Page 24 - 2022-02 Courier

WHATS UP?

Photographed at McClellan Airfield last summer and com-
monly referred to as a “Super Scooper”, the CL-215 and
later CL-415 are designed to scoop water from a lake or
large river ‘on the fly’, without having to completely settle
on the water. Designed and built by in Canada by Canadair,
the first flight occurred in 1967. Canadair was acquired by
Bombardier in the 1980’s and production of the CL-415
continued until 2015. In 2018 Bombardier sold their design
documents, and intellectual property rights, to the CL-215
and CL-415 to Viking Air. Viking has not built any new
aircraft as of this date but continue a program of major up-
grades on existing airframes. According to the FAA
(Federal Aviation Administration), the aircraft in the photo
is a 1985 Canadair CL-215T. The owner of the aircraft,
Bridger Aerospace, refers to it as a Viking CL-415EAF
(Enhanced Aerial Firefighter). So it appears this is a Cana-
dair CL-215, upgraded by others to CL-215T (turbo power -
the original had piston engines), and eventually further up-
graded in 2020 by Viking to CL-415EAF.
Photo and research
by John Vogel

February 2022 Page 24