Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 22/01) - One of the more thrilling sights to take in during the Float Plane Fly-In are the water tankers swooping in over Back Bay. At 135 km/h (85 mph), the tankers scoop up a load of water into their holds. The bright yellow tanker then jettisons its load, much to the delight of the crowd gathered along the waterfront.
"What it basically boils down to, is it's like taking off and touching down every time, but with the probes out," says Marc Vanderaegem, captain of tanker 290 with Buffalo Airways.
The probes are retractable devices on the exterior of the aircraft that reach out and suck water into the plane's tanks. The water tanker can carry as much as 5,400 litres in its hold and it takes only eight to 10 seconds to fill the tanks.
Vanderaegem has just returned from fighting the forest fires that devastated several areas across northern Alberta at the end of May.
There is little doubt that performing his job is not for the faint of heart. With a payload of water aboard, the tankers swoop in 100 feet above the forest floor. Any lower and you are hitting the tree tops, a situation endearingly referred to among water tanker pilots as "logging."
"The only problem with that is when you're knocking over trees," says Vanderaegem. "It makes it hard for the fire crews to get in."
Even though there are definite occupational risks involved in Vanderaegem's profession, he says all pilots have safety on their minds with every mission.
"We just do our best and do what we can safely do," says Vanderaegem. "It keeps you busy. It's not like flying a commercial airline where you have the autopilot on every time."
Even though the tanker show has been an integral part of the Float Plane Fly-in since its inception, Vanderaegem concedes that if a forest fire were to break out in the NWT during the June 22-24 weekend, or anywhere in western Canada for that matter, they may have to miss the show. Vanderaegem hopes his crew will not be too busy during the event.
"We try to make it a crowd pleaser, and it shows the people what we do," he says.
