Originally Posted by
SASless
Perhaps I am missing something here.....cinch the bucket to 70% and gitterdun!
You are not going to put a fire out using helicopters unless it is a very small fire and you have lots of helicopters including some very big ones.
What you should do is fly safe, at a safe steady pace, and haul many loads of water to the fire. Forget the hero concept and go to making money.
The reality of it is helicopters dropping water may help steer the fire or help protect a dwelling or help in the mop up....but once a fire gets roaring....rain, snow, or an exhaustion of burnable fuel is what kills a fire.
Finally---someone else who understands the "fire triangle"....helicopters do NOT put out fires---we "cool em down" a bit, allow em to be steered, or with retardant we take away the O2....Now all we got to do is convince the average wildland firefighter that its OK to "talk to me on the radio", and feel free to use your "signal mirror", (cheapest peice of equipment on a fire---works better than the radios...),--Telling me "I'm on the ridge top" helps me how??????