You’ve seen it dropping retardant on fires across the world now come along with me on a tour inside the @Ten_Tanker DC-10 air tanker at San Bernardino International Airport. 1/7
First off, ever wondered what the button looks like which, when pushed, drops up to 9,400 gallons of retardant? Here it is. Flight engineer will generally push it but pilots also have a button on each yoke. 2/7
Headed below into the cargo space we find the pumps that fill the three retardant tanks on the belly of the aircraft. 3/7
Now let’s head under the aircraft, which still has retardant on it from working the #RouteFire this weekend. There are 3 separate tanks that form the “canoe” you see on the belly. Forward to aft, the capacities of the tanks are 2,700gal-4,000gal-2,700gal 4/7
And fun fact… the tank on the Sikorsky Skycrane fire helicopter is the same tank as the forward and aft tanks on the DC-10 tanker. On the DC-10 they just add fairings to the tanks. 5/7
Another look inside the cockpit and interior of the aircraft. Don’t think they have to worry about bringing on too many carry-on bags. 6/7
Thanks for coming along. Please exit through the gift shop. And thanks to the crew at @Ten_Tanker for showing us around today while we escape the presidential TFR out in San Bernardino. See you in the skies. 7/7
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