Thank-you Linc

I loved reading Linc's book, Fire Bomber into Hell, and I enjoyed interviewing him to share with you here. In the course of the two years that I have been writing about aerial wildland firefighting, I have often wondered what it was like to sit in the cockpit of a fire bomber. Regulations prohibit fire bombers, at least in this country, from carrying passengers. Yes, I understand the safety, legal, and liability concerns inherent in such regulations. Reading Linc's book did take me in the cockpit. Thank-you. I experienced the joys, and the dangers in flying fire bombers. I grieved at the loss of his friends. I laughed at some of his stories. I experienced the beauty of places in northern Canada that I have never seen.

And if someone were to ask me,

"what is it like to fly fire bombers?"

I can say read Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander.

Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander (3 of 3)

Tyler: Do you have any words of advice for pilots, whether they be general aviation, commercial, military, or fire bomber pilots?

Linc: All of us who fly have a built in problem, our ego. When we as pilots forget about our own weaknesses, failing to keep our pride and ego in check, we risk jeopardizing our own lives, the lives of any passengers we may be carrying, and the lives of others in the air or on the ground.  Going around when our approach is bad to a runway or a fire is bad, is a dent to the ego but we have to keep our weaknesses (pride and ego) in check if we want to think and act rationally when we fly. It’s hard for us gung-ho pilots to think that we can't do anything, but the military says it like it is: “Know your own and the airplane’s limits.” We all aren’t Bob Hoover who does aerobatics with both engines feathered on an Aero Commander. An ex-service friend of mine was asked to do a low-level air show in a T-6 many years after he had left the service. As it had been many years since he had done these precision maneuvers, he was probably out of practice. He decided to do the show, he went into the ground upside down half way through a roll. 

Tyler: What about those of us who are not pilots, is there one thing that you would like us to know about fire bombers as we watch news accounts?

Linc: Becoming a proficient pilot takes many years of practice. Becoming a proficient bomber pilot also takes years of practice. When a run is perfectly executed and the load placed precisely on target, it is easy to get the impression that the whole exercise is a big game that anyone can do. Firstly, not all highly trained pilots can fit in this game. Not many people like flying right next to the mountains all the time. Throw in bad visibility, turbulence and a wall of fire and it sorts out those missing a few marbles who like flying in this zone, and those who choose a more sane way to fly. Also the viewer should realize that the pilots who fly bombers are extremely conscientious about getting good results and saving property and lives. We all feel the loss and grieve for people who lose their home as a result of a wild-fire.  The public should also be aware that most large fires are preventable with the proper use of bombers in the very earliest stages of a fire. There is a vast difference in how agencies use the bomber. At a large fire, the media should ask questions about how bombers were used as soon as the fire was discovered.

I'll wrap this up with some concluding thoughts in my next article. Stay tuned.

Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander (2 of 3)

Tyler: I loved reading your stories of your early days flying fire bombers. I think that history shapes and defines our present. You and the other pilots you flew with during those early days paved the way for the fire bombers of today. How did these early days impact you during your later years as a fire bomber pilot?

Linc: The early days taught me the never-must-do aspects of this business. There are inviolate rules to this game which must always be obeyed and I discovered them the hard way, I made all the mistakes and fortunately got away with it. I cover some of them in this book Fire Bomber Into Hell and one of them is the answer to the last question in part 1: always have an escape from where you are in the event the air goes bad. The early days saw so many fatalities from people doing some pretty hair-brained things that I felt compelled to write the book Air Attack on Forest Fires. That book gets into the real nitty-gritty about what a pilot must do to fly safely while he is performing his job. It may sound crazy but I re-read my own book each spring for many years to remind myself about the many do’s and don’ts.

Tyler: Of all the places where you flew as a fire bomber pilot, are there one or two that stand out to you and why?

Linc: I loved flying in California, firstly because of the wonderful people I worked with and the opportunity to fly the wonderful F7F. I flew almost every day with actions that took place in such varied terrain and with different forest and brush cover. In California, actions have to take place quickly or a fire could get away in a matter of minutes. CAL FIRE (CDF at the time) exercised the “One Strike” concept of fast initial attack. We were fast and effective; there was a great sense of achievement. Of course, California is the only place with the fabulous Redwoods and the superb wines. Flying in California also rounded out my research for the book Air Attack on Forest Fires.

Flying in British Columbia particularly from a place like Campbell River (the Salmon fishing capital of the world) took me over the world’s most fantastic scenery. There is nothing like the backdrop of an iridescent blue glacier as one does an action over emerald green forest. The action at Butte Inlet where I slid down just over top of a glacier to fly out over the azure waters of that magnificent inlet was an experience one never forgets.

Fire Bomber into Hell by Linc Alexander (1 of 3)

Tyler: In your introduction, you begin by saying: "Fire Bomber into Hell was written for the reader who knows little more about the business of Fire Bombing than watching TV news clips of bombers in action next to the subdivisions of Los Angeles."

You invite us to sit besides you in the cockpit. Without giving anything away, can you share one or two things that you would like your readers to take away from your book?

Linc: The reader will learn that Fire Bombing is an occupation that takes pilots to the edge of safety every single time they go out to fight a fire. We don’t have the luxury of climbing high into still, calm air, fly comfortably from A to B and use a maze of navigation aids to help us safely land at our destination. Every time we go out, we face a multitude of hazards with mountain air currents, possibly restricted visibility at the target, and getting at targets in confined valleys. Leaving the target area is often more difficult than arriving there. I have often thought that it would be great if we could invite people to sit in the cockpit with us and experience a few bombing runs, particularly on a difficult target. Some individuals would find it exciting threading among mountain peaks on the way to a steep downhill drop just as I do, and others would doubt my sanity.

The reader will also discover my experiences with the political nature of Fire Bombing, and why I think that not all agencies use the bombers to their best advantage. I discuss the differences in bomber use in California (by CAL FIRE, the state fire control agency in California), and the United States Forest Service (USFS), a Federal fire control agency.

Tyler: You talk in your book about the boundary layer as being "the atmosphere from the ground up to five thousand feet", but you also emphasize that fire bombers spend a lot of time in the boundary layer in conditions that might ground general aviation pilots, such as strong winds, turbulence, and rotors and downdrafts in the mountains. What can lessons can private pilots in the general aviation community take from your experience as a fire bomber pilot flying in the boundary layer?

Linc: I have had good friends crash into the mountains because of restricted visibility, flying up a dead end canyon and not leaving themselves enough room to turn around, and getting smashed into the ground in downdrafts. If a pilot is going from A to B in mountainous terrain and the visibility goes bad in the valley route he is following, the safest thing to do is climb above the cloud in clear air (if the tops are not too high) get a weather report at his destination and if the condition at the destination is no worse than broken cloud with a decent ceiling, then fly to the destination above the mess below and let down in a hole at the destination. This procedure has made life simple and safe for me on many occasions. If the weather at the destination is bad, turn around and go back to your starting point.

Downdrafts, turbulence and rotor winds are a fact of life in mountainous terrain and they are generally found on the lee side of mountains. If the pilot has to maneuver close in to the mountains for any reason, then he must know where the wind is coming from and he should expect to find trouble on the lee side. He should always have the alternative of being able to turn out into a valley if he suddenly finds himself on a downhill ride. If you are in close to the mountain, it is always a good idea to have an extra ten knots (perhaps more) of airspeed for mom and the kids. We can’t read invisible air, for Fire Bomber pilots, smoke may be an indicator but the private pilot can only guess. Always suspect the worst and always have the alternative to quickly turn away from the mountain.

Fire Bomber into Hell

Even if I had a pilots certificate, which I do not, the chances of my being able to sit in the cockpit of an air tanker or fire bomber are remote at best. More likely given contract restrictions and liability concerns, the chances are nonexistent.

In the introduction to his memoirs, Fire Bomber Into Hell, Linc Alexander invites us to sit in the cockpit with him as he writes of his thirty-seven years flying fire bombers in Canada and the United States. Linc delivers. I was with him in the cockpit in his early days of flying fire bombers when the tanker business was in its infancy. I was with him as he flew in rotor winds. I was with him as he barely beat out a thunder storm to make a drop on a fire in a ravine in a mountainous area in Canada. I was with him in each of the fire bombers that he flew. And you will be too.

Knowing that Stearman's and TBM Avengers were used in the early days of the tanker business, I enjoyed reading about his experiences with both of these aircraft. A couple of months ago I wrote a series about the TBM Avenger, so I enjoyed sitting next to him in the cockpit the first time he flew the TBM Avenger, learning the hard way about one of the quirks of the TBM Avenger.

I have seen a few Stearman biplanes at nearby general aviation airports. They are beautiful airplanes. Linc put me in the open cockpit (in front of him) of the Stearman he flew during his first year flying fire bombers. It was cold at times, so I had my warm clothes on, and my seat was properly adjusted to mitigate some of the effects of the slipstream.

Linc writes about piloting the F7F and the A26, two planes that I knew very little about. Thank-you Linc for introducing me to these two planes. I sat with Linc in the cockpit has he was first co-pilot and later pilot-in-command (pic) of a DC-6 fire bomber. I learned a little more about the relationship between the pic and the co-pilot. I know something about Butler's DC-7 tankers thanks to Larry Kraus, so I couldn't help but wonder about the similarities and differences between these two tankers. What ever those differences are, they will have to wait for a later time.

I know what Linc's favorite fire bomber is. You will have to read the book to find out. Linc, I read a book recently where your favorite plane is mentioned.

There is a list of other things that I know a little bit more about through Linc's words. I know a little more about Canada and the Canadian north. Linc flew for Sis Q in CA for a time, a company that I have read about. I learned about the check rides that all pilots experience. I learned more about rotor winds from Linc because he has lived to tell about it. I am reminded that the tanker business aka the fire bomber is dangerous. I knew that some pilots die, and others live, and Linc's words reinforced that. Linc loved being a fire bomber pilot and he was good at it. We should all be so fortunate to spend a career doing something we love.

I have been in touch with Linc over e-mail and he agreed to allow me to interview him. I will be posting the interview over the next three posts. Stay tuned.