Results of the Be-12P and Be-12P-200 amphibious aircraft use for forest fire fighting.

Dear Sirs!

The BERIEV Aircraft Company traditionally continues work on amphibious aircraft:

- The Be-12P and Be-12p-200, reequipped at BERIEV Aircraft Company, continue work on forest fire fighting.

- Since 1993 the Be-12 amphibious aircraft, reequipped into the Be-12P aircraft for forest fire fighting at BERIEV Aircraft Company, being under operational testing, are used for forest fire fighting in Irkutsk region and in other regions of Russia.

The construction of a special fire fighting system is practiced on the Be-12P aircraft, as well as methods of forest fire fighting with one or several aircraft at different relieves, density and structure of forest tracts. A number of reservoirs are mastered for water dropping interaction with "Avialesokhrana" services and land-based facilities to extinguish different fires. This kind of work is conducted in the interest of the amphibious aircraft of a new generation - the Be-200 and others.

Within the operation, the Be-12P aircraft worked on fire fighting at Irkutsk, Rostov regions, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Khabarovsk Territories, the Republic of Sokha (Yakuty), in Sakhalin and Chukchi, as well as in Crimea and in the district of Yalta.

Dropping of water for fire fighting mission was performed from lakes Baikal and Krasnoye (Chukchi), rivers Lena, Amour, Vitim, Zeya, Don, reservoirs Bratskoye, Ust-Ilimskoye, Irkutskoye, Tsimlianskoye, Krasnodarskoye, and from the areas of water of the Black Sea and the Okhotsk Sea.

In 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 two Be-12P aircraft were at fire fighting. In 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000 - three aircraft.

Withing 7 years the Be-12P aircraft extinguished completely more than 140 forest fires and localized more than 350 ones. In the whole 2798 of water dropping on fire with total balk 17 188 tons was performed. The record productivity, reached by the Be-12P, is 132 tons of water dropped on the fire for the single flight from the base airdrome. In 1997 aircraft performed 242 water droppings with total balk 1452 tons for two months and a half.

The experimental operation of modified the Be-12 amphibians showed unique capacities of amphibious aviation, allowed to accumulate an important experience of its practical application, revealed constructive merits and demerits of aircraft, let work through pilot's training programs.

On May 22, 2001 when fire risk season begins two Be-12P amphibious aircraft flew from Taganrog to Irkutsk. (the captains of the aircraft are Poltavets and Okhotnikov). Up to day both amphibians take part in forest fire fighting.

Before operation of the aircraft of new generation the Be-200, BERIEV Aircraft Company is planning to continue work on using of modified the Be-12P. We are ready to put at your disposal the aircraft for forest fire fighting on request both of any region of Russia and any country of the world.