Cool video of Aero Union P-3 Air Tankers in action

[Larry Kraus]

A friend sent me a link to this video yesterday.It mixes new scenes of P-3's,including Brent Conner starting engines and a fair amount of interior shots with older action shots.A lot of the action sequences are from unused footage shot for a National Geographic Explorer special that ran about 15 years ago.I can tell that by the shots looking back at the retardant tank as the doors open.They show the old Aero Union 8 door tank like the one that we have on the DC-7 rather than the newer constant flow computerized tank now on the P-3's that uses a single door.However,this is excellent photography that is very well edited.

I worked on the fire where the National Geographic shots were taken.They used a Cessna Caravan with the door removed and flew formation with us on the drop runs.They also flew formation for the landing shot at Fox Field (Lancaster,California) at the end.They got a shot of me landing in Tanker 62 that I'd love to have as I managed to make a squeeker landing right on the numbers just like the P-3 at the end of this video.You can also see Bill Waldman cranking in hand fulls of elevator trim while maneuvering for a drop in a cockpit shot around the middle of the video.The flight controls on these big airplanes get very heavy when you slow the airplane down and start maneuvering.If the shot had lasted a few more seconds,you would see him trimming back nose down as he returned to relatively straight and level flight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv6aYGGb ... div-r-7-HM

[K5DH]

Neat video! Thanks for pointing it out, Larry.

Near the end, in one of the ramp shots, you can see the nose of one of the former Privateer tankers beneath the nose of AU's T-22.

[sledge39]

.
...good stuff Larry...thanks

Sledge

[flyboyj]

As an old VP sailor, well (sniff, clears lump in throat), It's great to see the old girls still fightin....

BUT I HATE THE COLORS!

[Jack Cook]

An AU P-3 painted white/orange flew over the house a couple days ago headed south.
Made me wonder if they needed a starboard aft observer but my quals are probably out of date
by 20-25 years

[flyboyj]

An AU P-3 painted white/orange flew over the house a couple days ago headed south.
Made me wonder if they needed a starboard aft observer but my quals are probably out of date
by 20-25 years

Ya never know!

[Jack Cook]

I'd just do what I always did, just stare out the blister or nap!
Or go sit in the FE's seat so he could nap!

[Ztex]

Cool Video...thanks for the link.

Looks like a lot of hard work in the cockpit...dang

My hat's off to you tanker guys!

[CAPFlyer]

Neat video Larry, thanks for finding it.

From that, I found this one -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGF7-Ty ... xt_from=QL

Watch the Mars run at 3:00....