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                 Gilbert Lodge Blog
         The life and times of Mark and Paula Persons
Saturday, June 14, 2014:  Smokey Bear's 70th birthday.  He doesn't look a day over 30 although he is a bit overweight.
He greeted onlookers by saying, "Only you can prevent wildfires."
A celebration event was held at the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport.  Here he is getting off a water bomber.  See below.
 
It is a Canadair CL-215.  Specifically designed and constructed for fighting forest fires, this plane scoops up water from lakes and drops it on fires. 
Carrying capacity is 1560 gallons of water to which chemicals are sometimes added to increase the water's ability to snuff out flames.
With two 2100 horse engines, this aircraft flies at 170 miles per hour.  You will sometimes see it overhead doing its work on fires.
 
Here is one of the pilots.  He is a man dedicated to the task for putting out forest fires.
 There is a lot to know when flying this marvel of engineering. 
 
Airport Manager Jeff Wig proudly showed off this truck, which is used for combating aircraft fires on the ground.
There is a high-pressure nozzle in the front that is operated from inside the vehicle.  Good idea.   
 
A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fire truck.
Gosh...these things are big!
 
Mark was interested in this scale model of a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.  Variations were known as the Tomahawk and the Kittyhawk.
He is seen here wearing an army green American Wings Air Museum shirt. 
This type of aircraft, with the shark-mouth paint scheme, was made famous by the Flying Tigers in China during World War II.
Mark recently read and liked God is My Co-Pilot by Robert Lee Scott Jr.  That book is about the Flying Tigers and was turned into a movie in 1945.
He has now started reading Whitey, From Farm Kid to Flying Tiger to Attorney by Wayne G. Johnson.
 
Captain Ron Finger from the Civil Air Patrol was there demonstrating communications equipment. 
He is a licensed amateur radio operator with the call sign K0GOP.
Nicely done communications center, ready for almost any emergency.
 
Quote of the day:  You don't know what is out there unless you look.   Mark    < Back to previous story Ahead to next story >

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page last edited 06/15/2014