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Super Scooper Purchasing adventure.

TPC

Wrenching Dad
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When Canadair (Now Bombardier) developed the super scooper, Sen Goldwater, tried to get congress to approve building them in the US.
The idea then was having airwings (fleets) of them stationed throughout the country.

France has that method and is very effective at fighting wildfires. Surrounding countries rent the fleets when they go up in flames.
The American helicopter industry lobbied Goldwaters idea outta existance.

The scoopers were averaging over 100 drops a day during this latest episode of southland fires.
They have their plusses, though 21 crews have been killed in action.

A few retired aerospace workers within the several homeowners associations around where we lived in Thousand Oaks thought perhaps the homeowners assns could buy a few on a lease-back basis to help defray the costs, so we looked into it.

My dad had bought a Cessna p210, and purchased it on a lease back kinda deal.
A lease-back deal is where the Cessna dealer would rent his plane out for dad when he didn't use it, and part of the rental fee would be applied toward his monthly payment.
Worked out good on a very popular, $140.000 plane.

Trouble was in our case, Canadiair ( Called that at the time) wanted $26 million for one of their Super Scooper planes.
No way we could get the numbers to jive to a point we could dance with them,,,
--So,, we gave the idea up.

But the company put on a good presentation for many Govt agencies, and we got to go and recieved keychains and callendars, drink cups, demo flites and a free dinner.

A County Supervisor who lived within our area, was on board with the idea too.

He was a unique polititian:
Every Saturday, he would set up a card table at the Thousand Oaks Mall, and anyone could discuss their issues with him.
It was a BFD with the voters.

But,,, he got hooked up one Friday nite after running around the outdoor premisis of the local Motel 6, nude, chasing some old hag.

It didn't help our cause at all.
 
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