The end of an era 😢I was fortunate enough to see the demo in Richmond about 15 yrs ago . Absolutely amazing . The Martin Mars water bomber is / was the best fire fighting machine the province ever had . Its success speaks for itself . I believe it would have had a few good years left to help with fighting the forest fires . Sad to see it retire 😢thank you for your years of service . You are a true legend
Basic reason given for the Hawaii to be retired is the evolution of aviation and firefighting technology. Comparative cost is negligible. I’d challenge that with this. One pass of the Hawaii carrying over 27,000 litres of water could knock down what it would take five CL215 passes carrying only 5545 litres of water each. Id also suggest comparing maintenance, insurance, and staffing costs would still be cheaper using the Hawaii. Just imagine if it was used in the Jasper fire before it got big how much less damage there might have been. Just my opinion.
I agree as well. In an interview Coulson said there will never be a better firefighting aircraft. If the gov't really wanted fires out we would have a national fire service. But...
Don't have a Facebook page, so I would like to say thank you to Toni and the committees for organizing all the reunions we have had. Thank you Cam for a wonderful job with the photography. Take care Class of 1974.
