CAL FIRE.

This is coolbert:

“All our aircraft come from the military,” . . . “We get them for about one dollar, then convert them into what we need them for.”

“At this point, every one of our aircraft are better than the day they first rolled off the assembly line,” . . . “We’ve eliminated weaknesses, added larger motors, completely rewired them, and reinforced them to be stronger and more nimble.”

I AM IMPRESSED IN A BIG WAY!!

Once more thanks indirectly to Darby an article of interest from Air Space magazine. Those aviators who fight  forest fires using quasi-military aircraft and employing quasi-combat techniques.

PILOTS OF CAL FIRE NOT CREATING A FIRESTORM BUT FLYING INTO A FIRESTORM!

"The Pilots Who Fight California’s Wildfires"

"With a squadron of ancient airplanes, these firefighters are usually the first on the scene."

"Cal Fire—the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection—is a state agency responsible for fire control across 31 million acres of timberland, brush, and urban forest. With 50 aircraft at 23 bases around the state, it has the largest firefighting air force in the world."

THESE GUYS GOT GUTS!

How many times do I make the analogy? Fighting a forest fire as close as you can get to mortal combat during a time of war without having an adversary shooting at you! Cal Fire fire managers [combat commanders] on the ground having at their disposal a considerable number of aircraft dropping as in a bombing run water or fire retardant.

Fire fighting "warplanes" of a second-hand and heavily used nature refurbished and flown by experienced aviators I suspect the majority of which have military experience and perhaps even considerable combat experience.

Read the whole article. See also a previous blog entry with additional embedded link as germane.

coolbert.