10 Tanker Reveals New Paint Scheme

10 Tanker Air Carrier’s new livery was first seen on January 30th, 2021 as it came out of the paint shop in Amarillo, Texas. Photo by 10 Tanker. After a record breaking year for 10 Tanker Air Carrier that saw the company fighting fires not only in the United States but during the massive blazes in Australia last season, the company showed off a new livery for their aircraft, first spotted coming out of the paint booth in Amarillo Texas on January 30th in a photo published to social media by Amarillo based photographer Tony Boyer. In the company’s official post on February 2nd, the company announced the new paint job officially, showcasing multiple angles of the first DC-10 to wear the paint, Tanker 910. In a post on their website, 10 Tanker detailed that “it was time to give our DC-10’s a new look.”

To achieve that, the company looked to designer Kyle Courtright who has done work with customers that include Toyota, NFL, NBA, Olympics, and the American Cancer Society. Courtright has also won several awards for his work.

“The triangular shapes maintain an abstract, eye-catching portrayal of the retardant being released. It was my goal to create a marriage ➤

between the flowing, aerodynamic feel on the sides and the unapologetically edgy feel with the retardant triangles,” said Courtright in an interview about the design of the edgy new paint scheme.

An innovator in the field of aerial firefighting, 10 Tanker Air Carrier has continued to invest millions on ongoing technology development related to their aircraft and how they fight fires in the most effective manner. Based in New Mexico, the company now flies four DC-10 aircraft capable of carrying 9,400 gallons of retardant per drop. 10 Tanker flew 826 missions in the United States delivering 7.5 million gallons of fire retardant.

“It’s been a busy year for us, we’ve completed over 826 mission domestically and have delivered over 7.5 million gallons of fire retardant. All within this fire season, in the United States alone. That wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our flight crews, technicians, and ground support teams. They’ve all done an incredible job this season, I feel they really make 10 Tanker the strong force that it is today” - Robert Burrus, 10 Tanker Director Of Operations

Above: This side image shows the full design by Kyle Courtright from Courtright Designs who envisaged incorporating the way a retardant drop looks into the paint design.

Right: A rear view of 10 Tanker’s new livery painted on Tanker 910 fitted with its retardant tank on the runway in New Mexico.