Canadair CL-215
The Canadair CL-215 is an amphibious flying boat built specifically for aerial firefighting, able to skim across a lake or reservoir and scoop up thousands of litres of water in seconds without landing. Its boat-shaped hull lets it operate from water as easily as a runway, refilling its tanks on a lake close to a wildfire rather than returning to an airport between drops. Radial piston engines, unusual on a modern firefighting aircraft, gave it rugged simplicity valued by the government agencies that operate it. Its turboprop-powered successor, the CL-415, later took over most new production.
Did you know?
The Canadair CL-215 is an amphibious flying boat that skims across a lake to scoop up thousands of litres for firefighting.
Specifications
| Length | 19.8 m (65 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 28.6 m (94 ft) |
| Height | 8.9 m (29 ft) |
| Persons on board | 17 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 19.7 t |
| Range | 1,120 NM (2,074 km) |
| Maximum speed | 180 kt (333 km/h) |
| Stall speed | 66 kt (122 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 14,900 ft (4,542 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 810 m (2,657 ft) |
| Landing distance | 730 m (2,395 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 5,900 l |
| Engines | 2x Pratt & Whitney R-2800 (radial) |
| Units built | 125 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Canadair CL-215 starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Canadair, the CL-215 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
Browse all aircraft types, or learn to tell Airbus from Boeing.