Columbia Helicopters reported recently that they had added internal fire fighting tanks to its fleet of CH-47D Chinook helicopters this season, and now they have confirmed that their aircraft N471CH has fought its first fire in Minnesota.

Working in the land of 10,000 lakes, the Chinook and crew fought a 100 acre fire and was able to extinguish it in just a single fuel cycle. The crew was able to fill the tank an astonishing 21 times during the cycle. The system consists of an internal 2,800-gallon water tank and a 140-gallon foam concentrate reservoir tank. Pilots use a 12-foot long hover pump to fill the internal tank, and can deploy the water or foam through a variety of drop or spread patterns.

US Forest Service representatives are apparently very pleased with the results.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com