Why the states?
Well I can honestly say that I am not too sure about the FAA regs on Australian aircraft fighting fire in the states, but I do know there are a lot of other countries out there that have fires in the Australian winter. Lets not forget that McDermott had an aircraft fighting fire in Canada 2 years ago. Just about all of the EU will allow foreign aircraft in to fight fire. I know of at least 4 countries ( France, Spain, Portugal, Greece) that contract mediums and heavies each year from abroad. So why doesnt an Australian company go after these contracts. They are there for everyone. I think that while these companies are based in North America, they are truly a global operation. And whats to stop us from doing that????