New water bombing aircraft tested

TWO Canadian water bombers are being tested in a $4 million Australian-first trial to determine the aircraft’s suitability for Victorian firefighting. The Convair CV580 firefighting aircraft are on a 12-week lease to test drop 8000-litre loads of water and retardant.
With a flight speed of about 500 kilometres per hour, the aircraft can access any part of the state from its base at Avalon in well under an hour.