Single Pilot Firefighting Aircraft

Some tanker pilots fly alone, without the aid of a co-pilot. Their tankers have one or two engines with fewer gauges to keep track of than their heavy cousins. But that doesn't make what you do any simplier. There is nothing simple about flying fires whether you are a single pilot or part of a multi-person crew of a heavy tanker.

As a single pilot you do all the flying. Running through the checklists, working the radio, making the drop, watching the gauges. All of it. You love the flying, but it isn't simple.

You know and respect your own limits and you respect the limits of your aircraft. You are always aware of the situation and you follow your intuition. If something is wrong you go around or land. And if you are working with a Canadian bird dog pilot, an American lead plane pilot, or a CAL FIRE air tactical platform you have told them about your problem. The goal is to stay safe so that you can go back to your home base and fly again the next day.

You may be alone in your tanker but there may be other aircraft over the fire. On the other end of that radio there may be a Canadian bird dog pilot or an American lead plane pilot, or a CAL FIRE air tactical platform. If you talk to other tanker pilots from your group or agency you do so on a predetermined private channel. Perhaps you are a pilot for a state forest fire service, in that case you may be talking to a pilot or incident commander in an observation aircraft.

I write this short piece for all of you tanker and helo pilots who are flying as single pilots. I know you are there. Thank-you for what you do.