MESA, Ariz. — A 1988 DC-10 with an orange, blue and white paint job is sitting now at the Mesa Gateway Airtanker Base.
"At one time had 330 passengers in all coach configuration, eight flight attendants, three crew, two pilots and a flight engineer," RK Smithley, captain for 10 Tanker Air Carrier, said. "Now it fights fires."
10 Tanker's 912 is on the ground in Mesa standing by and is one of four in 10 Tanker's fleet. Smithley said it'll be hard at work all fire season.
"That's the job is to back up the ground firefighters to do what they ask us to do," Smithley said.
Once the crew gets called to the fire, it's 9,400 gallons of retardant that will be loaded into the plane's tanks in about 20 minutes.
Earlier this week the 912 was dropping on the Flying Bucket Fire, splitting the load into two drops.
The drops are coordinated with the help of a flight engineer and a lead plane the crew follows in.
Then the plane will fly as close as 250 feet to the ground at 175 mph.
"The most important thing is it's not dangerous to see a 390,000 pound airplane at 250 feet. That's the job, and we're out there to help protect them," Smithley said.
When the retardant is released it can be 85,000 pounds of weight off the plane in as little as five seconds leaving, which is a challenge for Smithley to maintain altitude for the drop.
"My job as captain is to start and end at the same altitude, so you have a good, consistent line, and with the retardant the whole way across the drop," Smithley said.
Inside 912 is a "Wall of Fame," bearing stickers of who's been on the plane, including crews across the country and around the world.
The crew is currently waiting at Mesa Gateway Airtanker Base to be ready for the call that could take them wherever the Forest Service calls for them to help.
Still, Smithley's message is for people to be smart surrounding fire.
"It's very boring to sit at a tanker base all day and do nothing — those are probably the best days, because nothing's burning," Smithley said.
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