News
Issue No. 50 - December/ /
Aerotech ready for action
Aerotech is a new name in aerial firefighting in South Australia. Formerly Australian Maritime Resources, the firm was founded by aviation identity Bob McCabe 20 years ago to manage oil spills at sea. After discussions with the SA Government, Bob diversified into aerial firebombing. Aerotech is responsible for all fixed-wing aerial firefighting in SA.
Aerotech’s scope of work includes firebombing for the National Aerial Firefighting Centre as well as the
CFS in SA and NT firefighting authorities, and
managing oil spill control nationally for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
“We are fairly diversified in what we do,”
Aerotech MD Sam McCabe says. “While we continue
to explore opportunities for further diversification,
our primary focus is on consolidating what we have already achieved.
“We have grown substantially during the past five years so it is now about striking a balance between dealing with that growth in terms of our systems, our structure and how we operate and, of course, continuing that expansion.”
Aerotech’s fleet of Air Tractor 802 firebombers is the front line of bushfire defence. The AT-802 is the largest single-engined air tanker in the world and carries a massive 3100 litre load for a significant fuel endurance of five hours. It can drop about 37,000 litres per hour.
“Aerotech’s biggest challenge is to ensure we keep up with world standards in providing aerial fire bombing support and we are widely regarded as the leader in the field here in Australia,” Sam says. “As with other industries, the bar just keeps on rising.
“We also face a ‘perception vs reality’ challenge. There is a perception our aircraft are ‘only’ agricultural aeroplanes, used to help in the firefighting efforts.
“In reality they are specifically designed firebombing aircraft. They carry a lot of water, are fast and maneuverable, enabling our pilots to get ...
