Yes, I will stick my hand up and say I have done a wee bit of fire fighting.
Would have to say that it is the most interesting and rewarding flying that I have ever done.
Was involved in the Sydney Christmas/New Year fires of 2002 and had a blast.
Head out of door more accurate than Mirror
One issue that I am sure could spark a debate is the head out the door versus using a mirror technique. I'm a head out the door man myself, as I like to see where my water ends up and have seen a lot of mirror men miss the spot. Not saying for a minute that I have never missed, as we all lay water around the fire from time to time (usually when there is a camera pointed at you or the fire boss is watching from above), but I find it very hard to believe that a pilot with their head in the door can have a higher accuracy than someone who is looking at the their aiming point right up to the water/retardant release.
Long Line more precise than Short
Another difference in techniques is the preference of using a short line versus a long line. I myself prefer using a long line as it once again enables the pilot to drop with a bit of precision, as you blades are not munching on the foliage while trying to get the bucket close to the hot bit so that your water does not turn into steam on the way down (and fog up your mirror??).
I am by no stretch of the imagination an experienced fire fighting pilot as I would only have 250 hours of fire fighting under my belt, but I think I have done enough to offer a small amount of expertise to any budding fire fighting pilot.
cheers
Last edited by Heliport; 1st Jul 2002 at 12:03.