Aviation News - February 2016 UK

The first activity to convert a BAe 146 into

a fire bomber began in early 2004 when US

operator Minden Air led flight tests with a

Tronos-owned 146-100, N81HN (c/n E1081),

crewed by a BAE Systems test pilot and the

Minden Air Chief Test Pilot in a jointly-funded

exercise. These focused on handling and

manoeuvrability to validate the type’s flying

qualities for the firefighting mission. The

jet was fitted with a 10-ton (9,072kg) load

and practised low-level flights to simulate

missions. Following this successful flight

test campaign Minden Air and Tronos

announced the conversion of BAe 146-200

N606AW (c/n E2033) which began in 2005.

At the time, the British-built jet was

becoming more available on the second-

hand market and at affordable prices.

DEVELOPMENT

Founded in 2001, Tronos is a UK-owned

aircraft leasing, major-modification and

maintenance firm specialising in 146s and

RJs with its conversion activity based at

Summerside Airport in Prince Edward Island,

Canada. Minden Air has been one of the US

Forest Service’s contractors and is based at

Minden-Tahoe Airport, Nevada.

In 2007 the conversion of N606AW was

abandoned and the unfinished aircraft later

scrapped.

Meanwhile, Tronos was developing its

own plans for an airtanker and design for a

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and

work resumed on another BAe 146-200,

N608AW, which soon became N146FF.

It has been fitted with a 3,000 US gal

(11,356lit) tank, which puts it in Category 1

of the Interagency Air Tanker Board (IAB)

classification. The IAB is the committee in

charge of reviewing all the data concerning

airtankers – fixing standards, validating

their performance and approving use after

evaluation.

The drop system chosen for the aircraft

is similar to that adopted on Evergreen’s

Boeing 747 Supertanker: after being put

under pressure while in flight, the retardant

is dropped through underbelly nozzles, just

behind the main landing gear.

This complex system has the benefit of

not requiring major and heavy structural

modification. However, it is much less

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Above: Minden Air’s Tanker 46 has been converted with a 3,100-US gal constant flow tank and

performed its first drop in June 2014. Minden Air Corp via Author

Above: Five of Neptune Aviation’s BAe 146s on the ramp at the company’s Missoula, Montana

base. Neptune Aviation via author

26-30_airtankerDC.mfDC.mfDC.mf.indd 27 07/01/2016 12:06