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Edie Suriano, organizer of Bushplane Days, was enthusiastic about this years’ event – “We have a CL – 415 water bomber that will be putting on a show for us – it is an opportunity for younger children to come in and learn a little history about the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, why we are here and the importance of forest fire prevention.”
Along with Edie was the announcer and former MNR pilot, Collin Reid who was available to comment on the specifics of the CL – 415, “It was manufactured in Montreal at Bombardier Aerospace, and is capable of carrying seven tonnes of water – which is roughly 14,000 lbs. It usually takes 10 – 12 seconds to load and has four bomb doors which can open all at once or sequentially. The plane itself weights 50,000 lbs and usually reaches a speed of 120 mph before dropping above 300 feet. The ‘super scooper’ also has a Pratt-Whitney Engine, which was made in Canada, and 2,380 horsepower. The MNR currently has 9 of these planes in their possession, all are Canadian made, and for the sole purpose of fighting forest fires.”
In order to get the children involved in learning about the history of such planes, Edie indicated that they had devised a strategy – “each child receives a passport and once they complete their station, they are given a corresponding sticker. Yesterday, we had Spiderman visit and today we have Smokey the bear. We also have two planes – water bombers – a DHC 2 Beaver developed by the late Tom Cook and a 215 water model – which are still used today but rather smaller that the CL – 415 you will see later on.”
Four other gentlemen, Mike Ward, Kevin Shaw, Waylon Littleton and Joe Pinder, members of the MNR manned a table providing pamphlets and other information regarding this year’s forest fires, prevention tips, as well as other tools for visitors to learn more. “This year there were roughly 1200 forest fires reported in the province of Ontario and 60% were believed to be caused by lightening,” Ward states.
While waiting for the water bomber to arrive with its action packed display of heights and capability, I had the opportunity to take a scenic flight on the “Air Dale,” a service the Bushplane offers at $55 dollars a person. While in flight, we were able to view the bomber on its approach to “scoop-up” and dispel. The site was a wonder to see and for sure riveting enough to bring about forest fire awareness as well as a respect for those who have entered into such line of work.
Special thanks to Dale Flieler and Jeff McClain the pilots of CL – 415.
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