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Trotter Controls News:
Air Tractor 802 Aerial Firefighting – FRDS GEN II Promo
04/28/2010
We’ve put together a brief promotional video of the FRDS Gen 2 system; it touches on many of the new features and added improvements over the old system. This promo video is part of a Gen 1 training video, set to be released soon. A Gen 2 training video will be released shortly after that.
Press Release – LCD Pilot Interface
03/29/2010
We have recently introduced an updated pilot interface for the FRDS Gen 2 system. It uses an LCD display instead of the VFD used in previous versions. The LCD provides a much larger display, is readable in direct sunlight or in total darkness and has much larger characters. The unit has a manual contrast knob so that the display can be optimized for the pilot’s viewing angle and ambient temperature conditions. The unit is FAA certified and is now shipping on all new AT-802s and retrofit systems.
You can see the press release in the latest issue of Ag Air Update.
The cover story for this months issue of Ag Air Update features Air Tractor’s new 1000 gallon capacity aircraft, the AT-1002F and of course its using the FRDS Gen 2 system.
The Gen II FRDS has remarkable diagnostic features that allow the pilot to quickly determine what has gone wrong if there is trouble. It also has several levels of
redundancy to assure the fire doors open and close when activated.
We believe that the AT-1002A will become the ‘world’s firefighting airplane,’ because no other purposebuilt firefighting airplane can carry a thousand gallons of retardant, drop it with computer-controlled consistency and accuracy, and offer this kind of operating cost efficiency.
Air Fire & Forestry has done a very nice write up on the FRDS Gen 2 system in this months issue. It touches on some of the history of FRDS and the benefits of constant flow gates over constant gate angle systems.
Studies comparing the delivery effectiveness of constant flow gates like the Gen II FRDS versus constant gate angle systems demonstrate a constant flow delivery is as much as 35% more efficient for a 2.0 coverage, and 46% more effective at 0.5 coverage levels. That translates into an extra available 280 to 368 gallons of retardant for a given ground line length and a savings of several drops with each sortie. This also means that longer ground lines can be produced with a given amount of available retardant. Those lines will have more consistent coverage density and are more effective at stopping the advance of the fire.
Air Tractor is featured by local Fox affiliate with a brief mention of fire fighting, take a look.
A small west Texas company has gained world-wide attention for building crop dusters that double as combat planes.
Air Tractor in Olney, Texas began building the 1600-horsepower single engine planes for the state department so that drug-busting pilots could fly them over narcotics fields in Columbia.
“These drug eradication airplanes were being fired upon by people that were in the business of harvesting narcotic crops,” said inventor Leland Snow.
But now even the Air Force is interested.
The combat crop dusters can fight back with three-barrel gatling guns and rocket pods on each wing. They can also carry 500 pound bombs or even be used to fight wildfires.
Since the start of production for the new FRDS Gen 2 systems Trotter Controls has shown up in a number of news articles. First in the agricultural newspaper, Ag Air Update, Marc Mullis reviews the new FRDS Gen 2 system.
Air Tractor and Trotter Controls have teamed up to deliver a fantastic product. The GENII is the only true, constant flow, fire-gate system available for Single Engine Air Tankers today.
Second, the Fort Worth Star Telegram does a nice write up on Air Tractor, which is followed up by a related article focusing on our involvement. We’ve got the articles in PDF form for your reading pleasure.
Spring 2009 – FRDS Gen2 units have undergone their final FAA certification tests and have passed with flying colors. Units are now being installed on new Air Tractor 802F aircraft and are shipping world wide.
This is an exciting step forward in aerial firefighting. Improved delivery accuracy, improved door speed and new advanced leakage compensation algorithms are among the second generation FRDS enhancements. The fire gate doors — which open and close with timing that’s measured in milliseconds — are even more responsive. Numerous reliability enhancements have been designed-in throughout the new Air Tractor FRDS system. The components of the system have been “hardened” to protect against the effects of vibration and humidity; the system also has improved waterproofing throughout. Microprocessor and electro-mechanical back-up systems have been added. A three valve redundant auto salvo system assures reliable door opening for accurate drops.
