Turkish Aviation Institute ( Türk Havacılık Kurumu/KHK) has nine Canadair CL-215 (Scooper) firefighter aircraft in the inventory. It is known that the fleet did not get the maintenance required due to budget cuts and can not fly.
TurDef learned that the fleet consists of second-hand aircraft. The age of aircraft vary. The oldest aircraft was manufactured in 1969 and the youngest in 1989. TurDef makes this remark to provide accurate information about ongoing discussions on social media. TurDef also reminds readers that in aviation, aircraft goes maintenance and overhaul according to flight hours.
The Canadair CL-215 is the first model in a series of flying boat amphibious aircraft designed and built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer Canadair, and later produced by Bombardier.
The CL-215 is a twin-engine, high-wing aircraft, that was designed during the 1960s. It was publicly revealed at the 1965 Paris Air Show. The aircraft isdeveloped to perform aerial firefighting operations as a water bomber. It can fly at relatively low speeds and in high gust-loading environments to extinguish forest fires.
The production of the CL-215 is terminated in 1990 to introduce an improved variant of the aircraft, the CL-415. The manufacture of the new variant commenced in 1993.
