Analysis of Aerial Firefighting with Rotorcraft Platforms
Monica Gil, Shawn Melhorn, Jordan Gorelick · 2023
Wildfires are an annual torment in many parts of the world. They can spread very quickly and destroy forests, wildlife, buildings, infrastructure, and homes, as well as risk human life before they are able to be controlled. Because of the rapid response time that is necessary to extinguish a wildfire before it becomes too large, the quantity and speed of water delivery are extremely important - helicopters are a great tool for accomplishing this goal. They can fly directly to the fire and refill their water supply from smaller, more remote water sources than other aerial platform options require. There are several water tank options to transport and drop water on the fire from a helicopter. This paper focuses on four of these options: an external rigid tank, an accordion tank, a Bambi Bucket® 1, and an internal tank in addition to the outlining some of the options for remote water sourcing. Each of these tank types have various advantages and disadvantages which are discussed using models developed for evaluating helicopter firefighting applications.