jackd
Senior Member
That is a Lockheed L-188 Electra the civilian version of the P3 Orion I believe.
The old Douglas DC-6's are no longer around for fire fighting duties. It's getting harder and harder to get Avgas and I imagine that the parts supply for radial engines is getting kind of tight too. I know that most present day mechanics would dread to work on those things - I've done it and gas turbines are a much easier gig. The Mars is one of the last of the breed and even Coulson has now got a C-130 Hercules operating for them down in the States, from what I hear. The only down side to the gas turbines is that they're kind of thirsty at lower altitude - especially the older ones like the Electra and Convairs. The Cl-415 with newer P & W 123's on it might be cheaper to operate but they probably cost big bucks to buy.