Helicopter water bucket improvements

Abstract

A collapsible wild fire fighting water bucket made from pliable material and suspended from an aircraft to be lowered into an open body of water for filling. A weighted Rim Opening Device holds the bucket top open for filling and facilitates a tipping over action during filling. The buckets open top being free of any centrally located supports. The bucket is equipped with a tubular extension which forms a discharge port for dumping water. The tubular extension being releasably supported under water inside the bucket under tension. Purse lines running through openings in the tubular extension and resilient sealing lips bring sealing lip bulbs into abutment sealing the discharge port of the tubular extension. Suspension lines suspend the bucket from the aircraft and a releasable support, releasably supports the free end of the tubular extension within the bucket body extending upwardly from the openings to close the discharge port. The releasable support cooperates with the openings to allow the tubular extension to be rapidly lowered so as to extend downwardly from the bottom to open the discharge port for dumping the water. The purse lines cooperate with the releasable support to lift and lower the tubular extension. The buckets also are equipped with emergency extractor Jump Seats, secured to the inside wall of the bucket to be used for dire straits emergency extraction of wild fire ground crews trapped by fire storm.