Cranfield Airport Fire & Rescue Service has recently been equipped with a new appliance to replace its ageing Merryweather airport tender after 22 years of service.

The new engine, a Carmichael Viper, is based on a Scania lorry chassis. It can accelerate from 0 - 80 km/h in 25 seconds with a top speed of 125 km/h fully loaded and is the first of its type to be delivered in the UK.

This impressive appliance has capacity for 4,500 litres of water and 630 litres of foam solution. This gives the monitor - the spray jet mounted on the roof - the ability to produce 2,500 litres of foam per minute. The monitor can pump the foam to a range of around 60 metres. There is sufficient capacity on board to operate for around a minute and a half - enough to cover a 24x4 metre CAT 4 aircraft with foam. And, unlike the old Merryweather appliance which needed someone to operate the monitor from outside the cab, the Viper can be controlled from inside by the driver.

CAT 2 M/F 08.30 - 18.00L
CAT 1 all other times
CAT 3&4 by arrangement

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