Aero-Flite brings air operations to Spokane International

The next generation in aerial firefighting has come to Spokane County.

In a Nov. 20 ceremony at a former Air National Guard hangar, officials from Washington state, Spokane County and Spokane International Airport (SIA) announced that Aero-Flite will move their operations to Spokane. In fact, the air tanker firefighting company will move its operation to the very same hanger where the announcement was made.

Barry Marsden, president and CEO of Conair, parent company to Aero-Flite, said the company would bring 65 jobs to the area by next spring.

"Part of finding a home is to find a place where there are facilities, people we could hire, training institutes that cater to our business," Marsden said.

Mardsen said his company would also bring from six to 10 of two different types of air tankers to their new base, one being the Avro RJ85. Converted from a jet-powered airliner, the RJ85 has a tank capacity of 3,000 gallons and a drop speed of 125 knots. The other air tanker coming to Spokane is a Bombardier CL 415 water scooper, which can drop up to 1,621 gallons of water in 12 seconds.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said having Aero-Flite will not only bring more jobs to the area, but also help with firefighting efforts in the region. Last summer the RJ85 was one of several aircraft from the Moses Lake air tanker base that helped with firefighting efforts during the Carlton Complex Fire, which burned over 250,000 acres.

"It's a wonderful thing to have this (firefighting) capacity very close to us," Inslee said.

Spokane County Commissioner Al French welcomed Aero-Flite to the area, which is already home to over 100 aerospace companies and 4,000 jobs.

"You are now a part of the family of aerospace companies that represent Spokane County and we look forward to a prosperous future for the both of us," French said.

According to its website, Aero-Flite, based out of Kingman, Ariz., is the largest private operator of water scooping aircraft in North America. Since 1963, it has provided rapid, reliable aerial fire suppression services to the United States and Canada.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].