Columbia's Big Fire Stopper Lands in Dallas | Aviation International News

Columbia's Big Fire Stopper Lands in Dallas

Fresh off a busy fire season, Columbia Helicopters is displaying one of its CH-47 Chinooks, equipped with the largest internal water tanks on a helicopter.

A Fire Attack System-equipped Columbia Helicopters CH-47D Chinook sent leaves blowing on its arrival here at Heli-Expo on Saturday. The big helicopter’s fire-suppression system has a 2,800-gallon water tank. Photo: Matt Thurber

By Curt Epstein • Business Aviation Services Editor

March 7, 2017

Twin-rotor helicopters are generally a rare site here at Heli-Expo, but fresh off a busy firefighting season, Columbia Helicopters has brought one of its specially-equipped Boeing CH-47D Chinooks to the static display. During the 2016 fire season, the company’s two Chinooks, equipped for the first time with the world’s largest internal helicopter Fire Attack System (FAS) and their 2,800-gallon water tanks, logged more than 740 hours, or nearly half of the company’s seven-helicopter fleet’s usage. The fleet fought more than 50 fires in 16 states with an availability rate that exceeded 95 percent. The FAS was developed specifically for Columbia and it can discharge its entire tank in five seconds and can refill from a hover in less than a minute.

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