Queensland-based Helitak Firefighting Equipment, which has partnered with Rotak Helicopter Services of Anchorage, Alaska, has been granted a Supplementary Type Certificate (STC) by the FAA. The STC allows the fitting of an 11,000 litre (2,905 US Gallon) external, retractable water tank to CH-47s. The tank can be used in stages or in a single drop using an integral Helitak Fire Tank Controller (FTC) to disperse the load. The tank can also take a 132-gallon/500-litre load of foam retardant if needed.
Additionally, the retractable capability of the tank means that it can be fitted to any CH-47 without landing gear modification. It also means that no internal cabin tanks are required, meaning flexibility for moving personnel or equipment around the fire ground is retained, while the 60-second refill via the “hover fill pump” means more time on task.
“As a team, we are ecstatic to finally have the FT-11K tank certified by the FAA after many years of development and testing at our facility in Australia and the hard work of the team at Rotak Helicopters that assisted us in gaining the FAA STC for the product… We look forward to seeing the tank during a successful first season on deployment with Rotak as the launch customer for the product,” said Jason Schellaars, CEO of Helitak. “I am immensely proud of the work put in by over one hundred people in two countries that helped make this product a reality for the market as the largest capacity firefighting tank available for a helicopter.”
