Uploaded September 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Fire season in southern California brings out some of the most interesting fire-fighting aircraft, including Erickson Sky Cranes, Various water-dropping/rescue helicopters, and even Phos Chek-dropping DC-10 converted airliners! One of the most recognizable aerial assets is a pair of bright yellow and red amphibious aircraft (seaplanes with wheels) known as the "Superscoopers". These two CL-415 aircraft are part of an 88-plane fleet (95 were built, 7 were "retired"), built at the Bombardier Aerospace facility in Ontario, Canada. They are leased by Los Angeles county each year during fire season.
According to Wikipedia, a number of other countries use these aircraft as well, including Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, and Spain.
The aircraft are crewed by two pilots, with seating for 9 additional personnel. It's powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprop engines, generating 2,380 static horsepower (1.775 Mega Watts) each. The plane has a wingspan of 93 feet, cruises at about 200 mph, and can scoop-up 1620 gallons (13,536 lbs) of water in about 12 seconds at 81 mph while skimming only about 1350 feet of water surface. In actual practice, scooping speed is more like 90 mph over a distance of 2000 ft. It's always better to have a little more airspeed and room to get the job done safely!
These scenes were filmed at Castaic Lake with a Sony FS700RH and 200mm lens while the aircraft were fighting the "La Tuna" wildfire near Glendale, California. The wind changed direction twice during this event resulting in the aircraft having to use three different approach patterns during the day. Fortunately, Castaic lake is shaped in such a way that it is easily navigated from 4 different directions as conditions change.
The soundtrack is "Neptune Orbit" from the "Mission Control" CD by Technician (yours truly), MP3 album and single track available on iTunes at: itunes.apple.com/us/album/mission-control/id970180801 full artist discography and CDs available at HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com
Contains JCMDI video catalog #s: V22854,V22855,V22857,V22858,V22866,V22867,V22872,V22873,V22874,V22875,V22876,V22877,V22879,V22881,V22884,
Note: The audio and video material contained herein is copyright 2017 JCM Digital Imaging, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos, school projects, etc. The full free usage policy and YouTube copyright notice/ad info can be found here (please read before using JCMDI material): jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#freeusage jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#partner
Fire season in southern California brings out some of the most interesting fire-fighting aircraft, including Erickson Sky Cranes, Various water-dropping/rescue helicopters, and even Phos Chek-dropping DC-10 converted airliners! One of the most recognizable aerial assets is a pair of bright yellow and red amphibious aircraft (seaplanes with wheels) known as the "Superscoopers". These two CL-415 aircraft are part of an 88-plane fleet (95 were built, 7 were "retired"), built at the Bombardier Aerospace facility in Ontario, Canada. They are leased by Los Angeles county each year during fire season.
According to Wikipedia, a number of other countries use these aircraft as well, including Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, and Spain.
The aircraft are crewed by two pilots, with seating for 9 additional personnel. It's powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprop engines, generating 2,380 static horsepower (1.775 Mega Watts) each. The plane has a wingspan of 93 feet, cruises at about 200 mph, and can scoop-up 1620 gallons (13,536 lbs) of water in about 12 seconds at 81 mph while skimming only about 1350 feet of water surface. In actual practice, scooping speed is more like 90 mph over a distance of 2000 ft. It's always better to have a little more airspeed and room to get the job done safely!
These scenes were filmed at Castaic Lake with a Sony FS700RH and 200mm lens while the aircraft were fighting the "La Tuna" wildfire near Glendale, California. The wind changed direction twice during this event resulting in the aircraft having to use three different approach patterns during the day. Fortunately, Castaic lake is shaped in such a way that it is easily navigated from 4 different directions as conditions change.
The soundtrack is "Neptune Orbit" from the "Mission Control" CD by Technician (yours truly), MP3 album and single track available on iTunes at: itunes.apple.com/us/album/mission-control/id970180801 full artist discography and CDs available at HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com
Contains JCMDI video catalog #s: V22854,V22855,V22857,V22858,V22866,V22867,V22872,V22873,V22874,V22875,V22876,V22877,V22879,V22881,V22884,
Note: The audio and video material contained herein is copyright 2017 JCM Digital Imaging, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos, school projects, etc. The full free usage policy and YouTube copyright notice/ad info can be found here (please read before using JCMDI material): jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#freeusage jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#partner
![Technician - Neptune Orbit [Alien City Mix] (Mission Control track 12) V12103](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vBy-cowsB2Q/mqdefault.jpg "Technician - Neptune Orbit [Alien City Mix] (Mission Control track 12) V12103
Now that the Earth has survived Doomsday, lets all be green....
Technicians latest release: Mission Control, track 12.
MP3 Album and single available on
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mission-control/id583890621
CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/technician18
Technician Discography: http://technician.jcmdi.com/
Note: This is copyrighted material, however, you may download this footage and audio directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos, school projects, etc.
The full free usage policy with copyright notice/claim and partner ad info can be found here: http://jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#freeusage and http://jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#partner (please read both sections before using JCMDI material - Thanks!)")
