In addition to limited lake space, there was limited time as well; the sun would be down soon. There was time for only five runs to the fire before they would have to call it quits for the night. Crew- 2 pilots Max speed- 180 mph Here is some additional information from pilot, Don MacDonald-- 1) The tanks are 600 imperial gallons each, which is 740 US gallons. The max water load is 1440 US gallons, which is 12000 pounds or 6 tons. (the fill gauges are calibrated in 1000's of pounds...0-6000 per side) 2) The 2 "probes" that intake the water are approx 4x6 inches each and a full load is 10 seconds at 72 gallons per second in each probe. We usually start off in the 6.5 - 7.5 second range on the water and increase the time as the fuel level drops down. The time of 6.5 seconds represents approx 9000 lbs of water. 3) We hit the water at approx 80 kts (92 mph) and maintain the 75-77 knot range so that when the probes come up, the airplane lifts off. This target speed is easier on windy days than calm days, where a speed on the water in the low 70's is more likely.