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FlightGear Newsletter October 2017: Difference between revisions
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FlightGear Newsletter October 2017 (view source)
Revision as of 19:13, 21 October 2017
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== In the hangar == | == In the hangar == | ||
=== Erickson S-64 Aircrane's Utility Face Lift === | |||
An iconic sight is one of the Aircrane flying low and slow over a raging wildfire dropping its load of retardant. Or hovering high above a massive tower assembly placing the final piece to the vertical puzzle. | |||
[[File:Water Drop.jpg|thumb|Dropping a water salvo over a wildfire]] | |||
Fitted with a 2650 gallon water tank the Aircrane is capable of a computer controlled delivery of its payload. The engineer can choose from one of 8 presets coverage levels or deliver the entire payload in a 3 second salvo. The delivery rate is calculated and controlled by computer, taking airspeed into account for a more precise delivery. The ability to restrict the amount delivered from the tank to one of 4 preset volumes 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% is also available. Another feature of the tank is an inner holding tank giving the ability to mix a foam retardant into the water delivery system. Up to 300,000 gallons per hour of water, retardant or foam mixture can be delivered to the fire using this system. | |||
[[File:Firefighting with the Water Cannon.jpg|thumb|Discharging the water cannon at a wildfire]] | |||
[[File:Preparing for Fill.jpg|thumb|Sea Snorkel Tank Fill]] | |||
Another optional equipment package is the water cannon. It shoots a stream of water or foam mix in front of the aircraft at a rate of 300 gallons per minute. It has a small vertical pitch range of 15 degrees hydraulically controlled. The helicopter itself controls the horizontal yaw of the stream. This provides the ability to deliver fire suppression far above the reach of conventional hook and ladder equipment. | |||
[[File:Sniffer Tank Fill in Progress.jpg|thumb|Using the sniffer to fill the water tank in the Aircrane]] | |||
Filling of the tank is accomplished by one of two versatile methods. Either by using the hanging snorkel to suction water from any body of water, include a creek or slow flowing river, in as little as 45 seconds. 18 inches of water is all that is required for the snorkel to function. The Sea Snorkel is the other fill method. The hydraulic controlled boom is lowered as the Aircrane skims low over the water at around 35-45 kts. This method can fill the tank in as little as 40 seconds. | |||
[[File:Aircrane Water Tank Control Panel.jpg|thumb|Aircrane water tank panel]] | |||
You can find portions of this upgrade already available in FGADDON. The ongoing work of creating the controls are available in the development repository at https://github.com/wlbragg/AirCrane. You can follow work and discussion on the forum at https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2970&sid=b2f771fc9cb20564c57f0ecd561546f2 | |||
== Scenery corner == | == Scenery corner == | ||