Скачать или смотреть Canadair CL-415 forest fire operation in Messina, Sicily

Due to great drought and heat Sicily is suffering from a lot of forest fires. Thousands of firefighters and many firetrucks, planes and helicopters spending their days to push back the flames in the mountains.

Italian fire department, Vigili del Fuoco operates many air units with fixed wings and helicopters, which can drop tonns of water in a short time to fires in inaccessible areas.

The Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper is an amphibious aircraft built originally by Canadair and subsequently by Bombardier and Viking Air, and De Havilland Canada. The CL-415 is based on the Canadair CL-215 and is designed specifically for aerial firefighting, but it can perform various other roles, such as search and rescue and utility transport.

Development of the CL-415 began in the early 1990s, shortly after the success of the CL-215T retrofit programme had proven a viable demand for a turboprop-powered model of the original CL-215.

Entering production in 2003, in addition to its new engines, the aircraft featured numerous modernisation efforts and advances over the CL-215, particularly in terms of its cockpit and aerodynamics, to yield improved performance.
The CL-415 can scoop up to 6,140 liters (1,620 US gal) of water from a nearby water source, mix it with a chemical foam if desired, and drop it on a fire without having to return to base to refill its tanks.