Abstract: A system for mixing fire-suppressant gel with water on board an aircraft includes a gel reservoir mounted in the aircraft, a pump for injecting gel into a flow of water into an aircraft-mounted payload tank, and a control system for controlling gel-water mix ratios. The control system monitors water volume flowing into the water tank, and regulates the gel pump to inject gel in appropriate amounts to produce gel-water emulsions having precise gel-water ratios. Settings for the control system are set by the pilot before water flow water is initiated. Once the aircraft is in flight, the gel-water mixing process is automatically controlled through a trigger on the pilot's control stick. The aircraft may be a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft adapted to load water from a lake or other source while in flight, or a fixed-wing aircraft adapted to load water on land from a pressurized water source.

Abstract: A system for mixing fire-suppressant gel with water on board an aircraft includes a gel reservoir mounted in the aircraft, a pump for injecting gel into a flow of water into an aircraft-mounted payload tank, and a control system for controlling gel-water mix ratios. The control system monitors water volume flowing into the water tank, and regulates the gel pump to inject gel in appropriate amounts to produce gel-water emulsions having precise gel-water ratios. Settings for the control system are set by the pilot before water flow water is initiated. Once the aircraft is in flight, the gel-water mixing process is automatically controlled through a trigger on the pilot's control stick. The aircraft may be a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft adapted to load water from a lake or other source while in flight, or a fixed-wing aircraft adapted to load water on land from a pressurized water source.