Cruise passengers were treated to a show as multiple firefighting planes filled their tanks with water at Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.
Pretty neat to see the planes descend on the Medditerranean Sea in perfect formation and fly away for their next mission.
The planes used in this video are Canadair CL-415 ‘Superscoopers’ that were first made in 1994.
The planes can scoop 1,620 US gallons of water, mix with fire retartdant foam and drop it on a fire nearby. This process can be repeated as many times as the plane’s fuel will allow.
The CL-415 only needs 4,400 total feet to descend from an altitude of 49 feet, scoop up 1,620 gallons of water in 12 seconds across a 1,350′ stretch going 80 mph, and then climb back to 49 feet in altitude. Incredible!
The cost of one CL-415 in 2014 was $36.9 million.