I have been doing this blog long enough to know that both spring maintenance and annual pilot training are done by companies with aircraft that fly fires do each year. I write this post as an acknowledgement of how important each are to safety and efficiency.
This is the time of year when companies with aircraft that fly fires in the United States perform what is sometimes known as spring maintenance on their aircraft to get them ready for the fire season. While I don't know how much time is involved nor do I know the particulars of what each company with aircraft the flies fires does, I believe the spring maintenance on each aircraft may go on for several days depending on what needs to be done. In addition, maintenance is done through the fire season as required to keep the aircraft performing in peak efficiency. All companies do this those with air tankers, lead planes, and helicopters. The examples that I know of are for air tankers only, please take them as an example that will apply to all aircraft flying fires. Neptune Aviation has a few pictures of their spring maintenance on their air tankers that they shared on their Facebook account which is found at this link. Coulson shared the following on X, formerly twitter:
A well-cared-for tanker is a ready tanker! Tanker 138 is back from Western Australia and is now in for spring maintenance, ensuring it stays in top shape for the North American season. Behind every mission is a crew dedicated to keeping our fleet fire-ready. #coulsonaviation pic.twitter.com/eWZDUGjmvY
— Coulson Aviation (@CoulsonAviation) March 10, 2025
As many of you know, getting ready for the wildfire season is more than spring maintenance of aircraft flying fires. The pilots go through annual training to keep current. Again, the examples I know of are from companies flying air tankers but this applies to any pilot flying aircraft on wildfires. Dauntless Air flys the AT-802F Fireboss, and they shared about their annual pilot training on their Facebook Page which you may find here. In addition 10 Tanker referenced their annual pilot training on their Facebook account in a short video that you may see here.
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