Bowled then shopping with the gals , then an hour at the pool. More paking up.

 Within seconds, the DC 6 aircrew and the aerostar pilot exited the lounge at a trot and headed for their respective aircraft.  Marsh and Elena got into the back seats of the aerostar while Pepe climbed into the front.  The base had not been setup with a dispatcher and Pepe fulfilled that role along with his duties as birddog officer.  He briefed his pilot on the coordinates of the target and indicated the direction and distance to the ‘fire’.  While the pilot filed a local flight plan with the tower, Pepe contacted the DC 6 copilot on the Fire Services frequency and gave him the same information.  The aerostar was airborne in five minutes and on course to the target.  Ten minutes later they were circling the fire, without hesitation Pepe instructed the pilot to circle around and do a mock bombing run into the direction the wind was coming from.  By the time they had completed the maneuver, the DC 6 was in sight.  Pepe contacted the other pilot and gave him a detailed instruction on making his bombing run then signaled the aerostar pilot to climb and circle out and away from the fire.

 The DC 6 made one circle around the fire at 3000 feet then settled into a descent that brought the machine down to fifty feet above the treetops, as directed he opened all eight doors at the same time and simultaneously pulled the nose up into a steep climb.

 It was a direct hit; the foam covered all but one small corner of the windrow of burning brush.  Pepe instructed the DC 6 pilot to return to base, no reload necessary.  By the time the aerostar and its passengers descended and circled slowly over the area, Don and his crew were already digging and extinguishing the last of the embers.  Marsh was pleased to note that prior to the arrival of the aircraft they had cleared a fireguard around the perimeter of the target.

 Pepe looked back at Marsh and raised his eyebrows.  Marsh nodded at him and simply said, “Home.”

 Marsh had almost forgotten about Elena beside him, as he had been intent on the action.  He turned to look at her, she was smiling broadly and her dark eyes were bright with excitement.  He smiled back and unobtrusively gave her knee a quick squeeze.

 They touched down a few minutes later, taxied and parked.  When they exited the plane Marsh told Elena to wait for him in the lounge then he asked Pepe to walk with him for a moment.

 “Pepe,” Marsh said.  “You did very well considering the small amount of training you have. I only have two things in which I could find fault.”

 Pepe broke in, “I know Senor Marsh, the next time the alarm will be number one.”

 Marsh laughed, “No that’s not it, that was simply a bit of confusion because you knew it was a practice.  No, it was when the ‘6’ arrived, it would have been best to demonstrate what you wanted, that way by watching you he would have had a better feel for how his ‘run’ would go. Too much verbal instruction can be confusing and when we are dealing with two different accents, even more so.  The other thing was that you should have had the ground crew confirm that they were clear.  I know that it was obvious and that they were waiting for us but a practice is only preparation for a real situation, we don’t want anyone hurt.”