Engineering:Conair Firecat

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Short description: Fire-fighting aircraft
Firecat, Turbo Firecat
A French Turbo Firecat over Sausset-Les-Pins
General information
National originCanada
ManufacturerConair
Management and usageConair
Sécurité Civile
Number built35
History
Introduction date1978 (Firecat)
1988 (Turbo Firecat)
RetiredRetired in Canada 2012, Retired in France in 2020
Developed fromGrumman S-2 Tracker

The Conair Firecat is a fire-fighting aircraft developed in Canada in the 1970s by modifying military surplus Grumman S-2 Trackers. The modifications were developed by the maintenance arm of the Conair Group, which became a separate company called Cascade Aerospace.[1]

Development

The Firecats are retrofitted Grumman S-2 Trackers. Conair bought a large number of Trackers formerly operated by the Canadian Navy and a small number of ex-United States Navy aircraft as well.[2] The Trackers are modified for aerial firefighting as Firecats by raising the cabin floor by 20 cm (8 in) and fitting a 3,296-litre (870 U.S. gal) retardant tank where the torpedo bay is normally located. All superfluous military equipment is removed and the empty weight is almost 1,500 kg lower than a Tracker's.[3] The first aircraft was modified in 1978.[3] Some examples have been re-engined with turboprop engines and are known as Turbo Firecats, these feature a larger tank and extra underwing fuel tanks; the Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) is increased by 680 kg (1,500 lb) to 12,480 kg (27,500 lb), while the lighter turbine engines also reduce the empty weight. The first Turbo Firecat was produced in 1988.[3]

Operational history

Conair commenced Firecat operations in 1978.[4] Firecats and Turbo Firecats were previously in service with Conair and the Government of Saskatchewan in Canada[2][5] and were also used by the Government of Ontario.[6] The Sécurité Civile organisation in France took delivery of 14 Firecats over a period of five years commencing in May 1982.[7] It has had its examples further converted and is now standardized on the Turbo Firecat.[8] A total of 35 Firecat and Turbo Firecat conversions have been performed;[9] four Firecats and three Turbo Firecats have crashed in France.[7][10][11] In 2020 Turbo Firecats were retired for Sécurité Civile in France.[12]

Similar conversions are performed by another company Marsh Aviation in the United States. These are known as Marsh Turbo Trackers and feature Garrett AiResearch TPE-331 turboprop engines.[13]

Variants

Firecat
Original version, fitted with Wright R-1820 radial piston engines as fitted to standard Grumman Trackers
Turbo Firecat
Version fitted with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67AF turboprop engines
  • Turbo Firecat cockpit.
    Turbo Firecat cockpit.
  • PT6 on Turbo Firecat.
    PT6 on Turbo Firecat.
  • Propeller assembly.
    Propeller assembly.


Aircraft on display

Place Type Registration Notes
Canadian Museum of Flight Firecat C-FOPU Aviation Museum[14]
Musée Reynolds-Alberta Firecat C-GABC Aviation, agriculture and industry museum[15]
Amiens Airport TurboFirecat F-AYFT From the Sécurité Civile, also displayed in air shows[16]
Musée de l'Aviation de Saint-Victoret Firecat F-ZBAU From the Sécurité Civile,[17] kept in an aviation museum
Aubenas Airfield TurboFirecat F-ZBEY From the Sécurité Civile[18]
Ailes Anciennes Toulouse TurboFirecat F-ZBAZ From the Sécurité Civile,[19] it was the first TurboTracker to be converted into a water bomber for the French

Specifications (Turbo Firecat)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 3,395 L (897 U.S. gal) of water, plus 173 L (46 U.S. gal) of foam concentrate
  • Length: 13.26 m (43 ft 6 in)
  • Wingspan: 22.12 m (72 ft 7 in)
  • Height: 5.05 m (16 ft 7 in)
  • Empty weight: 6,803 kg (15,000 lb)
  • Gross weight: 12,473 kg (27,500 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67AF , 761 kW (1,220 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 407 km/h (253 mph, 220 kn)
  • Endurance: 5 hours 6 minutes

See also

Related development

  • S-2 Tracker

References

  1. ↑ Cascade Aerospace history retrieved 2008-01-15.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tracker survivors in Canada retrieved 2008-01-18.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Aircraft World Directory Firecat page retrieved 2008-01-18.
  4. ↑ Lavender, Bill. "Conair working fires in Canada", AgAir Update magazine, Perry, GA, July 2003 (online version) . Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  5. ↑ "Aviation Operations – Environment – Government of Saskatchewan". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305045701/http://environment.gov.sk.ca/aviation. 
  6. ↑ Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre Tracker page retrieved 2008-01-18.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 History of Sécurité Civile Firecat operations (in French). Retrieved: 18 August 2008.
  8. ↑ Tracker survivors in France retrieved 2008-01-18.
  9. ↑ USA Warplanes Tracker page retrieved 2008-01-18.
  10. ↑ History of Sécurité Civile Turbo Firecat operations (in French). Retrieved: 18 August 2008.
  11. ↑ List of Tracker crashes since 2000 retrieved 2008-01-18.
  12. ↑ Marsaly, Frédéric (2020-02-13). "Retraite immédiate pour les Tracker de la Sécurité Civile" (in fr-FR). https://www.aerobuzz.fr/aviation-generale/retraite-immediate-pour-les-tracker-de-la-securite-civile/. 
  13. ↑ Turbo Tracker Type Certificate retrieved 2008-01-18.
  14. ↑ Editorial Staff (2012-10-07). "Firecat Goes To Museum" (in en-US). https://www.avweb.com/news/firecat-goes-to-museum/. 
  15. ↑ "Aviation" (in en). http://reynoldsmuseum.ca/aviation. 
  16. ↑ Vidéos : Le Tracker-S2FT est arrivé mardi 20 février à l'aéroport Amiens-Henry Potez à Albert - Courrier picard (in français). Retrieved 2024-07-23 – via www.courrier-picard.fr.
  17. ↑ "FIRECAT TRACKER T2" (in fr-FR). https://musee-aviation-saint-victoret.fr/artwork/firecat-tracker-t2/. 
  18. ↑ Marsaly, Frédéric (2024-03-21). "Le Tracker T07 est arrivé à Aubenas" (in fr-FR). https://www.aerobuzz.fr/breves-aviation-generale/le-tracker-t07-est-arrive-a-aubenas/. 
  19. ↑ "De Nîmes à Blagnac, l'épopée du bombardier d'eau Tracker T01 sauvé par les Ailes Anciennes" (in fr). https://www.ladepeche.fr/2023/10/06/de-nimes-a-blagnac-lepopee-du-bombardier-deau-tracker-t01-sauve-par-les-ailes-anciennes-11498350.php. 
  • Stitt, Robert M (June 1991). "Turbo Firecat...fighting flames with turbines". Air International: 289–294. ISSN 0306-5634. 
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 922. 
  • Manufacturer's website



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