Video: Russian Be-200 (Water Hog?) Is Extremely Versatile
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 04:51PM The Russian Beriev Be-200 built by Irkut is a pretty amazing and versatile flying machine. It's not everyday you run across an amphibious jet powered aircraft that can haul 72 passengers... ok actually, you pretty much never run across an amphibious jet powered aircraft that can carry 72 passengers. But in addition to being probably the most interesting ride you could have for taking off of the water and then cruising at 350 mph (with the option for landing on a runway), the Be-200 is also a fire-fighting beast. With the ability to scoop-load water at near takeoff speeds, it can rapidly deliver a tad over 26,000 pounds of water on a raging fire, and do it over and over.
The Be-200 made a trip to the US last year in search of some western customers. Since its initial introduction in 2003, only 9 have been built. At about $40 million each, they aren't cheap, but they offer up a range of flexibility that you rarely find at any price point. And with the two turbofan engines mounted a bit like an A-10 Warthog, I'd have to think this is the biggest, meanest Water Hog on the planet : )
Reader Comments (1)
Awesome! Those crazy Russians did it again.