Modelling > Engineering Dept.
Medium Air Tanker concept
apophenia:
Indeed. Viking keeps teasing with their CL-515 concept - 'SuperDuperScooper'? - while offering leases on CL-415EAF upgrades. Viking were supposed to make a decision on a CL-515 go-ahead in mid-2018. Things went ominously quiet until Viking announced a CL-515 deal with Indonesia at last year's Paris air show. Despite that, Dave Curtis is still being coy about an official CL-515 launch.
The Beriev Be-200 is an impressive aircraft - up to 12 tons of water outside the pressurized cabin! A Beriev could be waterbombing in the morning and doing tourist runs to Catalina later the same day. A pity that the BR715-powered version didn't go ahead - Western engines would've added value.
The proposed US-built Beriev has me scratching my head. A plan to build Be-200s in Santa Monica was announced in 2016. This was supposed to be part of Airbus' EADS Irkut Seaplane deal ... but the latter was cancelled by the end of the same year. US firms' name keep popping up in connection with Beriev - Seaplane Global Air Services (SGAS of Santa Monica, CA), International Emergency Services (IES of Santa Monica), and USA Firefighting Air Corps (USAFAC of Denver, CO).
Of those, USAFAC was to be the 2016 US manufacturer of Be-200s. Earlier, these guys were behind the A-10 waterbomber concept ... but their http://usafac.com website is now '404'.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150221015756/http://usafac.com/aircraft-manufacturing-2/
(Of the USAFAC principals, AFAIK, Chris Olson works for the Forest Service in Alaska; John Simmons is a Senator's aide in Colorado; don't know about Gerry FitzGerald.)
Seaplane Global Air Services is now said to have ordered four Be-200s with an option on six more. But trying to figure out who these guys are is like pulling hens' teeth. SGAS is classed as 'Foreign Stock' which I assume means listed of a foreign exchange. But where? I also note that the official contact agent for SGAS is David Ernest Baskett.
David Baskett also happens to be President of International Emergency Services Inc - which is meant to be a partner firm of Seaplane Global. So that circle closes quickly! So, is something shady going on here? Or are these guys just a bunch of entrepreneurs operating by the skin of their teeth? Dunno ...
Jeffry Fontaine:
Thirty years ago I would have concluded that you were describing some kind of shadow organization hidden behind several layers of shell companies. :smiley:
All just a dream until they actually have the item on the ramp handing over the keys and title to the end user.
Amphibian air service is still a viable option for small operations but only if there is a reliable product that can turn a profit and not be stuck in down time on the maintenance ramp.
The Be-200 would be an excellent choice for inter-island/intra-island transport in the Aleutian islands. Places like Adak, Alaska are remote and an amphibian could make a difference in places like that. Other communities such as Atka have no airfield so anything delivered to them is by small boat. Would be nice to see the Be-200 in production to fill that niche.
apophenia:
--- Quote from: Jeffry Fontaine on January 10, 2020, 11:58:03 AM ---Thirty years ago I would have concluded that you were describing some kind of shadow organization hidden behind several layers of shell companies. ...
--- End quote ---
;D ;D And 'Santa Monica' would just be a cover name for 'somewhere in Virginia' ;)
--- Quote from: Jeffry Fontaine on January 10, 2020, 11:58:03 AM ---The Be-200 would be an excellent choice for inter-island/intra-island transport in the Aleutian islands. Places like Adak, Alaska are remote and an amphibian could make a difference in places like that. Other communities such as Atka have no airfield so anything delivered to them is by small boat. Would be nice to see the Be-200 in production to fill that niche.
--- End quote ---
That's a very interesting notion! Just need to convince Beriev to based some product support at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky :smiley:
apophenia:
I've been playing with a simplified variation on my Dash 8-based Common Medium Air Tanker.
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=351.msg164545#msg164545
According to Bombardier, the Q200 has a 4,580 lb smaller payload that the Q300 (13,500 lbs vs 8,920 lbs) I'm having trouble understanding why this should be the case. Even the up-engined Q300s only have a total of 400 shp more power. How can that result in a one-third increase in payload for a physically-longer (and thus heavier) airframe?
kitnut617:
Stephen, have a look at Carl's post of a Dash-7 in reply #3319 of the 'Cool Photos' thread. It has a cargo door shown open.
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