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Fifty to be hired locally for work on waterbombers

Confirmed orders for three modernized SuperScooper waterbombers at $30 million each are creating 50 new skilled trades jobs in North Saanich and 150 jobs in Calgary.
Viking CL-415EAF
Orders for three Viking CL-415EAF SuperScooper Waterbombers are creating 50 jobs in North Saanich and 150 in Calgary.

Confirmed orders for three modernized SuperScooper waterbombers at $30 million each are creating 50 new skilled trades jobs in North Saanich and 150 jobs in Calgary.

Bridger Aerospace Group of Bozeman, Montana, signed a contract last month to buy three Viking CL-415EAF enhanced aerial firefighter aircraft, said David Curtis, chairman of Longview Aviation Capital and president and chief executive officer of its related company, Viking Air Ltd.

The first two SuperScoopers will be delivered to Bridger in 2020, in time for that year’s firefighting season. A third plane will be delivered in 2021, Curtis said Thursday. Bridger has the option of buying two more.

Tim Sheehy, Bridger founder and president, said: “Bridger has continually positioned itself on the forefront of next-generation aerial firefighting techniques, and this is yet another step in that direction.”

The waterbomber, a revamping of an existing plane, is known for its short scooping distance at a water source.

This is the latest innovation from Viking, a Greater Victoria manufacturing success story.

The company revived the famed Twin Otter plane, which excels in rugged terrain, to sell it to customers around the world, turning one out every month.

Viking’s manufacturing facility in North Saanich now has 400 workers. Another 50 are being hired to turn out conversion kits for the waterbombers, which will be put together in Calgary.

Skilled workers and those wanting to apprentice are wanted, Curtis said.

The 150 workers being hired at the Calgary manufacturing centre will join the 100 there now.

A “significant portion” of the “very complex conversion” work will take place in North Saanich, Curtis said.

The waterbombers will receive a Canadian-manufactured turbo-prop engine (a jet engine with a propeller).

Viking will manufacture all of the engine mounting and more for the kit, he said. “There are significant changes to the aircraft flight controls and structure, and the parts and components are all done in Victoria.”

The conversion kits will translate into five years of work in Victoria, Curtis said.

A total of 11 CL-215 aerial firefighter aircraft are standing by for conversion. Built in the 1980s, “they are quite young from a mileage point of view,” Curtis said. Two are in North Saanich and the others in Calgary.

A business case is underway to see whether there is demand for new waterbombers. If new aircraft are produced, they would probably sell in the $40-million range, higher than the conversion aircraft at about $30 million, Curtis said.

“We haven’t landed on a price yet, but that is notionally where it is going to be. So these [converted] aircraft, even though the price seems high, it is good value against what a new one is.”

These sales are “obviously confirmation that the airplane is the premier aerial fighting airplane in the world,” Curtis said.

“If you see all the forest fires that are already happening, this just validates our whole business case that it is an important aircraft in the world of firefighting. We are just really proud that [Bridger] chose us and they chose that airplane.” There are a few other customers in the late stages of negotiation, Curtis said. “We are fairly confident that more of the airplanes will be sold.”

cjwilson@timescolonist.com