[EGPWS]

The point here is that a history of negligence, poor planning, and buckling under the pressure of radical environmentalist demands has created this unacceptable situation, where we are now even more under-served than before.

Well said, and I agree whole heartedly.

However, the use of unsafe, or not proved safe aircraft is not a precedence that is conducive to alleviating the issues at hand, in all reality it would just perpetuate this sorry scenario.

I apologize if I have veered from the focus of the thread for if I have it has been unintentional.

[Stoat]

No apologies necessary :-) The resistance to even testing the Ilyushin waterbombers here in the US appears to be entirely political, as they are well-proven in many other countries. The IL-76 is not a new aircraft design by any means, and has been used as a waterbomber for decades. The U.S. Forest service, when pressed on this issue in times past, has claimed that the mountainous regions of many wildland areas in the US would be unsuitable for the planes but that's simply not true. They have been used extensively in mountainous regions in Russia and Greece. The USFS is blocking the use of these aircraft based upon reasons that they're not stating, because their stated reasons are obviously and demonstrably invalid. While the USFS plays politics, people's homes burn and lives are lost...there's simply no excuse for this profound negligence that they are perpetrating.

[hchutch]

Agreed. Problem is, getting new planes costs money.

And Congress seems to think there are more important things to spend money on.

Penny-wise, and pound foolish.