Coulson Aviation Canada has acquired 10 former Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CC-130H Hercules aircraft from the Government of Canada, doubling the company’s global C-130H fleet to 20 aircraft.
The aircraft will be incorporated into Coulson’s existing C-130H airtanker programme, with engineering, modification, maintenance and operational activities led by its teams in British Columbia.
The former RCAF Hercules aircraft have previously supported a range of missions, including tactical airlift, search and rescue, Arctic operations, disaster response, humanitarian missions and international deployments.
Coulson plans to modify the aircraft for aerial firefighting operations as demand for large airtankers increases amid longer and more severe wildfire seasons in Canada.
The company’s C-130H airtankers are equipped with its RADS-XXL retardant delivery system, which can carry and release up to 4,000 U.S. gallons (more than 15,000 litres) of water or fire retardant. The system allows crews to control the volume and coverage of each drop.
Coulson Aviation Canada will handle engineering, certification, aircraft modification, maintenance, training and flight operations for the C-130 airtanker programme.
The acquisition is also expected to support additional engineering, manufacturing, maintenance, flight operations and technical training work in Canada.
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The announcement was made at Cascade Aerospace in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where several of the former RCAF aircraft are currently located.
Coulson also brought one of its operational C-130H airtankers, Tanker 131, to Abbotsford for a demonstration at the Abbotsford International Airshow. The aircraft is scheduled to conduct a demonstration drop using the 4,000-gallon RADS-XXL system.
