Conair Aerial Firefighting Dash-8-Q400MR C-FFQE Departs Bundaberg Airport at the Conclusion of Qld Bushfire Season - Heads to Victoria for Theirs!

On Monday 29 November, the resident Canadian-based Conair Aerial Firefighting Dash-8-Q400MR C-FFQE departed Bundaberg Airport for good following its second deployment to Queensland where it was contracted to be the State's own heavy water bomber for the recently completed bushfire season.

File photo

It looked to fly down as "Bomber 141" to Melbourne (Avalon) Airport in Victoria.  It is to be reportedly based at Avalon Airport now for the Victorian bushfire season which coincides with the Queensland wet season.

The Dash-8-Q402MR, C-FFQE (msn 4325), arrived into Bundaberg Airport in late August after flying all the way from its Abbotsford base in Canada via stops in Honolulu, Guam and Cairns where it cleared customs. The Dash-8 was originally built in 2011 and was acquired by Conair early in 2020 and converted to a fire bomber. Its maximum tank capacity is around 10,000 litres (2,642 US gallons).

As "Bomber 141", C-FFQE completed a couple of water bombing flights from Bundaberg Airport to fight fires in the Shoalwater Bay area and the Carnarvon National Park.

UPDATE!  During December, C-FFQE was unveiled at Avalon Airport with new Victorian Government decals and a change of radio callsign to now "Bomber 390".

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Photo taken by Dan B  ©