Vancouver Island company retrofits Boeing 737 into firefighting plane
A well-known aviation company in Port Alberni, B.C., has reached a new height and hosted a celebration on Monday to mark the event.
Coulson Aviation completed the conversion of its third Boeing 737 aircraft into a flying tanker to fight fires, and invited family members of employees who worked on the aircraft to celebrate the achievement.
"Well it's great. Nobody really sees what we do here so when they open the doors like this and have a little barbecue everybody gets to come in and enjoy what we work so hard for," said Danny Stringer, a program manager for Coulson Aviation.
The retrofitted Boeing 737 plane is shown. (CTV News)
Stringer's family attended a family barbecue at the company's Alberni airport location along with many others.
The company purchased six 737's from Southwest Airlines and is converting them all into tankers for fighting fires in international locations.
"It's a very unique airplane," said company co-president Britt Coulson. "This is only the third 737 large air tanker in the world."
"We have two more in behind it ready to be modified and everyone has a lot of pride in the work that they do here, so it's pretty cool to have that family mentality and ownership that they had a piece to manufacture and build," he said.
Family members tour the recently retrofitted Boeing 737 plane. (CTV News)
DESTINED FOR U.S. AND AUSTRALIA
The aircraft will fly to Idaho on Tuesday to get its aviation inspection before being put to work in the U.S.
"It's going to be carded in Idaho and then it will go to work for the United States Forest Service and then this aircraft will run the Lower 48, so wherever there's fires and it's needed it'll go to work" said president and CEO, Wayne Coulson.
Coulson says the aircraft will be used in the U.S. until the end of November before being sent to Australia on a multi-year contract.
Roughly 40,000 hours went into the conversion, plus between 5,000 to 8,000 hours for the tank manufacturing.
Britt Coulson says another aircraft should arrive in Port Alberni within the next two weeks to undergo the same conversion.
"We do very unique programs here where you take something, like an ex-Southwest Airlines 737 [and] fully convert it to something that is unique in the world," he said.
"To be able to see that from conception through manufacture, through installation, through completion, is a pretty unique opportunity and to have all the family members and everyone come out and spend a couple of hours with it is pretty cool," said Coulson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.