New internal firefighting system unveiled by Simplex
Aerial application systems developer Simplex has unveiled its new 850-gallon internal Fire Attack system for the Blackhawk helicopter.
Aerial application systems developer Simplex has unveiled its new 850-gallon internal Fire Attack system for the Blackhawk helicopter.
Available for the S-70i, S-70A, UH-60A and UH-60L helicopters, the Model 370i Fire Attack is the first and only internal Fire Attack system for the Blackhawk helicopter developed principally for the restricted category civil aerial firefighting market, according to Simplex. The internalised tank means that there is no need for civil Blackhawk operators to acquire Blackhawk gear extensions required for belly mounted tanks, said Mark Zimmerman, Simplex’s CEO.
The tank uses a single dispersal door that drops water through the cargo hook well with minimal modifications to the aircraft. Simplex says that this system allows for a powerful ‘gravity-fed drop’. The system, along with the company’s 1,000-gallon model, uses a 1,000 gallons-per-minute hover refill system that can be mounted on either side of an aircraft, and comes with dual refill ports. The entire system can be installed or removed from the aircraft cabin in less than 15 minutes, Simplex claims.