Getting Air Tankers and Helos Ready for 2025 Wildfire Season in U.S.

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.

About SEATS from a SEAT (Air Tractor) Fire Boss pilot

One of the very great pleasures that I have had over the last few weeks is that I have been doing a great deal of reading, thinking, and reflecting about aerial wildland firefighting. I love learning more about airtankers and helicopters and the pilot's who fly these magnificent aircraft. Enjoy this video from Air Tractor where you will hear Mike Young, Assistant Chief Pilot of Air Spray. At the time this video was produced, Mike was in charge of Air Spray's SEAT operations in Chico, CA.




Direct link to video from Air Tractor on Youtube

Dean Talley (Part 3 of 3): Some of the Tankers that Dean Flew

Dean Talley flew a variety of types of air tankers over the course of more than 35 years. It is not my intent here to provide a history of these air tankers. Rather, my purpose here is to provide those of you who may be interested with more information and additional resources about some of the air tankers that Dean flew. I’ll start with some specific references to specific aircraft and contractors. Then I’ll move on to a couple of more general databases of historic and current air tankers. This information is only a partial listing of available information on these air tankers.

CAL FIRE

CAL FIRE has a very good website with a lot of links where you can go to for a variety of information. They do have a good section on history of the agency including a page on aviation history where you can learn about historic and current fixed wing aircraft. The California Pilots Association has a nice webpage on the agency’s current fixed wing aircraft with links to photos and videos.

AERO UNION

One of the contractors that used to have contracts with the US Forest Service for air tankers was Aero Union. Aero Union was founded in 1961 and over the years they had a variety of different aircraft that served as air tankers, including C-54/DC-4 tankers, a variation of the Lockheed P2V that Aero Union called the SP2H and the P3 Orion. I believe that Dean also flew the Lockheed P3 Orion. Here is a short video of an Aero Union P-3 making a drop. When I began writing about aerial wildland firefighting in 2009 the only type of aircraft left in their fleet were several P-3s. Aero Union lost its contract for P3s with the US Forest Service in 2011, permanently grounding Aero Union’s fleet of P3s. Wikipedia has a page on Aero Union that you may want to read.  A friend of mine, Scorched Sky Productions did a nice tribute video on Aero Union and the P3 Orion that you may find here.

MINDEN AIR CORPORATION

Minden, out of Reno Nevada had three Lockheed P2V Neptunes at one time. By 2013, there was only one P2 left in Minden’s stable, tanker 48. Dean Talley was flying tanker 48 for Minden up until the incident in 2014 with the collapsed nose gear. Dean and his co-pilot were flying the Shirley Fire just before the hydraulic failure resulting in the nose gear collapse with no injuries. There  is a short video taken of Tanker 48 over Shirley Fire just before nose gear collapse. Tanker 48 was taken out of service after the nose gear collapsed.

P2V NEPTUNES

A couple of different types of Lockheed P2V Neptune’s saw service as air tankers, flown by Aero Union, Minden Air, Neptune Aviation and other companies.. There is a nice webpage on P2V Neptune Airtankers with links to different contractors. For example, you may read about Minden Air’s and Aero Union’s air tankers.

My friend, Gordon Koenig was Dean’s co-pilot in Aero Union tanker 18 in 1996. Gordon spent a few years as captain flying Lockheed P2V Neptune air tankers for Neptune Aviation after he flew with Dean. Aero Union retired their P2V tankers several years ago. Gordon explained the difference between Neptune Aviation’s P2V tankers and Aero Union’s “SP2H” tankers in 1996 when he flew with Dean: 

Aero Union used to have 3 P2V's in the stable. They were modified by Aero Union to meet the California rule of being able to land loaded. They did things a bit differently at CAL FIRE (formerly known as the California Department of Forestry or CDF). When a smoke is spotted, they launch everything they have within a certain radius. Most everybody got cancelled on the way to the fire, unless the thing is huge and growing.

A loaded P2V, such as the one’s flown by Neptune Aviation (formerly Black Hills), is above its maximum landing weight. So, a cancelled dispatch in one of those P2's meant you had to pitch the load in the woods in order to land. Aero Union pulled off the jets and used only the inboard fuel tanks in order to meet the maximum landing weight. They were good airplanes, faster than the Black Hills model and they climbed better once you got them up to speed. Dean and I were flying an Aero Union version, which they called the SP2H. They sold them all and they have all now been scrapped.

That SP2H designation was borrowed from the Navy and has nothing to do with the real SP2H designation that the Navy used on some Neptune’s. I think Aero Union didn't know what to call their version and they wanted the agencies to be able to recognize and differentiate between theirs and the other P2's flying at the time. Aero Union especially wanted CDF to recognize the Aero Union version as an airplane that met the loaded landing requirements of a CDF contract.

OTHER DATABASES

There are two other databases that I use when I quickly need to find information online about historic air tankers. The first one I have already referenced in parts 1 and 2, that is Ruud Leeuw’s  database of air tankers including tanker number, contractor, type of aircraft, registration and c/n, and link to an outside (copyrighted) photograph. 

Another nice database of historic and some current air tanker types is by napoleon130 with some basic information along with a history of the development of the aircraft, specifications, and a photo. You start by going to napoleon130’s air tanker listing (by retardant capacity), find the tanker you are interested and click on the link. While some of the information found on this site is likely found elsewhere, I like it because it is one-step shopping.

Note: this is part 3 of a three-part series on Dean Talley.  Part 1 focuses on Dean the family man and tanker pilot, and part 2 focuses on remembrances of Dean from fellow tanker pilots. 

Dean Talley (Part 2 of 3): Remembrances From Fellow Tanker Pilots

Dean at the beach

There is no better way for you to know Dean than to read some remembrances shared by a couple of his long-time friends and fellow pilots.  I begin with the full remembrance given by my friend Jerome Laval at Dean’s memorial service on April 14, 2018. I share this with you with the permission of Jerome Laval (also on this Facebook post).

So long Dean…
Nancy, Stephen, Michelle, Laura: my sincere condolences and thank you for gathering all of us to celebrate Dean’s life. And what a great life he had. Ravi, thank you very much for the hangar. Very appropriate. Much appreciated. Knowing Dean, being around him and laughing with him were a privilege. I’m wearing a Hawaiian shirt to honor Dean and his lifestyle. I think he would approve and smile. 

I met Dean 20 years ago at a tanker base somewhere in the West when I was flying a C-130 for TBM. “Coming from France? Well that’s interesting… “ He said with a big smile. For few years we crossed paths and fought fires on the Fed side. In 2005 and 2006 he spent a lot of time in Chico where I was based with Walt Darran. So we got to know and appreciate each other. I also met Nancy and Christine. As you know this career is really tough on the family life. Wives or husbands and children should get more recognition for putting up with this lifestyle and all the sacrifices made so we can fly and drop retardant on fires all over the state or the country. Dean was a free spirit. As far as Aerial firefighting, he flew everything (O-2, OV-10, S-2, P-2, DC-4, P-3, Bae-146, S-2T…). He was a legendary tanker pilot. Very professional, passionate and excellent in his craft of fighting fires with aircraft.  We can all attest to that statement. A great sense of humor and always putting things in perspective. We laughed a lot at the base, coming up with ideas from “Thinking outside the box”… Way outside the box. Did you know Captain Dean O. Talley was a Fire Pirate? AAARRR !!! 

He was also a philosopher who followed the “Hu Khayr” philosophy. One can answer many issues or important questions saying; “Hu Khayr!”. Who cares; It was a joke because actually he cared a lot. He was a board member of Associated Aerial Firefighters and active member of the California Fire Pilots Association. He cared for this mission, his fellow pilots, mechanics and this industry. In 2015, we got based together again in Santa Rosa and it was really a pleasure to work with him. After a long day of aerial firefighting, we would meet with Bob Valette at “the beach”, our spot behind the tanker base, tell funny stories and laughed. We protected the Turtle Frogs…Yes they exist. Dean laughed a lot and enjoyed life to the fullest. Besides flying, Dean was interested in discovering other countries, different cultures and traveling the world. We all know that he was also a talented writer and I was looking for reading his third book but … 

I still can’t believe Dean isn’t with us anymore. I really can’t. So long my friend. I miss you. We miss you.
Thank you for being the great person you were. I still can’t believe I’m writing this and saying it out loud…. So long Dean.
Load and hold my friend, load and hold…. 

Jerome Chico, CA. 4/14/2018

The second remembrance is a story from Jim Barnes, also shared at Dean’s memorial service. I only just recently got to know Jim. He has been very helpful to me in writing about Dean. I like this story because it speaks to his skill at working in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground (see this Facebook post for the full remembrance):

The story that epitomizes the kind of tanker pilot Dean Talley was for me occurred at the Mount Vision fire near Pt. Reyes about 12 miles from my house. The vision fire was a fast moving north east wind driven fire and was closing on a hillside community. 

Then, Fire Captain Tim Thompson of Marin County Fire took a strike team down a long, narrow road surrounded by dense vegetation and forest canopy in an attempt to rescue and evacuate the citizens that lived there. As he arrived things went terribly wrong. 

Suddenly, the firefighters and citizens found themselves surrounded by crowning fire.  

Captain Thompson said that he decided to circle the wagons in an attempt to survive an over burn. Just as suddenly a DC-4 appeared overhead and salvoed 2,000 gallons of fire retardant right on their position. Once again Dean had saved the day. 

But that wasn’t unusual for Dean. He had a long history of performing monumental saves. Many times, I have heard air attack officers and lead plane pilots say things like, “We were in a tense situation and we were afraid we were going to lose homes then Dean showed up in his P-3 and saved our ass."

Finally, I want to share with you some remembrances of Dean from my friend Gordon Koenig. Gordon flew with Dean as a co-pilot in Aero Union tanker 18 in 1996 out of Chico, California.

Dean was always a gentleman. He never had a cross word for anyone in the industry or the Forest Service. All of us ran into a myriad of people who were frustrating to work with. Dean never wavered from his calm, polite, and professional demeanor. He always took the high road, something hardly any of us did when things got tense.

Dean was a delight to fly with. He was an absolute bird in the cockpit and flew those big heavy tankers like they were Piper Cubs. He was graceful and extremely focused and very funny. His favorite line after we came off the drop was, ‘Okay, we’re going to Cuba!’ He had spent time around there as a young pilot flying the PBY flying boats. Dean never got excited and his attitude about flying fires was that nothing should be a surprise. He gave us all a good name. I am very sorry he is gone.

_______

I know that Dean is flying in favorable tail winds, perhaps over California. He is missed. My continued prayers and condolences for his wife Nancy, his children and the rest of his family; for  all who worked with Dean over the years; for his friends and all who love him.

Notes: 

This is part 2 of a three-part series on Dean Talley. Part 1 focuses on Dean the family man and tanker pilot. In part 3, I provide a very brief overview of some of the aircraft that Dean flew and where you can go for more information.

Links to the photos of the air tankers in this article are obtained from an airtanker database maintained by Ruud Leeuw. Each entry in Ruud’s data base has basic information on the air tanker and where possible, a link outside his website to a page with a copyrighted photo. It is the outside link that you see here.

Dean Talley (Part 1 of 3): Family Man and Tanker Pilot

On March 10, 2018 we lost Dean Talley, one of the iconic air tanker pilots. He flew tankers for about 35 years. His wife,Nancy, told me that Dean loved his yard; he was mowing the lawn when he collapsed under a favorite redwood tree and died. He planted the Redwood as a seedling 30 years ago. Paramedics were quick to respond but were unable to revive him (see Dean’s obituary and a short tribute to Dean from Associated Aerial Firefighters). One of the things on my bucket list was to correspond with Dean Talley. It is my very great loss that I never corresponded with or knew Dean. However, over the years that I have been doing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting, I do feel like I got to know Dean through his posts on the Associated Aerial Firefighters where he served on their board and through social media. More importantly, Dean was an author (see Lone Palm Publishing) and I got to know Dean as a pilot through reading his books. 

Dean at the beach prepared for the sun

My condolences to Nancy, his children and the rest of his family, his friends and colleagues, and all who love Dean. I continue to keep all of you in my prayers. I know that Dean is flying in favorable tail winds.

There is a short biography of Dean from the Chico News and Review on Dean’s author’s page on Lone Palm Publishing.

I had some e-mail correspondence with Dean’s wife, Nancy Talley, a short time ago. I told her about the biography that I found and asked her if she would mind filling in some details. She told me they met in late September 1983. I believe that Dean may have been studying for his airframe and power plant license at that time. By 1986, he had graduated from community college and had gone back to flying air tankers. He married Nancy and they had three children, a boy and two girls. In 1989 he was flying air tankers out of the Chico Air Attack Base, so the Talleys moved to Chico so Dean could be close to the base and close to his family,

Nancy spoke to me of how much he loved his kids. They grew up at the Chico Air Attack Base.

By 2014, Dean was flying a P2V for Minden Air. Nancy spoke of his last flight at Minden and what happened next:

“In 2014, Dean and Taylor (his co-pilot) land a P2V at Fresno with hydraulic failure and a collapsed nose gear. They were within inches of the center line (of the runway) after skidding about a mile. There were no more Minden tankers to fly so Dean went to work for CAL FIRE.”  Earlier in his career, Dean had started flying tankers for CAL FIRE, then known as the California Department of Forestry.

Nancy told me that Dean had recently spent time in southern California at Hemet and Ramona Air Attack Bases covering for the regular pilots while they had a day off. Just before he died he was at ground school, pre-season training for CAL FIRE at McClellan Air Attack Base. She commented that “it was all very sad.”

Last but by no means least, Nancy shared with me about how much he enjoyed working with the young pilots, most recently at CAL FIRE, and before that at other contractors he flew tankers for.  She also told me that the young pilots enjoyed working with and hanging out with Dean. These are some of things that stood out to me of Dean’s rapport with the young pilots:

• He was a gentleman, leaving a loving and lasting impression.
• He told great stories about flying, told with his special sense of humor. His audience hung onto every word.
• He made new pilots feel like they belonged.

Notes: 

This is part 1 of a three-part series on Dean Talley. Part 2 focuses on remembrances of Dean from fellow tanker pilots. In part 3, I provide a very brief overview of some of the aircraft that Dean flew and where you can go for more information.

Links to the  photo of the air tanker were obtained from an airtanker database maintained by Ruud Leeuw  on this webpage with basic information and where possible, a link outside his website to a page with a copyrighted photo. It is the outside link that you see here.

A look inside an Airtanker courtesy of a Tanker Captain

I was checking out yesterday's (August 2nd) Wildfire News of the Day from Mike Archer when I came upon an article with a video on Inside an Airtanker from KDRV Newswatch 12 out of Medford Oregon. In this video you will Captain Ron Minter of Neptune Aviation talk about the demands of being a Tanker pilot. Captain Minter and his co-pilot have had a long season, flying since February 28, 2017. They get one day off a week, at where ever their current base is.

Captain Minter and his co-pilot were flying the Modoc July Complex (just south of the Oregon-California border at the time of the KDRV report, based at Medford (OR) Airtanker Base. Medford was very busy at the time of this report. You might recall that a NWS Incident Meteorologist (IMET) Trainee was deployed to the Modoc July Complex on July 31st. As I write this, the Modoc July Complex has burned 73,735 acres and is at 35% containment. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has written about the Modoc July Complex, go to his August 2nd article with links to his earlier articles for more information. You might also be interested in KDRV's August 2nd article on the Modoc July Complex (with a couple of photos).

I could not get the embed code that KDRV supplied with the video to work, I am sorry. That happens sometimes. Here is a direct link to the two-minute video from KDRV, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes to watch the video.

Edited on November 26, 2021: I just today noticed that the KDRV report with video on "Inside an Airtanker (Neptune Aviation BAe-146) is no longer available. I have noted that often media outlets remove their reports after a certain amount of time has passed. I apologize for not mentioning this in my original post.

About the CAL FIRE Pilots Association

I have been very remiss in nor writing about the CAL FIRE Pilots Association before now. I became aware of the CAL FIRE Pilots Association a few years ago now, either from Jerome Laval (editor of their newsletter) or from some of my other tanker pilot friends. Or perhaps from both sources.

As stated in the CAL FIRE Pilots Association (CFPA) Mission Page, the goal of the the CFPA (a California Mutual Benefit Nonprofit is to "... promote a safe and fair work place for those pilots working under the Calfire contract."

I have learned a lot from the CFPA webpage. For example, I just now saw a great power point on aerial fire fighting (link to download, requires Power Point or Keystone (part of the Apple iWork suite). If you can, I hope that you take some time to take a look at this presentation on aerial fire fighting. You'll learn about the anatomy of a wildfire along with some photos of S2-T tankers working a wildfire.

If you want to learn more about the airplanes on the CAL FIRE contract, the Grumman S2-T Tanker and the OV-10A Bronco, you are in luck. The CFPA has a page focusing on the S2-T and the OV-10A Bronco -- the CFPA Gallery (with links to photos and videos). Once you get to the CFPA Gallery you can get information about the Grumman S2-T and the OV-10A Bronco. Briefly, the OV-10A Bronco is an Aerial Supervision Module (ASM)/Lead Plane Platform (when the pilot is Lead Plane qualified), and the S2-T is an Air Tanker Platform.

If you want to learn more about the CAL FIRE tanker bases, there is a page for that with an interactive map -- CFPA Tanker Bases. Also on CFPA Tanker Bases is a link to information about temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) in California from the FAA.

The CFPA in the News page has some links to relevant articles.

Last but by no means least are the CFPA Newsletters, published three or four times a year from June through October. I love this newsletter and have downloaded all the issues that I can. Not only do I learn about wildfires in California and the S2-T and OV-10A pilots and where they are assigned, I have enjoyed reading about some of the pilots. For example, the June 2016 and the July 2016 issues has a two part article on a now retired CAL FIRE pilot, Deen Oehl who was based at Hemet Ryan. Also in the June 2016 and the July 2016 is an article by fire photographer Kit Robinson, with some history. I also enjoyed reading about another recently retired CAL FIRE pilot, Bob Forbes in the July 2016 issue. And then there are the awesome photos along with other great articles relevant to the aerial firefighting business. The CFPA newsletter does focus on California, but also includes articles focusing on safety, and national and international concerns. I find each issue of the CFPA newsletter, a must download and a must read.

RIP Walt Darran

Walt,

You died on November 15, 2013 after a battle with cancer. You leave your beloved wife Christine, two sons, two grandchildren, your extended family and many friends and colleagues who love you. May you rest in peace.

It is my loss that I never got an opportunity to meet you in person. However, I have known you through your presence on the Associated Aerial Firefighters (AAF) Website.  It was not long after I began writing about aerial wildland firefighting in early 2009 that I first ran across your posts  and articles on the AAF. It did not take me long to learn that you flew as a tanker pilot for CAL Fire before you retired. I only recently learned that you flew in Vietnam and flew for the airlines. You did not just retire and disappear, you continued to have the best interests of the tanker biz in mind through your work with the AAF where, among other things, you  served on their board as well as working and writing about safety in the tanker biz. Over the last almost six years you have taught me a lot about the tanker business.  Somehow saying thank-you seems wholly inadequate. 

I suspect that you may have been a quiet follower of my blog over the years and you quietly had my back. Thank-you. We exchanged e-mail a couple of times, and you were most generous with your time, answering my questions and steering me in the right direction. Somehow saying thank-you seems wholly inadequate.

I know that you are flying in favorable tail winds. I offer my thoughts and prayers for your family, friends, colleagues and all who love you and mourn your death. 

To learn more about Walt's life, you might want to read some reflections on Walt's life by tanker pilot's and friends on the AAF webpage. Bill Gabbert, of Fire Aviation reposted an an interview with Walt that he did earlier this year. 

RIP Allan MacNutt

Dear Allan,

A good friend of yours sent me a copy of your book, Altimeter Rising, a while back. I read it over the summer. When I told your friend how much I loved your book, wondering how I might contact you, he gave me your contact info. My plan was to look over your book again and then write you. Summer turned to fall and fall turned to winter. Two days ago, I got an e-mail from our mutual friend saying that you had passed away. 

I lost my chance to write and tell you how much I loved your book. So, I write now. You do not know that I am do not have a pilot's certificate, and it is unlikely that I will get one. Yet, I love aviation and I love flying. I go on scenic airplane rides as I can so I can experience flight. Over the last three years I have learned that there are other ways that I can fly. One of the ways that I fly is through reading the words of pilots such as yourself.

But your book was special. It was as if I was in the plane with you through out your 50 year career in the air. Almost as if I was flying the plane too. For indeed through your words, I was flying. 

A couple things stand out to me from your book without having to go in and reread the book. One is the picture of your wife, Irene and your Aeronca Champ in 1947, with the caption "writers only two assets in 1947." I loved the stories from the early period of your marriage which you called the flying school era. 

Fast forward to when you were flying P-38's and Mosquitoes doing aerial photographic surveys. Having seen a few photos from similar aerial surveys over the past few years, I can say that I had no idea at that time how precise that type of flying is.

Finally, you flew firebombers for twenty years, is that right? You can be sure that I'll be re-reading what you wrote about your experience flying tankers. 

I am skipping over much of your career in this short letter. As I write this, I understand that Altimeter Rising is available on Amazon and elsewhere. I hope that others will read your book and enjoy it as I have. I have a couple of projects that I have on the burner at the moment that will eventually end up on this blog. Writing about Ag-Cats and the A-26 (which you flew as a firebomber) are but two projects. I'll be adding a third project, rereading your book.

In closing, you given me the gift of flying through your words. Thank-you. It is my loss that I never got to say this to you before now. I hope that doesn't matter. I know you are flying in favorable tail winds. And be assured of my thoughts and prayers for your family, friends, colleagues, and all those who love you.

RIP Linc Alexander

Some of you already know that Linc Alexander died on May 24 of natural causes. I write this article in memory of Linc.

In early 2009, I began my journey into blogging about aerial wildland firefighting, thanks in large part to a couple of friends who mentored me in the early days of this journey. Within a few weeks, I was hooked.

In the course of this on going journey into the world of aerial wildland firefighting, I have had the privilege of meeting a variety of wonderful people who are involved in  a variety of different aspects of the business of aerial wildland firefighting.

A couple of months into this journey, I first heard the name Linc Alexander. I believe that this was on an earlier version of the Associated Aerial Firefighter's message boards that is no longer available on the web (the new AAF website may be found here). What I learned about Linc in those message posts in the spring/summer of 2009 was that he was one of the early tanker pilots, flying in both Canada and in California for thirty-seven years. Moreover, I learned that he wrote a book in the mid 1960s called Pilot's Notes for Fire Bombing. People told me that this book was considered the bible of aerial wildland firefighting, read by many or most tanker pilots. He wrote a follow-up book, Air Attack on Forest Fires, in 1972.

A little time passed and one of my friends told me Linc was working on a new book based on his years flying tankers. Seems that various folk in the tanker biz had been helping Linc out with his book. I was told that the book would be out in several months. I had heard so much about Linc and his books by this time, and I was looking forward to reading this new book.

I don't quite recall how I heard about Linc's book, Firebomber into Hell, when it was published  in the summer of 2010.  I wrote to Linc about his book shortly after I heard that it had been published, telling him a little bit about myself and this blog. I ordered an autographed copy.

Linc and I corresponded over e-mail throughout the fall of 2010. He was a true gentlemen, and was very supportive of my work on this blog. I told him early on in our correspondence that it was likely that I would never get a pilot's certificate. It did not seem to matter to him. I'll never forget what I wrote in my copy of Firebomber into Hell:

It doesn't matter how you fly and certificate or not, enjoy every second of it. You don't have to be a part of the "club" to be a respected aviator and Fire Bomber buff.

He was very generous with this time when I interviewed him over e-mail about his book, go here to see these interviews (scroll to the bottom to see the first post). I throughly enjoyed these interviews. I knew that if I had questions for Linc that I could send him in an e-mail. I did so, a couple of times. Then I heard that he was writing a new book, so I held off on writing him. He was still working on this new book on firebombing when he died.

Linc, we didn't really know each other all that well. But you touched my life in our short correspondence. I am better for having known you, and I thank-you. One of your buddies gave me a copy of Pilot's Notes for Fire Bombing, I've read it, and I need to reread it. Sorry for not writing sooner, but to be honest my mind was on the families of the Tanker 11 pilots, I know you understand. I miss you. I know that you are flying in favorable tail winds. 

There is a nice webpage about Linc, including some of his pictures, and more about Firebomber into Hell.

The life of a heavy tanker, her crew and support personnel

If you want to read about all that is involved in flying a heavy firefighting air tanker, then there is a nice article that you will want to read. You will learn a little about Minden's T-55, captain and pic Greg Hock. T-55 was based at a temporary tanker base in Abilene TX when the article was written. You will learn a little about life on a tanker base as well as what is like when the tanker is making a drop on a fire.

There are periods of inactivity between fires when the pic and co-pilot have to stay on call. When the call comes, the pic and co-pilot arrive within 15 minutes. The tanker (T-55 in this case) is loaded with retardant and off she goes.

The article also introduces you to some of the many other support personnel that are necessary for aerial wildland fire support operations. A variety of personnel are necessary including aircraft maintenance personnel (including A&P mechanics), those involved in mixing and loading the retardant into the tanker, base and ramp personnel and others.

Michael Archer of The Firebomber Publications Blog aka Wildfire News of the Day, included the article in his March 4, 2012 entry. The article itself was written for the March 4 edition of the Abilene TX Reporter News. I'd also like to another friend who made me aware of the article around the time that I found it on the Fire Publications Blog.

As always, I'm never quite certain how long links from the online edition of print media are freely available. So, if you come here and the link no longer works, that is why. October 6, 2016, I just realized that the link to the March 4, 2012 is no longer available and perhaps it hasn't been for a long time. Unfortunately, I did not save a copy of the article so I can not provide more of a summary for you. As some of you no doubt know, on June 3, 2012 T-55 landed in Minden NV with only two of three gear (see my my June 4 2012 article) . Both pilots survived. To the best of my knowledge, T-55 has not returned to service. 

RIP Dave Kelly Sr. (1927-2011)

I want to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the family, friends, colleagues of Dave Kelly, Sr. (1927-2011) -- air tanker pilot -- who passed away on April 4 after an illness. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Dave. However, over the last two plus years that I have been writing about aerial wildland firefighting, I ran into his name in my wonderings on the internet.

What I learned was that he was a veteran tanker pilot well respected by his fellow tanker pilots. Dave was great friend and mentor to many inside and outside the tanker business who will miss him. He soloed at the age of eighteen, obtaining first his private pilots certificate and later his commercial rating. He was also a flight instructor and an aviation mechanic. Before he started flying air tankers in 1967 he worked as a crop duster for many years. He grew to be an old pilot before passing on at the age of 83. Take a couple of moments to read Dave's obit here.

I am sorry that I did not know Dave, the loss is mine.

Dave, I know that you are flying in favorable tailwinds with all of your old buddies.

Another video from fire pirates

Here is another fire pirates video that I found on youtube. Enjoy

Postscript (10;30 AM): Opps. Just realized that I accidently posted the same video twice. I have just corrected this post with the second of two fire pirates videos from you tube. The first fire pirates video may be found here.

40 year veteran air tanker pilot speaks

Here is a great video from myfirevideos.net sponsored by wildland fire lessons learned center. The speaker on this video is Bill Waldman, a 40-year veteran air tanker pilot and recently retired from Aero Union where he was the chief pilot. During his long career he logged over 10,000 hours in flight time, making over 13,000 retardant drops. In this video, part of the lessons learned series of the wildland fire lessons learned center, he speaks about the lessons he learned during his career as a wildland firefighter whose tool is an aircraft. While speaking directly to other tanker pilots and crew, I believe that the lessons he learned are applicable to ground crews, other emergency services workers, as well as us civilians. I learned a lot from watching this video.

The most important thing that I took from watching this video, and I have watched a couple of times by now, is the importance of safety. That is, Mr. Waldman offers this advice to firefighting aircraft pilots (young and old):

What we do is a job, it is not an emergency. Don't risk your life and die over a tree. That is primary. Do a job, do it safely, and go home at night.

Plan on spending about 15 minutes to watch the video.

If the above link doesn't work, go to myfirevideos.net and look for a video called "I am a wildland firefighter - aircraft is my tool. I'd like to thank Bill Gabbert who posted about this same video here. You might want to check out Bill's article to see the comments a couple of air tanker pilots made to Bill's article.

Fire Pirates video

And speaking of tankers/crew

I was going to start a new series today on temporary flight restrictions and fire traffic areas, but I need a couple more days to finish my research. In the meantime, I just found this video on youtube. I think it sort of fits in with the post I made two days ago.

Elegance in action: watching air tankers

I had the privilege of spending a few minutes watching an air tanker on live news helo feed as she worked the Station Fire about three weeks ago. Much of it was prior to making the drop.

Elegance in action, an air tanker and her crew.

There was a fluidity of motion as I could almost see the special relationship between air tanker and crew. They were as one as they maneuvered into the right position at just the right height and speed for the drop. They nailed the retardant drop.

I know of the danger that is a very real part of what these pilots and crew do. As I watched the footage the aura of danger, while still there, faded into the background. In it's place was elegance as tanker and crew did something special, dropping retardant on a fire. Thanks to some incredible camera work from the news helo and the wonders of the internet, I had a live, up close, and birds eye view of elegance in action.

From a former air tanker pilot in memory of Mike Flynn

This story was sent to me by Gordon, a former air tanker pilot. I post this here with his permission.

In 2003, flying on a fire near McCall, ID, we experienced a malfunction of the computerized drop system in our Lockheed P2V. Without warning, the system suddenly jettisoned 2450 gallons of fire retardant. We were no where near the fire at the time and since we had plenty of altitude, we were not in any danger.

The resulting steep pitch-up of the aircraft's nose when that eleven tons of retardant suddenly left the plane was a little disconcerting, but with full forward stick and a bit of swearing, we were under control.

We knew we would be in trouble with the Forest Service for wasting an expensive load of retardant and when we returned to base, we were told the load had landed on a house and the owner was hopping mad. The base manager told us to expect a phone call from the director of heavy airtanker operations and that we'd have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. We were prepared to take our medicine when the base manager's phone rang. He listened and nodded a few times, said he understood and hung up.

It seems that the telephone over at dispatch had been ringing off the hook with "thank you" calls from grateful neighbors of the fellow whose house we had painted with retardant. Apparently, all summer long he'd had an illegal burn barrel going in his yard.
Repeated complaints to the various authorities, especially the Forest Service, went unheeded and the callers were just phoning in to express their thanks. Our retardant load had squashed his burn barrel and the neighbors all thought it was a deliberate act of law enforcement.

I send this to you in honor of my co-pilot that day, Mike Flynn, killed this past April 25th in the crash of a P2 airtanker near Stockton, UT. Mike was a wonderful man, a consummate pilot and a true gentleman.

Associated Airtanker Pilots

I have had the pleasure of spending time on the Associated Airtanker Pilots (AAP) website. There is a lot of good info on this site, including a good photogallery. I was lurking on their message board one day, and it got me thinking that it would be good for you to hear some of their stories. To make a long story short, I reached out to one of the AAP members who liked my idea and gave me permission to post a message to their message board (it is a closed board) to share my idea and ask for their help. So, the idea is that from time to time, I hope to get stories from air tanker pilots, the idea being to give you an idea of what it is like to fly air tankers. In addition, I may also share my own reflections based on my correspondence with air tanker pilots.

I have the first air tanker pilot story, which I will post tomorrow. I will follow that up with my first reflection post. Actually there will be two reflections in two posts, the second is a video that I found. So stay tuned.

At this point, I only have one story and one reflection to post. I am hoping to get more, and I am being patient. As I do get more, I will post them here.

avoid stalls during retardant drops

Remember the two stall speeds that I referred to for the AT-802F that I referred to here? There is a V-speed or velocity-speed known as Vs where Vs is the stall speed or minimum steady flight speed for which the aircraft is still controllable. As you can see from this wikipedia article on V speeds, there are many different V-speeds. Now, if I am thinking about this correctly, then Vs should be slightly higher then this AT-802F performance specification:

Stall Speed, Flaps Down: 91 mph (146 kph) at 16,000 lbs (7 257 kg)

The speed that an airtanker flies at when making retardant drops on a fire is related to Vs. This is expressed as a formula (1.3*Vs). According to the specs found on the Queen Bee web site, the drop speed is in the 120 to 130 mph range. For a more detailed discussion of the calculation of the drop speed (from which I based this discussion) using the AT-802 as an example, go to this BLM aviation page, an automatic download of a MS word document.

TL Stein offers this explanation of stalls, retardant drops, terrain, and fire-produced weather:

Stalls are to be avoided in ALL cases, excepting the landing phase of an aircraft.  In the air tanker world, landing is the only place you want a STALL.  Fire produces it's own weather conditions.  A tanker making a drop in a canyon can experience a tailwind on approach to the drop, which drops the forward airspeed.  Over the fire, a severe lift condition can and does occur, due to the heat raising from the fire.  During the drop phase, the aircraft releases it's load and becomes much lighter.  Consider the thermal wind activity over the drop zone, combined with a sudden tail wind.  The aircraft can loose enough forward airspeed over the wing to cause it to stall and crash.  This is why airspeed / drop speed are critical to the aircraft and the mission.  In the real world, stalls are practiced at a good altitude to enable a successful recovery.  This is mandatory for a "type rating" in the aircraft you will be certified to fly.  Stalls close to the ground, in a fire fighting scenario leave no room for recovery.  There are a lot of memorials to pilots who stalled and crashed.  Why?  Constantly changing conditions over the fire is a good start.  You can make two passes over a fire and the flight conditions will never be the same on each pass.  The best tanker pilots on earth know this.  Each drop you make you run the risk of something going wrong, it's a given and we know it.