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Technology update
Aerial fire fighting

SEI Industries, manufacturers of aerial fire-fighting buckets, revealed its latest Bambi Bucket at the Helitech 99 exhibition in the UK. It has multiple-drop and/or variable-flow-rate capability using a Torrentula dump valve. Flow rate is infinitely variable from 0-100%.

The Bambi Bucket also has a new actuator mechanism positioned in the waterproof control head rather than inside the bucket. The bucket folds for compact storage on board a helicopter, a capability that SEI believes is the first of its kind. In 1986, SEI Industries founder, Dan Arney, won Canada's Ernest C. Manning Award for design innovation with the invention of the Bambi Bucket helicopter fire-fighting system. Bambi Bucket capacity ranges from 2400-9840 L. SEI's product range also includes Sacksafoam fire-fighting foam-injection systems for the Bambi Bucket. The foam reservoir of the Sacksafoam I is installed directly in the Bambi Bucket. The reservoir uses collapsible reinforced fabric and has a built-in injector pump. It is operated by the pilot via a control unit that houses a power switch, foam dispense timer, and dispense switch, plus current- and total-drop counters. The Sacksafoam II is a self-contained foam-injection system mounted on board the helicopter.

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