Some Photos and Video from the Official Unveiling of the Conair Dash-8-Q400MR C-FFQE "Bomber 141" at Bundaberg Airport

On Wednesday 16 September, the 'resident' Canadian-based Conair Aerial Firefighting Dash-8-Q400MR C-FFQE was officially unveiled as Queensland's own heavy water bomber for the upcoming bushfire season, meaning the state will no longer have to borrow aircraft from other states to fight dangerous bushfires.

The Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed the 10,000-litre capacity Large Air Tanker (LAT) would be leased to Queensland from Canada on a five-year agreement.

The Dash-8 will be based at Bundaberg Airport and take up the radio callsign of "Bomber 141".  It has a 670km/h travel time meaning the bomber can quickly reach other parts of the state if needed, potentially saving lives and communities all over Queensland.  It is able to fly the 300-kilometre direct journey from Bundaberg to Brisbane in 30 minutes at top speed.

C-FFQE "Bomber 141" will operate at Bundaberg Airport with Agair Logistics P/L Rockwell Turbo Commander 690B VH-LVG "Birddog 273".

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) will spend an additional $40,000 equipping Bundaberg Airport with water and electrical infrastructure that is essential for the filling of the LAT with water or retardant in addition to large mixing tanks for the retardant to be mixed in and office space for the crews to utilize.

Finally, as mentioned below, the Queensland Premier and Treasurer - who were both at Bundaberg - flew out of Bundaberg Airport also on Wednesday 16 September on board the Queensland Government Airwing (State of Queensland) Raytheon Hawker 850XP bizjet VH-SGY.

It had arrived from Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport on Tuesday 15 September - as posted below.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Peter S for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos!

All photos taken by Peter Sajko  ©