glanceblamm: I decided to create a new topic because I kind of lead us off Bill’s original question.
The question fits because large fires could be called a gathering of gps units, and coordinates. During initial attack the dispatchers provide aircraft with a LAT/LONG from their base and in the case of Air Tankers a reload base suitable for the size of aircraft. The bigger the aircraft the larger reload base is needed.
My hat is off to the pilots and crews. Many go through their career without a mishap and others go quickly. Tanker 130 went down when a wing separated from the aircraft.
http://www.wildlandfire.com/pics/air4/cr_c130t.jpgThere has been a change in the way fire fighting aircraft are being kept track of in the air. The change has come about because of the satellite signals you and I use with our gps units, and new technology that takes advantage of it. The aircraft from the observer plane (Air Attack), helicopter, Lead Plane, to the Air Tanker are required to have AAF instrumentation. It is a great system, because the old 15-minute tracking system required very close attention. Dispatchers and helibase management crews have a timer set for each aircraft in the air. Now day’s dispatchers still track aircraft but with the advent of AAF some of the burden is lighten. For a better explanation of AFF check this link.
http://earth.google.com/enterprise/us_forest.html The dispatcher still has a timer set for the aircraft but now checks the computer screen to view the location of the aircraft being tracked. He can click on the aircraft and the N number along with LAT/LONG will show up. This spring an airtanker disappeared of the screen. I believe it was on the way to Texas. The responsible dispatch unit started making calls. The tanker had hit a mountain and the crew was lost.
Aircraft come from a number of different sources; the Federal Government primary source is contractors for fixed wing, and rotor. State and local governments use a combination of contract and agency owned aircraft.
A simple fire might require an Air Attack aircraft, which is flown by contract pilot and carries a highly qualified agency observer in fire suppression. This is normally the first aircraft over a fire and will radio back a LAT/LONG to the dispatch center, along with a geographic description, status of the fire, and other needs. He will switch to another channel and line up the airtankers. He will coordinate air space between the airtankers, helicopters, and the press.
If he orders up Heavy Airtankers a lead plane will be ordered. The lead plane will fly a drainage and setup the drops for the airtankers. The lead plane pilot might determine that because of prevailing winds it is unsafe for the aircraft to drop in drainage. The public needs to remember these are professional fire fighting pilots, not suicide pilots.
If a fire grows into a major event aircraft and crews from afar are requested and assigned to the incident. Helicopters require a lot of support. Part of the crew goes on the ship and the remainder has to drive to the Incident Base and the Helibase. They maybe on the road for a day or two driving to the assignment. All the crews I know of have a Garmin Automotive Gps on the dash of their crew truck and the pickup they use as a chase rig. Most of the time these are not the latest and greatest gps units. I have seen a number of older GPSIII+ and GPS 5 units in service. BUT good old gps units can do a job. The helicopter contractor will also have support people to maintain the ship on the fire, part of the contract includes a fuel truck. A fuel truck for a small ship will haul a few hundred gallons of fuel. A big skycrane requires a lot of fuel and a semi-truck and trailer loaded with fuel will be in route to the fire. There are a lot of regulations when it involves the transportation of fuel. If it appears that the fire will last for an extended period of time the contractor will arrange for additional loads of fuel. Garmin has a gps designed and programmed to fit the need of a big rig driver.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=275&pID=31541Crew members who repel into a fire will have a hand held gps unit with them. When possible they well land. Back at the Crew truck they record the LAT/LONG of the crew that has been dropped off.
Large fires will be flown and mapped using gps technology with mapping software. Incident Command “PEOPLE” will determine the location of drop points for supplies, equipment, and manpower. A large fire becomes a division of labor which is assigned to overhead, crews, and equipment. The boundaries of these divisions are indentified on planning mappings along with LAT/LONG coordinates.
Knowing the location of resources is critical when a crew is about to be burned over and air support is needed, or a fire fighter has been injured and needs to be flown out.
This Cobra Fire Fighting helicopter is the first of two planned ships. I do not know if the other one was completed. In talking to the pilot of this ship the other one was parts on a hanger floor.
Paired with a support van the helicopter can down link video and inferred data from a fire. The Incident Commander can view this current data and make informed command decisions. When there are a lot of large fires burning in the Country life and property takes priority. Decisions where air resources go are made at the National Level when there is competition for the same resource.
Fire Suppression pilots are highly qualified. A few hundred hours will not do it. One afternoon I was talking to one of the older, and I do mean older pilots. He was flying off carriers at the end of WWII, flew in the Korean War, and flew missions over North Vietnam in the Vietnam War. There is no way a person coming up the civilian route could match his flight hours.
I was setting in the shade taking a break talking to a Bell 212 pilot in Idaho. He had flown his ship down from Alaska where he was working the oil fields. He had accumulated a lot of hours logging with a helicopter, and then he had his fire time. We come to realize that he was in my brother’s high school class and I was in his sister’s class. He flew helicopters in Vietnam. He claimed to have around 25,000 hours of flight time. Former military pilots dominate the ranks of fire fighting helicopter, and airtanker pilots. Five years ago I was bemoaning the aging of this great group of pilots. The lives and safety of the public and line firefighters are in their hands. What happens when they grow too old? Not every pilot is like the old Navy carrier pilot. My crystal ball did not predict the Iraq, and Afghanistan War.
These former pilots are up to date on the latest navigation instruments in their aircraft. I have come across a couple that are carrying a Garmin 96C in their brief case.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=156&pID=277I have to believe that some are now carrying the 496 and other units higher in the food chain.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=156&pID=6426#specsTabYou need a lot of room when setting up for the big helicopters. To close to other aircraft on the ground and the rotor wash will flip them over.
A lot of the mechanics that work for a contractor have a military background. Now days they use a gps to find a helibase in a Montana cow pasture. I was on a fire in Colorado when one of the large helicopters sucked a bird into the turbine engine. A few phone calls were made one of which was to the factory in Canada. A new turbine engine was loaded in the bed of a Chevy pickup and engine was sent to the remote helibase in Colorado. I do not know if the two drivers in the pickup had a gps but it would have been handy. Equipment was brought in and the engine was replaced. This was an all night operation, but the ship was ready for the pilot to take it on a test flight the next morning.
I am not a pilot.
