Performance and technical specifications:

The planes of the Project are Air Tractor AT-802F. Their technical specifications are:

• Engine: 1 engine Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67 AG.
• Engine power: 1350 HP / 1.700 RPM.
• Load capacity: 3.104 liters.
• Fuel capacity: 961 liters.
• Cruise speed: 221 mph (8.000 ft).
• Working speed: 120-125 mph.
• Autonomy: 1.287 km (8.000 ft).
• Takeoff distance: 610 m (full tank).

The AT 802F is an airplane appreciated for its versatility, able to operate on remote landing strips, needing not very long tracks. Its loading system with a 3-inch diameter inlet allows the water to be charged in between 3 and 4 minutes.

It is an aircraft specifically designed for aerial firefighting operations, as a product evolved from aircraft used in agriculture, which were required the ability to fly low and slow, in an environment with obstacles, such as trees or power lines. The  airplane has a high visibility for the pilot and a very good maneuverability.

In addition, it has the electrical system of management of the drop, called Fire Retardant Dispersal System (FRDS). This system significantly improves the operation, ensuring a drop with a uniform density and in turn optimized to the specific mission. The pilot can program FRDS according to fire intensity, vegetation structure and distance to be covered.

With the AT-802F the Operations Section of a forest fire has the flexibility to choose the optimal level of coverage of the drop, either on vegetation of different structure: from more uniform structures, such as pastures, to the more complex ones such as case of wooded masses. This optimization is possible with the use of technology based on electronic controls and hydraulic power. The computer makes continuous opening adjustments of the gate to achieve the selected drop density and the speed of the aircraft. These adjustments allow a uniform discharge even in conditions of changes of acceleration of the airplane and atmospheres of turbulence. Because these adjustments are made by the computer, the pilot can concentrate all his effort on flying over the target.