Aerial Wildfire Suppression; SEE (Safety, Effectiveness,
Efficiency) Opportunities and Challenges.
Presented at Tangent-Link Aerial Firefighting Symposium, Vancouver, British Columbia, 16-17 March, 2010.
One pilot’s perspective, keeping in mind that our ultimate purpose is support of boots and dozers on the fire line.
S.E.E. is the over-riding guideline:
If it’s not Safe, regroup and re-evaluate.
If it’s Safe, but not Effective, what’s the point?
If it’s Safe and Effective, do it as Efficiently as practicable.
We desperately need to define the right questions, then conduct vigorous evaluations to determine what works best, what is most suitable, what gives the biggest bang for the buck. We need to find and aggressively promote ways to reduce costs and increase effectiveness, leading to sustainable budgets.
We need to avoid the distractions of politics and the media to the extent possible, but recognize that they are an unavoidable part of our job, and that properly engaged may help us.
We need refined and focused communication and sharing of information through networking, web portals, and seminars such as this.
Some tools that are available:
Safety:
Studies addressing recognition and mitigation of aircrew and support personnel physiological and mental stressors.
Conflict avoidance: TCAS, TCAD, FTA and TFR procedures.
Angle of Attack cockpit presentations.
CVR/FDR, FRS, FOQA for operational and incident analysis..
NDI techniques and applications, including downlink.
Crew smoke hoods and O2 , portable and ship’s own.
Restricted Visibility Systems (EVS/SVS/NVG/HUD).
FlyRight obstruction charts
Training:
NAFA, NAFA II (FireSim), Tangent Link presentations and
web portals.
Bombardier Safety Stand-downs.
Computer based and online options including:
PC---X-plane and Microsoft FSX software and aircraft replications.
FireSim at MCC for fire procedures training and drill.
3rd party simulator aircraft emergency and IFR training and proficiency.
CD/DVD courses (Mountain Flying, APS, aircraft systems—whatever you want).
OEM/3rd party FTD (Bombardier/Mechtronics, FireBoss), CBT (idc, CPAT) and simulator flight training, Human Factor courses (Convergent Performance) and Advanced Aircraft Performance and Maneuvering programs (APS).
Effectiveness:
FRS (Appareo); training, monitoring/FOQA, accident analysis.
Improved suppression/retardant selection and application techniques, and IR mapping.
Upgraded constant flow gravity and pressure tank systems.
Efficiency:
User-friendly (programmable) radios, more frequencies, less clutter, noise.
Upgraded dispatch capabilities and qualifications; Automated Flight Following for dispatch decision making.
ACARS, SELCAL (inflight diverts, dissemination of NOTAMS).
TWO-Way Communication:
Web portals and message boards/discussion groups, publications and other documentation (Safeco/CF119), with adequate and appropriate dissemination.
Real-time fire briefs/debriefs, seminars, web-casts, web message boards.
My personal crystal ball:
Due to public, media, and political pressure, the evaluation and introduction of restricted visibility (night, smoke, and IFR) wildfire flight operations will accelerate. Aero Flite currently uses FLIR in their CL215s; L.A. County will continue development of applications and tactics within its fleet.
This trend will be driven by the requirement to justify acquisition, then fully utilize, multi-million-dollar platforms to replace and upgrade our current aging fleet, and to develop the capability to respond 24/7/365 to increasingly costly and devastating firestorms, safety and effectiveness permitting. Success will depend on thinking intelligently and appropriately outside the box, which will in turn require comprehensive training, and application of exhaustively tested operational parameters and tactics, including improved dispatching.
Reliance on day-VFR SEATs, rotor-wing, S2Ts, and LATs will continue in many areas, but long range/high-speed/high-tech/high-volume Super Choppers,
Next-Gen LATs, and VLATs will make inroads, along with faster recon, lead, and ATGS/ASM/Lead aircraft with greater capabilities and longer loiter times.
If you want to be flying tankers 20 years from now, you might want to start
building rotor-wing, tilt-wing, or scooper experience, or at least glass-cockpit/EVS/HUD turbine time. There will be a growing role for UAVs in firefighting. Effective utilization of sophisticated Next-Generation aerial firefighting platforms will demand upgraded training, some of it out-sourced (FIRESIM, FSI/SimCom, APS upset training), plus on-line/CBT courses such as
www.convergentperformance.com addressing self-monitored human factors training, and www.aps.com addressing upset recovery and max performance techniques. Also advanced maintenance and inspection technologies such
as NDI, acousto-ultrasonics, and fiber-optic sensors, and improved dispatching/communication techniques and hardware.
Employment as an aerial firefighting crewmember will evolve into an ever-more-demanding career, requiring qualifications and on-going professional education well beyond the current level, plus adding year-round availability, currency, and proficiency. Computer literacy will be a given, multi-lingual abilities a big plus.
Selection of new crewmembers will address their ability to deal with the AAB-operator-agency interface (i.e., diplomacy and politics), a willingness to relocate and/or reeducate to meet "the needs of the service", plus the requisite low-level stick-and-rudder skills and experience that are increasingly hard to find. It will be acknowledged that it is less expensive, more effective, and more efficient to train an experienced aerial firefighter in a new aircraft type than to teach aerial firefighting to someone simply experienced in type. Recruiting and retaining highly qualified professionals will require sufficient time off at home to sustain a (relatively) normal family life, plus competitive compensation and benefits, including a comfortable retirement.
Large multi-national firefighting companies may emerge, and possibly dominate; mergers and partnerships seem likely. World-wide networking and response capability will be a big plus in contract negotiations and acquisitions.
Current fire agencies require revitalized leadership to effectively deal with legislative funding and oversight, and to establish realistic and viable goals to meet new environmental challenges such as global warming and the encroaching urban/wild-land interface. Government agencies must become partners in progress instead of roadblocks to innovation. The USA will see increasing pressure to create a separate cabinet-level authority to combat wildfires, apart from forest management. Military/civilian and international mutual support will
expand.
Some pilots, operators, and agencies may feel compelled to resist change and fight to maintain the status quo; I would ask them to consider joining the transition, embrace the opportunities, but don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. What we have works, to a point, but there are unused, or underemployed, tools available now, and more on the horizon, that will help us do an even better job of protecting lives and property.
Along with vision, support, and leadership, upgrading will require vastly increased funding in an era of severe budgetary restrictions.
Above all, we urgently need knowledgeable, powerful, effective, champions dedicated to selling our needs and opportunities to agencies and legislators as a win-win proposition.
Time is of the essence.
Walt Darran