Engineers develop new water-scooping system for firefighting planes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Engineers in St. Paul are working to make aerial firefighting safer for pilots.

They have developed a new way to carry water called Heatwave, an improved scooping float system that allows water to come through a tube so it can get stored in a tank.

Engineers said the redesigned system is more manageable and gives pilots the ability to handle the water better.

“Every pilot who’s flown airplanes always has a story of how they got somewhere they didn’t want to be and they just barely got out of it and they never want to put themselves there again,” said Dan Garrett, president of Momentum Aeronautics.

The new device scoops water faster than previous systems.

Click here to download the Northern News Now app or our Northern News Now First Alert weather app.