2019 01/08 - Marty Coaker, Fighting wildfires from the air

Our speaker was Marty Coaker who grew up in West Michigan and is a graduate of the Western Michigan University College of Aviation. He piloted an Avro RJ85 tanker in the western United States this past fire season. He showed great photos and sharedseveral stories and videos about his firefighting experiences.The RJ85 is well suited for firefighting since it can fly low and slow at about 150-200 feet above the ground at a speed of 120-140 kts and can quickly descend several thousand feet into mountain valleys without picking up speed. The aircraft holds about3,000 gallons or 27,000 pounds of fire retardant.The retardant, or “mud” as it is called, is composed of iron oxide, salt, fertilizer, grass seed and clay mixed with water. It can be toxic to certain species of fish but is effect in retarding fire on the ground for up to two days. The retardant is not dropped directly on the fire but near the perimeter of the fire to prevent its spread.

To see the entire presentation move your mouse over the image below and click on the arrow at the top right corner to "pop-out" the pdf.