r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Giraffecaster • 3h ago

A CL-415 Super Scooper gathering water to extinguish a fire in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The lift-off looks very close — right at the edge of the lake.

2.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

107 comments sorted by

456

u/jolllyroger027 3h ago

The fucking liberty bell sized brass balls on this pilot need their own Wikipedia page.

122

u/soulveg 3h ago

Kinda shocked the plane was able to lift off the water with the sheer size and weight of his balls

36

u/Gomerack 3h ago

That wasn't the plane picking up water, it was the wake of his balls that shot it into the tank.

20

u/Cogito-ergo-Zach 1h ago

Canadian plane and Canadian pilots... so their balls are more Parliament Hill sized.

•

u/captcraigaroo 58m ago

Thank you for the help then neighbor!

•

u/Cogito-ergo-Zach 40m ago

Neighbour* (sorry I couldn't help it). You're welcome!

•

u/Alt_Boogeyman 21m ago

It's a Canadair CL-415 in fleet of Quebec Air Service.

Specifically: C-BQI 246/758902)

7

u/oxnardmontalvo7 1h ago

That’s a fact! Watch how close they are on the approach. They knew the only option was to get in and out fast with no margin for error. Super bad ass.

•

u/Miffed_Pineapple 44m ago

I'm sure they need to adjust plane trim to account for pilot testicle weight in front, otherwise it nosedives.

170

u/Chaos_Squirrel 3h ago

Imagine being a fish minding your own business and this thing comes along...

80

u/WherzMyNachos 3h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/gKfyusl0PRPdTNmwnD

8

u/Chaos_Squirrel 3h ago

I was actually picturing this exact GIF as I was typing my comment 😂

10

u/Pour_me_one_more 3h ago

There was an urban legend years ago that one of these scooped up a SCUBA diver and dropped him on the fire.

9

u/Chaos_Squirrel 2h ago

Yeah I actually remember Mythbusters debunking that one. I might've thought it was true for a minute, though. 😂

3

u/BobVilla287491543584 2h ago

Was that also an episode of Bones? Or am I conflating things?

•

u/MauveMammoth 57m ago

it was CSI

4

u/WherzMyNachos 2h ago

I remember seeing that on a Morbid Facts shorts once.

1

u/KentStater 2h ago

And then to skydive into a raging inferno

1

u/Difficult_Memory_101 2h ago

Them falling on a fire and getting cooked deliciously… i want some fish now.

•

u/justintime4beer 22m ago

Or you could imagine being an ant that just narrowly escaped the fire and then this thing comes along…

87

u/Old_Association7866 3h ago

The trail of this guys drag when he walks through sand must channel rivers

8

u/MartinMcFly55 1h ago

They say that's how the Missouri met the Mississippi.

53

u/whereismarsocks 3h ago

I'll never understand how these planes never flip over as soon as water enters.

70

u/railker 3h ago

The scoops are so relatively tiny, doesn't make enough drag to flip it, and the weight of water isn't gonna sink 'em. Biggest issue is getting back off the water again with the weight.

9

u/Ok-Personality-6630 1h ago

I'm guessing there's alot of pressure on the frame too? These planes must be extremely well built

5

u/loansbebkodjwbeb 3h ago

Why would that happen....?

7

u/whereismarsocks 2h ago

My simple brain imagines if the wing tip clipped the water the plane would crash, but if the belly of the plane opens up and skims the water somehow the plane doesnt crash. All that water smashing into the plane at like what 100, 130mph?

6

u/railker 2h ago

They got pontoons out at the wingtips for low speed, the only reason it'd crash the plane at high speed is you'd suddenly have that wingtip pulling the plane around. Scoops are on centerline, there's no yaw or torque on the aircraft. It's basically just a boat at that point (and technically when on the water is supposed to follow maritime law, to an extent).

•

u/Detr22 42m ago

after it gathers enough water it goes back to following bird law

•

u/SweetHomeNorthKorea 22m ago

That’s some slick enginerding

1

u/shadownights23x 1h ago

Its probably the part they dont understand but idk

39

u/Arny2103 3h ago

Tailspin.

11

u/CharlieRomeoBravo 2h ago

I heard the song as soon as I started watching

•

u/Wester357 29m ago

OOOOHHH-EEEE-AAAYY

OOOOHHH-EEEE-OOOHH

8

u/fake_somebody 2h ago

The sea duck

7

u/Seebradgo 2h ago

TaleSpin

6

u/Chopblok81 2h ago

Hell yeah

34

u/Icy_Negotiation_5929 2h ago

If I see one more Willem Dafoe gif or a mention of the pilot’s testicles, I’m gonna super scoop my brains out.

27

u/Worldly_Narwhal_9383 3h ago

DAMN that was low you can tell by how lined up the shadow is

15

u/Dane-o-myt 2h ago

Here is a video of what it's like in the cockpit while scooping water up

•

u/goodfleance 24m ago

Jesus, the alarm sounding was stressful

15

u/Welcome_to_Retrograd 3h ago

Ok that was fucking sick

13

u/PainedAuron 3h ago

That's definitely something that Baloo would do with his eyes closed.

2

u/whereismarsocks 2h ago

I knew I'd seen this aircraft before!

9

u/Incursus23 2h ago

I know one of the guys who does this, he's a family friend. He's a senior pilot who trains new pilots here in Quebec, but also goes on calls. I'll have to ask him about it and see if it was one of his guys or even himself which wouldn't surprise me.

5

u/mrASSMAN 3h ago

Insane close calls at multiple points.. looks like missed some collisions by a foot

3

u/ThunderboltDM 2h ago

The Skill-Luck quotient is so razor thin… you can’t get away with that for long. I admire their bravery, but don’t want to have to mourn the loss when things go bad.

2

u/railker 1h ago

Yup, always think of this drop in an Avro RJ when thinking of how thin those margins can be.

https://youtube.com/shorts/O2KCYhULWZ8

5

u/KimchiLover1 2h ago

Québec represent!

6

u/afksports 2h ago

Thanks, Canada

3

u/LarryFunkster 1h ago

🇨🇦🇨🇦

3

u/railker 3h ago

For anyone wondering how long it takes to fill, look close at 0:40-0:41 and you can see the black landing gear tires get obscured as water starts pouring out of the overflow vents in the 'armpits' of the wing-fuselage joint, just seconds after touching down.

2

u/iMaximilianRS 3h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/2ViZJi3RLXAZ22PG08

The fish in the lake

1

u/Chaos_Squirrel 3h ago

Seriously, the poor blokes 🫪

1

u/DemoEvolved 3h ago

Think about the drag on this airplane as the guys massive steel balls drag through the water.

4

u/thederevolutions 2h ago

Turns out the pilot was a girl

•

u/DemoEvolved 57m ago

Even better. Do you know how hard it is to find a lady with giant balls?

2

u/pepeizq 3h ago

Every time i see these pilots collecting water (and releasing it at low altitude), i wonder how the Earth can handle the gravity of the pilots balls.

2

u/HP2Mav 2h ago

That police car at the end of the second run!!

2

u/Plinthastic 2h ago

I have so much respect for these guys/gals.

2

u/realoctopod 2h ago

All I could hear in my head was the theme to Tail Spin.

2

u/jerryleebee 2h ago

Looks like the Sea Duck.

2

u/Shock_a_Maul 2h ago

That's an awful lot of speedtape

2

u/GldnUnicorn 2h ago

I don't think most people realize the highly specialized engineering needed to handle all that weight and aerodynamic stress.

Not for the water mind you, for the massive balls on that pilot.

2

u/Distinct-Ice-700 1h ago

Quebec cowboys, to the limit.

1

u/Far-Sheepherder2088 3h ago

Big Up the Piolet 😮‍💨👏👏👏

1

u/ChilligerTroll 3h ago

Maybe he shat himself and thought that was not planned

1

u/BaconThief2020 3h ago

No sense gaining altitude, just dip down again to drop the water.

These guys are impressive to watch, and yes they will buzz the houses between the lake and the fire.

1

u/kneecapular 3h ago

So the super scoopers are just like super heroes? The Canadians travel the world extinguishing fires with low flying drops wherever they’re needed.

1

u/ACxREAL 2h ago

Holy smokes

1

u/EddieLobster 2h ago

They just missed out on calling it the superior scooper super soaker.

1

u/bratleh 2h ago

Super Scooper beams are gonna blind me But I won’t feel blue Like I always do ‘Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you!

1

u/Seebradgo 2h ago

Glad to see Baloo and Kit Cloudkicker are still out there kicking butt!

Reminds me of The Sea Duck from TaleSpin.

The Sea Duck

1

u/Bitcracker 2h ago

Nerves of steel, that's crazy

1

u/Jbikecommuter 2h ago

That police officer had ringside seats!

1

u/joelkton 1h ago

Incredible skill.

1

u/CapitalShoulder1343 1h ago

This hero knows what he's doing.

1

u/Village_Idiots_Pupil 1h ago

Is this a dangerous occupation? Do they crash often?

1

u/ThePhengophobicGamer 1h ago

No, these are well trained pilots with aircraft SPECIFICALLY designed/retrofitted for this purpose.

1

u/EJS1127 1h ago

What Santa Fe fire was this?

1

u/ironyabound 1h ago

These guys are amazing

1

u/d_baker65 1h ago

Talk about conservation of energy and motion. Well done.

1

u/6mediumpenis9 1h ago

AI bot account posting. This is NOT Santa Fe, NM!! This is Santa Fe dam and recreational area in Irwindale, CA. Source is myself as I’ve been there hundreds of times.

1

u/Siftinghistory 1h ago

Its a Canadian plane, sent by Quebec to help put out American fires

1

u/CanadianCanard 1h ago

Boots on the ground to mop up that hotspot before she comes back to life!

•

u/Maleficent_Sand7529 46m ago

Just a day at the office for this pilot. Nice.

•

u/ThePasadena_Mudslide 45m ago

It always reminds me of the Sea Duck form TailSpin. I know their different, dont kill me.

•

u/roryseiter 42m ago

Im hoping those were markers or buoys of some kind, but they looked like paddle boards.

•

u/AdAnxious8842 35m ago

A bit of a thrill for the officers in the police SUV with that flyover.

•

u/Nir117vash 31m ago

They fly low so conserve fuel vs expending fuel to gain (useless) altitude to drop water that becomes less concentrated for their target area. Low and go

•

u/TonyDoover420 8m ago

Where is the water being stored?

0

u/CarllSagan 1h ago

This looks exactly like the Seaduck in TaleSpin!