Busy afternoon and have now moved to a motel for a day or two.
The other day I mentioned that I had been a 'bird dog officer' (air attack officer). Probably very few people realize what this job entails. As far as I know the US and several other countries don't use this position but allow their air tankers (water bombers) to act independently. In Canada we better utilize our tankers by having a smaller, faster aircraft as the 'bird dog'. It is manned with a pilot and a fire experienced forest officer. This person in his bird dog plane arrives at a fire ahead of the tankers, he establishes contact with any ground forces then devises an air attack strategy to aid in bringing the fire under control. By the time the first tanker arrives, he will have decided where the retardent loads will be placed, from which direction and an exit plan after a load is dropped. He will have detected hazards (snags, air pockets, etc) and relayed the information to the tanker pilot. Usually he will bring the bird dog into an attack position and simulate a run while the tanker pilot looks on. He will then give the order to carry out the attack and instruct the bombing pilot how many doors to open sequentially, to drop in a string effect or to dump one full load . This is repeated with each tanker that arrives. The BDO will adjust his attack plan as the fire behaviour changes. He may send the tankers back for reloads or for them to return to base and park.
The other day I mentioned that I had been a 'bird dog officer' (air attack officer). Probably very few people realize what this job entails. As far as I know the US and several other countries don't use this position but allow their air tankers (water bombers) to act independently. In Canada we better utilize our tankers by having a smaller, faster aircraft as the 'bird dog'. It is manned with a pilot and a fire experienced forest officer. This person in his bird dog plane arrives at a fire ahead of the tankers, he establishes contact with any ground forces then devises an air attack strategy to aid in bringing the fire under control. By the time the first tanker arrives, he will have decided where the retardent loads will be placed, from which direction and an exit plan after a load is dropped. He will have detected hazards (snags, air pockets, etc) and relayed the information to the tanker pilot. Usually he will bring the bird dog into an attack position and simulate a run while the tanker pilot looks on. He will then give the order to carry out the attack and instruct the bombing pilot how many doors to open sequentially, to drop in a string effect or to dump one full load . This is repeated with each tanker that arrives. The BDO will adjust his attack plan as the fire behaviour changes. He may send the tankers back for reloads or for them to return to base and park.
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