The certificates of registration of both of Minden Air‘s BAe 146s expired at the end of April. N446MA/Tanker 146 (msn E2111) was converted to the company’s ‘Fireliner’ air tanker configuration in 2014, but failed its Interagency Transportation Board drop tests. The company then ran out of resources to modify it […]
Minden Air Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. The company has invested considerable resources in the development of a BAe air tanker to replace its Lockheed P-2 Neptunes in the last five years. However, its first conversion, N446MA/Tanker 146 (msn E2111), failed its drop tests in June […]
Minden Air began drop tests with its ‘Fireliner’ BAe 146 air tanker conversion on 18 June. As called for by the Interagency Air Tanker Board, BAe 146-200 N446MA/Tanker 46 (msn E2111) has been dropping retardant over a field of thousands of plastic cups. The amount of retardant in each cup […]
After an employee vote, Minden Air has named its air tanker conversion of the BAe 146 the ‘Fireliner’. The name was proposed by Minden Air Captain Lowell Slatter, and then chosen from among five other candidates. Recent news items on Minden Air:
Minden Air‘s BAe 146 air tanker conversion made her first flight on 9 June. Series 200 N446MA/Tanker 46 (msn E2111) took to the air from the company’s base at Minden-Tahoe airport, Nevada. The first test flight lasted two hours. The conversion, which must be certificated by both the FAA and […]
The US Forest Service awarded its long-awaited ‘Next Generation’ air tanker contracts, worth USD158 million, on 6 May. The contracts had been initially awarded in August 2012, but then rescinded after the General Accountability Office (GAO) upheld protests from some of the un-successful bidders. The new recipients include Minden Air, […]
A protest threatens to derail the contracts for new air tankers issued by the US Forest Service (USFS) in mid-June. The new contracts covered two more 146 tankers from Neptune Aviation, to be brought on-line in 2012, two from Minden Air, one to begin in 2012 and one in 2013, […]
Just two weeks after giving Neptune Aviation a contract for its first BAe 146-200 air tanker, the US Forest Service (USFS) has issued contracts covering several more BAe 146 and Avro RJ tankers. Neptune Aviation received contracts for an additional two 146 tankers, while Minden Air received a contract for […]
A second BAe 146 air tanker is soon to take to the skies. Minden Air is expected to roll out its BAe 146 air tanker during January, and then begin testing it, first by running water through the system while on the ground, and then in flight. Minden Air acquired […]
The fuselage of former Air Wisconsin BAe 146-200 N607AW (msn E2052) will be used to test the air tanker system that will eventually be fitted to E2111 by Minden Air. E2052 had been broken up at Summerside by lessor Tronos in late 2006. The fuselage had then been used in […]
