When it comes to fighting forest fires, dropping loads of water or fire suppressants from the sky is a game-changer. That’s why big jets like the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 have found a new job as aerial firefighters. Since 2006, a company called 10 Tanker has been using these DC-10s to battle wildfires all over the world.
How It All Started
10 Tanker kicked off in 2006 and has been fighting fires for almost 18 years now. They started in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with just one specially modified DC-10 plane. Over time, they’ve grown their fleet to four planes. Before the DC-10, firefighters used old military planes that were given a new purpose. These planes were changed to carry water and chemicals that stop fires. But after a sad accident in 2002, those planes were grounded, and new options were needed.
That’s when 10 Tanker stepped up, using a DC-10 and becoming the first to use big jet planes for firefighting. Since then, 10 Tanker’s DC-10s have been crucial in fighting fires in the US and around the world. Now, they’re one of the few companies using these super-sized air tankers, helping with lots of wildfires and dropping millions of gallons of fire-stopping stuff. They work with the US Forest Service and state groups like CAL FIRE in California.
During fire season, which is usually from spring to fall (or April to October), these DC-10s are based in the US. In the off-season, they head to places like Australia and Chile to help with their fire seasons.
What’s Inside
The DC-10s that 10 Tanker uses are top-notch firefighting planes. They’ve been changed by taking out the middle landing gear to make room for a big tank that can hold up to 11,600 gallons of water or fire retardant (that’s the stuff that helps stop fires). The tank is split into three parts, and it can drop all 9,400 gallons in just 8 seconds, covering up to a mile!
In 2018, they upgraded the planes’ computers to make them even better at dropping water. Now, they can drop all the tanks at once, or do special drops where the water overlaps or splits to cover different parts of a fire. Each drop is planned to fit what’s needed for that specific fire.
These planes are flown by two pilots and have a flight engineer who watches the systems and controls the drops. There are also mechanics who bring spare parts and tools to keep the planes running smoothly. The pilots usually work nine-hour days but can fly up to 14 hours if needed. After dropping their load, the plane goes back to refill, which takes about 15-20 minutes. When they’re dropping water, they fly between 200 and 300 feet above the ground at about 161 miles per hour.
Why the DC-10 is Awesome
The DC-10 is great for firefighting because it can carry three times more water than other big planes. This means they can do three times the work for the same cost, which is super efficient. Plus, the DC-10 can drop water in a straight line from a quarter-mile to a mile long.
Another cool thing about the DC-10 is that it can fly downhill, letting it drop water in places other planes can’t reach, like on mountain slopes. It has three powerful engines that let it do this and still have enough power to climb back up.
These DC-10 firefighters have helped with tons of wildfires, quickly making fire barriers and saving lives and animals. In the 2023 US fire season, they did 405 firefighting missions and dropped over 3.6 million gallons of fire retardant by October 23. Before the 2022 fire season, 10 Tanker gave their DC-10s a new paint job, showing they’re always trying to do their best work.
