News
Fighting fire with innovation: the CL-415 water scoop project
Aerotex and Alberta’s Levy’s Machine Works have manufactured and certified what Aerospace Manufacturing describes as the aviation industry’s first 3D-printed water scoop for the CL-415 amphibious firefighting aircraft. Here is how the project came together, step by step.
Why the scoop matters
The CL-415 was designed for aerial firefighting. Instead of flying back to an airport, it refills by skimming across a lake, reservoir or inlet with retractable scoops under the fuselage, which keeps more water going onto a fire.
Every scooping run hits the water at high speed, so the scoops take heavy loads and wear quickly. They are among the most maintenance-intensive, mission-critical parts on the aircraft, and replacements are hard to find on short notice.
Project history
- 1 · The problemA cast part with long waitsThe original scoops were cast in production batches. That method could not keep up with urgent demand, came with long lead times and was costly to produce. The goal was a faster, more economical way to make replacements without giving up performance, reliability or compliance.
- 2 · First contactCould it be CNC machined?Aerotex asked Levy’s Machine Works, a fellow Alberta company that machines complex, close-tolerance parts, whether the scoop could be CNC machined. Its internal passages and curved flow paths made that impractical.
- 3 · A new routeMetal 3D printingLevy’s happened to be exploring selective laser melting at the time. Laser powder bed fusion can build internal cavities, curved flow paths, reinforcing ribs and weight-saving pockets, and makes low-volume, on-demand spares economical.
- 4 · DevelopmentTest, learn, print againThe team compared metal powders against the cast part’s requirements, then ran test prints with destructive and non-destructive testing, feeding each result into the next print plan. Specialist printing and metallurgical testing partners were part of the work.
- 5 · CertificationWorking with Transport CanadaUnder Transport Canada Civil Aviation requirements, the printing process itself becomes part of the approved part specification. Material properties, process controls, inspection and structural performance all had to be shown, and the engineering order was updated with Transport Canada so every control was in place.
- 6 · ProductionA certified processPrinted scoops get some post-machining, held in custom fixtures made for the irregular shape. The result is an approved production process that cuts lead time for these critical spares from months to weeks.
A closer look at the design
Who was involved
Aerotex says it is now ready to work with operators, manufacturers and aerospace organisations on their toughest supply-chain and engineering bottlenecks.
Source: “Fighting fire with innovation”, Mike Richardson, Aerospace Manufacturing, 6 October 2026. Partner site: levysmachineworks.com.