Aerial firefighter has to be one of the coolest jobs out there, right? You swoop over the countryside dumping huge volumes of water on pristine landscapes to try and save them from encroaching flames. Now, one of North America’s most iconic aerial firefighters is preparing to fly once again as the enormous WWII flying boat will soon take its final flight.
The plane in question is the Hawaii Mars, which has been operated by firefighting company Coulson Aviation in Canada since 2007. The seaplane is a massive Martin JRM Mars aircraft, which was designed during the Second World War for the U.S. Navy and is second only to the mammoth Spruce Goose, which was the largest seaplane and largest wooden aircraft in history.
The Hawaii Mars is one of just two remaining examples of the Martin JRM Mars aircraft and between 2007 and 2015 the pair served on Coulson Aviation’s fleet fighting forest fires north of the border. Before that, it flew cargo between Hawaii and California, served in the Korean War and operated as a cargo plane for the U.S. Navy during WW2.
However, due to its increasing age the plane was retired from service by Coulson Aviation in 2015 and earlier this year it was announced that Hawaii Mars was being donated to a museum. Now, after more than eight years out of service the seaplane is preparing to fly once again as it begins a trip from its base in Vancouver Island to a museum in Victoria, BC.
“Our Mars maintenance and flight crews have been working diligently to prepare the aircraft for its final flight,” said Coulson Aviation president and COO, Britt Coulson in a statement earlier this year.
Workers at the firefighting company are now completing their checks of the plane, which includes a thorough set of maintenance works, inspections and government approvals that must be passed before it can take off once again. When it does, the vintage seaplane will fly from Sproat Lake in Port Alberni to Patricia Bay, which is directly beside the Victoria Airport. Then, it will be displayed at a local museum for all to see.
The Hawaii Mars isn’t the only vintage flying boat that’s set to take up residence in a museum. It will soon be followed by sister ship the Philippine Mars, which will head to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
The two seaplanes were some of the largest firefighting aircraft in service until they retired almost 10 years ago. Now, they have been replaced by mammoth firefighting 737s and even a 757 equipped for water drops.
