Martin Mars is the largest ever to be operational on a regular basis.”

 


The <a href="http://www.martinmars.com/">Martin Mars</a> has a height of 38 feet, length of 120 feet and wingspan of 200 feet, the last of which is about the same as that of the Boeing 747. Only six of them were built, with Coulson Flying Tankers of Port Alberni, British Columbia, owning the two remaining examples since 2007 and using them as water bombers on forest fires throughout the western U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

 


The Martin Mars was originally built as a long-range U.S. Navy troop and freight transport to fly between the continental U.S. and Hawaii and first flew in 1942. The conversion to water bombers gave the aircraft the ability to carry as much as 7,200 gallons of water, enough to cover four acres of land in a single pass. When picking up water, the Mars can ingest more than a ton of water per second as it skims across a waterway.

Martin Mars Makes a Big Splash at AirVenture 2016

The massive airplane is parked near the EAA Seaplane Base on Lake Winnebago, just a few miles east of the main fly-in grounds.

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