The 50th Bombardier 415 to be assembled at the Canadian airframer’s North Bay, Ontario, facility, was sold and delivered to a U.S. partnership on Sunday. The iconic firefighting amphibian known as the Superscooper will be used under contract to the U.S. Forest Service starting next month. Based on the list price, the sale — to a partnership led by Tenax Aerospace — is valued at $34.5 million.
The 415 is a world-renowned firefighter and adapts to the roughest terrain and the only aircraft specifically built as an aerial firefighting airplane. Equipped with a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprops, the plane is able to land on unpaved runways, lakes, rivers and seas, enabling both rapid initial attacks to extinguish fires and sustained attacks to contain fires.
“Today, we are celebrating two milestones: the 50th Bombardier 415 aircraft assembled in North Bay, Ontario, as well as the first U.S. Bombardier 415 aircraft sale and delivery,” said Michel Bourgeois, president of Bombardier’s Specialized and Amphibious Aircraft unit. “I want to congratulate the employees for this achievement and to welcome the Tenax team to the amphibious aircraft family. This is yet another testament to the true value of the expertise of our employees and of our superscooper aircraft that remains the top aerial firefighting choice around the world.”
While the milestone 50th 415 is the first to be sold to a U.S. customer, a total of five state and privately owned CL-215, the piston-powered predecessor to the 415 originally built by Canadair, are operated in the U.S.
Since the first 415 was delivered in 1994, a total of 85 415 and four 415 MP aircraft have been delivered to governments and firefighting agencies around the world. In addition, 80 CL-215 and CL-215T amphibious piston aircraft, remain in service worldwide.
From a Bombardier news release
