Canadair CL-215
- roy blewett
- Jun 28
- 2 min read
In 1963, the Canadian National Research Council’s Associate Committee on Forest Fire Protection met and agreed there was a requirement for an aircraft specifically designed to fight fires. The resulting specification called for a multi-engine amphibian capable of delivering up to 1,500 gallons of water from tanks that could be filled either on the ground or by scooping from the surface of lakes or seas. Canadair’s initial response was the radical CL-204, a twin-boom, twin-float design with much of the fuselage pod given over to the tanks, but this was abandoned in favour of a more conventional aircraft that came to be known as the CL-215. The project was given the go ahead in February 1966 and production of an initial 30 was authorised against orders from the Government of Quebec and France’s Ministry of the Interior. A dispute over engine performance with the former meant the first deliveries were made to France, and the cancellation of five of the Government of Quebec’s order offered an opportunity for Greece and Spain to also become early customers. Ultimately, five batches of CL-215s were produced, each with progressive improvements to fuel capacity and range, and the water-scooping system:
Batch I – c/ns 1001 to 1030 (30)
Batch II – c/ns 1031 to 1050 (20)
Batch III – c/ns 1051 to 1065 (15)
Batch IV – c/ns 1066 to 1080 (15)
Batch V – c/ns 1081 to 1125 (45)
In 2003, production switched to the CL-415, a modernized version with turbine engines (not covered here).
The CL-215 is known unofficially as the Scooper, or, in France, as the Pelican. On 20 June 2016, Canadair announced the sale of the entire programme to Viking Air, which has since re-branded as De Havilland Aircraft of Canada. The deal included manufacturing and intellectual property rights to both the CL-215 and CL-415 as well as after-sales support. A new-build version, based on the CL-415EAF, is being marketed as the DHC-515 and is due to enter production in 2027.
First flight: 23 Oct 67 (c/n 1001, CF-FEU-X)
Production: 125, at Cartierville, QC.
First delivery: 6 Jun 69, to Sécurité Civile (c/ns 1021, F-ZBAR, and 1022, F-ZBAX)
Last delivery: 7 May 90, to the Hellenic Air Force (c/n 1123)
Variants: CL-215 - production aircraft, sometimes reported as CL-215A, powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney R2800-83AM or -CA3 radials. 2 aircraft from Batch 3 were optimized as maritime patrol aircraft for Thailand (reportedly CL-215B) and 2, also from Batch 3, as passenger transports for use in Venezuela (CL-215C).
Conversions: CL-215T - re-engined CL-215, powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney PW123AF turboprops, with aerodynamic improvements and new avionics (first flight: 8 Jun 1989; 25 converted either by Canadair, from Canadair-supplied kits or by Viking Air).
CL-415EAF – developed version of the CL-215T with new navigation system, integrated digital avionics suite, increased retardant capacity and other systems improvements (first flight 12 Mar 20; 10 converted).
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