So maybe I've been living under a rock, but I was out on the coast recently and was informed that the Martin Mars has been retired. Does this mean that the 215 and 415 will be the only, and possibly last flying boats that'll be used as water bombers?


Sean

NO.. there are others out there.
One of them being the Be-20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_Be-200

So... Anything we'd actually see in Canada?

See above..
There is an outfit in the US looking at getting it certified in the USA.
So I see no reason we wouldn't see it in Canada if that were to happen.
http://be200usa.com/ies/press.html

magic wand wrote:See above..
There is an outfit in the US looking at getting it certified in the USA.
So I see no reason we wouldn't see it in Canada if that were to happen.
http://be200usa.com/ies/press.html

IF...that's a pretty big if, considering the way that Russia/Putin has been carrying on in Ukraine...

North Shore wrote:

magic wand wrote:See above..
There is an outfit in the US looking at getting it certified in the USA.
So I see no reason we wouldn't see it in Canada if that were to happen.
http://be200usa.com/ies/press.html

IF...that's a pretty big if, considering the way that Russia/Putin has been carrying on in Ukraine...

I have to agree with your "if". I think though, global interest in the aircraft is growing. Sooner or later
an agency or outside interest will help with production to the rest of the world.
The Bombardier 415 program, although still active, seems to have stagnated.
The concept of bigger and faster seems to be the future in the industry.
(with the exception of the Fireboss -which has captured a market by "delivering a good bang for the buck" concept )

Where is the Martin Mars these days? The last thing I heard was the contract between the BC gov't was over because they want to go to something smaller but have multiple machines. It was in limbo if the Martin was going to stay where she was normally kept.

I seem to recall one of them was sold into the US...

AirFrame wrote:I seem to recall one of them was sold into the US...

Both Mars aircraft remain in Port Alberni. For now.

The Philippine Mars hasn't flown on fires since Coulson bought the operation in 2007. It has been reverted to its wartime US Navy markings and restored to flying condition. She looks stunning. It was traded for a C-130Q Hercules and a hangar full of parts that Coulson converted to an airtanker and is using in the US on a multi-year federal airtanker contract. The plan, although the timing is constantly fluid, is to return her to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola FL. The Philippine Mars will be flown one last time once the weather improves, from Sproat Lake to Florida, where it will be on permanent static display.

The Hawaii Mars was active on fires until the 2013 season. Its sole-source contract wasn't renewed for 2014. Despite efforts to convince firefighting agencies in the US and Canada to continue employing it, the Mars has flown its last firefighting mission. There is a lot of interest for this plane; the community of Port Alberni wants it to remain there, but I sense that bidders in Hawaii may win the rights to house her. I don't know the timeframe of when, where or in what condition she will go. Wayne Coulson is a shrewd businessman, and although he claimed to have purchased the Mars operation out of a boyhood fascination for the machines, the future of the planes is likely more related to dollars than sentiment. I'm sure the Hawaii Mars will be leveraged into some valuable assets that contribute to the Coulson aerial firefighting group.