[singpilot]

The low speed handling of the 747 is actually quite good. Just that not many people are used to doing it at gross weight. The feds were looking to verify that the plane could manuever down low at weight and still have climbout and speed margins if the drop was aborted or unsuccessful.

Widebody;

It is my understanding that all 'staffing' schedules went out the window with budgetary constraints recently imposed. The 'staffing schedule', to include material assets, was slewed to acknowledge the late season peak of previous years' activities. Hence, the scoopers delayed arrival. The west ramp at Van Nuys was completely taken over by fire fighting activities this year for the construction of new hangar and resupply facilities for the CDF and LA County Helo squadrons. This was the reason given for the cancellation (forever) of the very popular, but complaint-generating Van Nuys Air Show.

What the idiot locals don't realize, is that the Fire base (soon to be one of the largest in the western states) is going to be a 24 / 7 operation.

They traded 3 days of flyovers every year during daylight hours for 24 hours a day noise exempt airplanes operating at 115% of gross weight limitations on an experimental type cetificate. Not to mention red 'dribbles' on your property and cars every time you are overflown.

Ya gotta love the public implementation of stupidity.

The firefighters wanted Palmdale or Lancaster.