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Using a 747 to Fight Wildfires

RotJ writes "It's fire season again. And the government just grounded 33 aging air tankers on Monday due to safety issues. Looking for a modern solution, Evergreen Aviation has come up with a 747 supertanker with 24,000 gallons of tank space onboard, which allows it to cover seven times the area of today's largest existing airtanker. In addition to fighting fires, it will be able to contain oil spills and 'perform challenging homeland security missions' like neutralizing chemical or biological attacks. And think of how many John Goodmans you could cover with fire retardant. Be sure to watch the videos."

17 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Be sure to watch the videos. by spacefight · · Score: 1, Funny

    Be sure to melt down their server. Each video is around 90MB large ;-)

    1. Re:Be sure to watch the videos. by lordsilence · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh, don't worry about bandwidth.
      They deliver the videos to your doorstep!

    2. Re:Be sure to watch the videos. by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Um...after the /. crowd comes a knockin'....

      All their server will be good for *IS* a doorstep!

      --
      People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
  2. Re:Refills? by boogy+nightmare · · Score: 0, Funny

    And rather than the problem with the frogman (google for it, frogman + forest fire) they would skim and pick up whole fishing boats..

    --
    Kingdom of Loathing (www.kingdomofloathing.com) Addicted is me
  3. Re:How Slow by System.out.println() · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then again, in a flight simulator I've flown the 747 straight up so you could approach the burn and then climb hard while dropping the water.


    Do I even need to add anything to make you sound less credible? :)

  4. On the 747 since day one by shoppa · · Score: 2, Funny

    Didn't early brochures for the 747 show a small swimming pool in first class?

  5. Converstion inside the cockpit: by Molina+the+Bofh · · Score: 4, Funny

    Jeff, you moron ! That was not the water release button !! That was the emergency fuel dump button !

    --

    -
    Roses are #FF0000, Violets are #0000FF, find / -name '*base*' |xargs chown -R us && mv zig greatjustice
  6. Re:Too Heavy? by blancolioni · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hi Tom. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and guess that the 747 won't be completely full of water. I know what you're thinking -- that's crazy talk! But I have this funny feeling that just won't go away: maybe the people who think of this stuff have better things to do than make up stupid shit that doesn't work.

    I'm just guessing, of course. It's quite possible that the plan involves filling a 747 up with water and watch it sit on the tarmac. That could also be fun.

  7. Re:Too Heavy? by mumblestheclown · · Score: 2, Funny
    Great job mods at modding the question as "insightful". in fact, i think we shoudl modify the slashcode to allow for +6, insightful because i am sure that this is something that the folks at evergreen have not yet considered!

    /sarcasm

  8. Re:Refills? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    So instead of scuba divers found dead of falling injuries, we get legends about people drowned in the middle of deserts?

  9. Taxidermy by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why does it seem like I'm the only one getting a taxidermy site when I click the link for Evergreen Aviation?

    Maybe they've gone to the other end of the spectrum ... an entire flock of radio controlled, stuffed birds converted to "tanker" use, able to carry 1 cup of water in a single drop.

    --
    Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
  10. Re:Speed by steve_l · · Score: 4, Funny

    they are very disconcerting to encounter in the mountains. I was driving up in scotland when this hercules crawled overhead at about 100' - it is a lot harder to avoid reacting badly to the sight of something that looks about to land on you, than it is it deal with a fighter plane going above you at that height -they are usually gone before you have time to notice.

  11. Carpet fire-suppression bombing... by KFury · · Score: 2, Funny

    Imagine a beowulf cluster...

  12. The three most dangerous things you can hear... by DieByWire · · Score: 2, Funny
    Before: The three most dangerous things you can hear in a 747 cockpit...
    1. Flight Engineer: "Oh, s**t."
    2. Copilot: "I have an idea."
    3. Captain: "Watch this."

    After: The three most dangerous things you can hear at Evergreen...

    1. Mangement: "I have an idea."
    2. Engineering department: "Watch this."
    3. Evergreen 747 pilots: "Oh, s**t."
    --
    Never shake hands with a man you meet in a fertility clinic.
  13. Shock and Awe... by bodland · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just use daisy cutters........blow the fire out and level any of that pesky underbrush...

  14. Don't Look Up by SEWilco · · Score: 2, Funny
    Oh, don't worry about bandwidth.
    They deliver the videos to your doorstep!

    Never underestimate the bandwidth of a 747 loaded with videotape.

  15. Re:Boeing has already done a better way. by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2, Funny
    Another interesting proposal is to bombard a fire with artillery sheels filled with liquid nitrogen.

    AND, you'd get more mileage about of standard military lingo like 'fire in the hole' or 'commence fire mission.'

    --
    Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.