Originally Posted by
Jerry Springer
I think that depends on the operator, and maybe even the country. A friend of mine in Canada got onto a Fireboss with no Ag rating, no time on type, no fire experience...But he had several thousand hours on floats. The company tried out several people scooping up water from a lake in a duel 802 Fireboss, and only the float dudes got hired as new chaps. For the CL-415 / 215 they also require float time. Anyhow, That’s all a bit off-topic I suppose!
That may be in true in Canada, but in the US any pilot flying on a USFS/BLM/DOI contract must meet the minimums that cannot be waived. Hence why fixed wing fire pilots are making the money they do.