Tanker 62 basking in the sunshine at Madras Municipal Airport. There are only five Douglas DC-7s currently on the FAA register. Three of them are with Erickson Aero Tanker here in Madras, Oregon. This is N401US, a DC-7B originally delivered in 1954 to United Airlines. Erickson's other DC-7s are also DC-7Bs. Of the other DC-7s still on the FAA register, there is the DC-7B at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta and a DC-7C in storage in Phoenix Goodyear in Arizona that hasn't flown since 1976 or so. From what I can tell, Tanker 62 (this aircraft) was active in during the southern Oregon wildfires in 2019, but sat out the 2020 fire season. I was under the impression that the 2019 fire season was its last. Interestingly the DC-7 has the same retardant capacity as the newer and more capable MD-87s used by Erickson Aero Tanker- about 3000 gallons. #avgeek #aviation #airlines #aircraft #planeporn #KMDJ #MDJ #S33 #Madras #Oregon #airport #planespotting #Douglas #DC7 #EricksonAeroTanker #Tanker62 #N401US ⠀ #instagramaviation #splendid_transport #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight⠀ #AvGeeksAero #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeekNation (at Madras Municipal Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLNXDF8Bv6x/?igshid=1bol38kf06ve8
