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Colorado’s First Aerial Firefighting Fleet Is Born
Gov. John Hickenlooper says it’s time to prepare for fighting fires and on Monday he signed a bill into law creating the state’s first aerial fire fleet. (denver.cbslocal.com) Daha Fazlası...
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Excellent.. Glad to see it... I am sure it will shorten the life of fires and extend the life of fire fighters.
Let me give you some facts & a heads up here. I fly with the Black Sheep Senior Sq of the Colorado Civil Air Patrol. We fly C182's out of Centennial Airport(APA). We have already been flying fire watch flights for Douglas County in Colorado for the past few years now & they have not had a major fire as yet. Last year we spotted at least two fires of which one was on my second fire watch flight & the fire was located south of Strontia Spgs Res...we called the Incident Commander, gave him the lat & lon then loitered over the area until the ground crews got to the fire to extinguish it.
Just south of Douglas County is Elbert County & last year there was a massive fire in the Black Forest that wiped out a bunch of high end homes. We were not "hired" by Elbert County for fire watch flts, however while flying the perimeter of Douglas County , if we spot a fire else where we will notify our incident commander.
The problem in Colorado is that there is no state fire marshall. Each county sheriff calls the shots on whether or not they want to use the Civil Air Patrol, or anyone else for that matter , to do fire watch flights. The county pays for the C.A.P. acft, which I believe is about $120 p.h. which is negligible, the flight crew is free. We fly 4 hr sorties & during the summer time on a 95 deg day & a density altitude pushing 10k' it's all we have to do TO get up high enough in a non turbo acft to get over the mtns. Then the fun starts with the turbulence & up & down drafts, strong winds usually gusting on departure & arrival back to APA. We do have a turbo acft which makes things a lot easier on climb to altitude.
This type of flying literally wipes you out.
The state wants to buy two Pilatus acft, with sensors, fly @ 30k & I doubt they will want to fly @ 80 to 90 knots. We'll see how this all plays out.
Just south of Douglas County is Elbert County & last year there was a massive fire in the Black Forest that wiped out a bunch of high end homes. We were not "hired" by Elbert County for fire watch flts, however while flying the perimeter of Douglas County , if we spot a fire else where we will notify our incident commander.
The problem in Colorado is that there is no state fire marshall. Each county sheriff calls the shots on whether or not they want to use the Civil Air Patrol, or anyone else for that matter , to do fire watch flights. The county pays for the C.A.P. acft, which I believe is about $120 p.h. which is negligible, the flight crew is free. We fly 4 hr sorties & during the summer time on a 95 deg day & a density altitude pushing 10k' it's all we have to do TO get up high enough in a non turbo acft to get over the mtns. Then the fun starts with the turbulence & up & down drafts, strong winds usually gusting on departure & arrival back to APA. We do have a turbo acft which makes things a lot easier on climb to altitude.
This type of flying literally wipes you out.
The state wants to buy two Pilatus acft, with sensors, fly @ 30k & I doubt they will want to fly @ 80 to 90 knots. We'll see how this all plays out.
Yes Walt..total respect for you...and total disrespect for those that are so dumb that they don't appreciate the service you provide FOR FREE. Now to the BIG PROBLEM.
Why does the local media not pick up on this service which is in THE PUBLIC INTEREST. There was atime when the local media was independent. NO MORE. They do not give a damn about public safety. They are finance driven and they STINK TO HIGH HEAVEN. As long as thier house and family are safe all is well. To hell with protecting the public. I want these people in a locked closet where a few realities can be explored.
Why does the local media not pick up on this service which is in THE PUBLIC INTEREST. There was atime when the local media was independent. NO MORE. They do not give a damn about public safety. They are finance driven and they STINK TO HIGH HEAVEN. As long as thier house and family are safe all is well. To hell with protecting the public. I want these people in a locked closet where a few realities can be explored.
Roland, thank you. Fire watch flights are just one service we provide...for free. Our Public Affairs officer does a good job getting the word out to different organizations, schools & media,as we've been on local & Nat'l news, however there's still a lack of cognizance out there re: the C.A.P. & what we do. It's truly a great organization for anyone who wants to give something back to their community & the nation. C.A.P. has three types of squadrons....cadet, composite & senior. I am so very proud when I see our cadets & the way they are becoming viable, active & responsible members of society. They give an awful lot, selflessly, when called upon to do ground search & rescue, air search & rescue,or assisting in any way called upon during & after a disaster or S.A.R. operation.. Each & every member of the C.A.P. can bring who we are & what we do to the attn. of anyone they meet anywhere, anytime. During the Colorado floods last year the Colorado C.A.P. flew 112 missions & took 10,000 photos which greatly helped direct resources where they were most needed...again the crews flying are free with a nominal charge per hour for the acft to the "client". The cadets were & are an integral part of all of that goes on in C.A.P. I am considering talking to our Sq public affairs officer to do an interview on the radio. We have a radio sta in the Denver area that is very pro military & is willing to do an interview.
Again Roland thank you....maybe we'll see you on the tarmac one day.
Again Roland thank you....maybe we'll see you on the tarmac one day.
My days are done..catch you in the mext life. You have a real fight over in the USA I know that much, what with Fed Land Grabs and all. I am a UK citizen based in the UK. The way the USA is self destructing sriously disturbs me. I think you can bring it around but it will take some effort. I know you have at least one good media oulet...I listen to NPR radio on an AFN internet stream.. I just can't believe how low that $120/hr rate is. Maybe that is the problem Because it is chaep they don't appreciate the service. God be with you.
Roland...good to talk to a brother in the UK. Many people are deeply concerned about how the U.S. is self destructing. I have a Hope & Joy that keeps me going that cannot be dashed. I'm excited about the times we're in but sad in a sense to see what's happening. I'm not concerned as much for the here & now as much as the here after.
Blessings my friend.
Walt
Blessings my friend.
Walt
