EDITOR:

About your repeated stories on the lack of firefighting air tankers and the increased threat of wildland fires this year:

Here's the rest of the story. Each year, I have contacted representatives from the various governors' offices and state foresters' offices, offering the services of the world's largest and most effective firefighting air tankers.

The IL-76 Waterbombers can stop a raging wildland fire over an area equal to 12 football fields in less than 12 seconds! These remarkable planes belong to Russia which has offered them to the U.S. Forest Service each year since 1995.

They are, on average, more than 10 times larger than the antique air tankers now under private contract to the Forest Service. The Forest Service, however, refuses to consider letting any non-contractor help fight fires, even though the IL-76 is the only air tanker with heat-seeking radar and able to fly missions safely throughout the night.

Neither the governors nor state foresters would interfere with Forest Service procedures, preferring instead to let everything burn. The FAA, State Department and Department of Defense all favor Russian participation.

Only the Forest Service stood in the way. The results are painfully obvious. All the Russians wanted was housing and fuel for the missions (paid for by FEMA).

The services would have been free to those states requesting help.

For additional information take a look at the Web site below and get back with me. The IL-76 Waterbomber, because of its gravity-flow delivery system, is far more effective than the converted 747, but the Forest Service continues to keep every new, large air tanker out of U.S. service for fear of alienating its private contractors flying the World War II-vintage planes. Will your viewers, readers, citizens, ranchers and farmers stand by and suffer more losses this year?

Tom Robinson, Chief

Global Emergency Response

www.waterbomber.com 804-240-4065/a>

I was alwasys given to believe Americans respected heroic efforts like this one.

I also believe the IL-76 could be an indespensable tool.

But as was pointed out, politics and other "concerns" are a hinderance.

I think they should also change the title from "water bomber," to something a little less combative, such as "Forrest fire suppression unit."

As memories from the cold war linger, many would cringe at the site of a aircraft which the terms "Russian" and "Bomber" are used in the description.

Who pays the piper calls the tune and 'waterbomber's what we are now.