Two Air Tractor AT-802AF air tankers were sold in August to the Republic of Croatia Defense Ministry by Air Tractor Europe, Valencia Spain. The two aircraft were delivered to Zadar-Zemunik Airbase on the western coast of Croatia. The sale follows on the heels of a delivery in March of three AT-802AF aircraft to the Republic of Croatia for the 2008 summer firefighting season.

As with the sale to Croatia in March, the latest AT-802AF aircraft purchase contract included training for pilots, mechanics and engineers provided by Air Tractor Europe. Delivery of Air Tractor AT-802AF #296 occurred August 1. AT-802AF “Fire Boss” #290 was delivered August 8.

The Air Tractor AT-802AF single engine air tanker carries an 800-gallon payload of water, foam or fire retardant and is used extensively around the world for initial attack fire suppression, as well as for heavy tanker and ground crew support. The rugged construction of the turbo-prop AT-802AF allows it to be staged near wildfires and to take off and land from unpaved landing strips. Its fast ferrying speed and multi-drop capability in a single load make it a versatile and effective air tanker suitable for a range of fire suppression and support missions.

According to Croatia’s Minister of Defense Branko Vukelic, the two Air Tractor aircraft were deployed in early September and joined the fleet of three other Air Tractor “Fire Boss” single engine air tankers already being used for patrol flights, training and firefighting sorties along the Croatian Adriatic coastline.

Hugo Arceo, of Air Tractor Europe, has worked closely with the Croatian Air Force firefighting task force since the aircraft arrived in Croatia. He says that during the fire fighting season, the number of drops per hour with the AT-802AF has been the highest he has seen, with a rate of drops of about 2-3 minutes per drop. This translates into between 20 and 30 drops per hour of flight, with a total number of around 20,000 gallons delivered per hour of flight. According to Arceo, this has been the most gruelling test of the amphibious 802s that he has witnessed.

Says Arceo, “Even though the AT-802AF is not new to the Croatian Air Force, the amphibious “Fire Boss” model is new for them.” And because of the planes’ reliability, almost no AOGs have occurred.” Arceo adds, “The reliability of the plane, together with our training for the Croatian Air Force mechanics and the presence of our own mechanic at the fire base resulted in having the planes in flight a huge percentage of the time.”

Each AT-802AF has seen more than 200 hours of flight time since their delivery, says Arceo. “The Croatian pilots, mechanics and Ministry of Defense are really happy with these planes because of their high efficiency and easiness for maintenance.”

Vicente Huerta, Jr., President of Air Tractor Europe reports Defense Minister Vukelic also expressed interest in purchasing a dual cockpit AT-802F in time for the 2009 firefighting season. “Our delivery and service for the first three aircraft made the sale of these two additional aircraft much easier,” noted Huerta. “This time, we were able to deliver #296 earlier than expected and our training staff, tech support, ferry man and the entire sales support team did a perfect job.”

During the signing of the second sales contract, Minister of Defense Branko Vukelic commented that “never before was response so fast as that from Air Tractor Europe on delivery of the new aircraft.” Vukelic said that the exceptional delivery support of the three AT-802AF delivered in July prompted him to reallocate funds earmarked for leasing Canadair CL 415 water bombers to the purchase the two new AT-802AF air tankers.

During an August 12th tour of the Croatian Air Force firefighting task force at Zemunik Airbase, Minister of Defense Vukelic expressed his satisfaction with the firefighting efforts during the 2008 summer wildfire season. “Today we have two new Air Tractors joining the squadron, of which their acquisition was agreed only fifteen days ago. This is a major accomplishment and demonstrates how much progress we have achieved since 2007. During this year’s fire season, some 20 aircraft were used for wildfire suppression missions with exceptional effectiveness. We are now well-equipped to respond to wildfires. In 2009 two additional aircraft will join the fleet, bringing the total number of aircraft dedicated to aerial fire suppression to 22.”

At the same event, Operational Fire-Fighting Command Brigadier General Zvonko Peternel also reported that since the beginning of the 2008 firefighting season, Croatia’s aerial firefighting assets were deployed to 61 wildfires along the Adriatic coastline, flying 5,497 sorties. Pilots flew a combined 833 hours and dropped more than 23,000 tons of water and fire retardant.

At the end of the fire season, both AT-802AF aircraft are returning to Spain for installation of additional avionics, special equipment and amphibious floats for #296, according to Hugo Arceo. The aircraft will return to service in Croatia in time for the 2009 wildfire season.

Air Tractor Europe is based in Valencia, Spain and provides aircraft sales and rental, parts sales, technical and maintenance support for a wide range of aircraft. It is the authorized Air Tractor dealer for Spain, much of Europe, Israel and the North of Africa. To learn more about Air Tractor Europe, visit their website: www.airtractoreurope.com, or send e-mail inquiries to Hugo Arceo, h.arceo@airtractoreurope.com.