Rotorcraft
Internal Firefighting Tanks for Columbia Chinooks
The system proved its worth in the real world fighting fires in Minnesota.


Columbia Helicopters and Simplex Aerospace have developed a large internal firefighting tank and delivery system for the CH-47D Chinook tandem-rotor helicopter and received FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval for it last December. The “Fire Attack System” (FAS) got its first real-world test under actual conditions in May dropping fire retardant on a wild fire near Ely, Minn. Columbia currently owns 11 former U.S. military Chinooks and has equipped two with the FAS to date. Both helicopters are operating under U.S. Forest Service exclusive-use contracts.

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