Career Spotlight: Hot spots

U.S. champion and National Aviation Hall of Fame pilot Patty Wagstaff applied to be a pilot for DynCorp International as part of a team of aerial firefighters with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). You’d think her thousands of hours, time in many types of aircraft, and aerobatic airshow experience would get her a leg up in the aerial firefighting industry, but no. She had to complete the rigorous application process and prove her mettle just like any other candidate. Wagstaff flew three fire seasons for CalFire piloting the North American Rockwell OV–10A Bronco as a lead pilot for air tankers.

“Tanker flying is edgy because you are low and in the smoke in places you’ve never been before,” Wagstaff told Air & Space magazine writer Debbie Gary. “Everything is totally different down there; trees sticking up everywhere, flames, and no perspective. When there is a lot of wind, it can be really ugly too, but it’s cool.”

Air tanker pilots drop fire retardant from fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft to suppress and contain wildfires. Fire season extends across the United States from June until October, beginning in the southeast and ending on the west coast. California has recently seen some of the worst wildfires in its history, and it hasn’t been easy in Oregon and Nevada either. Private fire-fighting companies such as Neptune Aviation in Montana and Aero Air in Oregon are contracted by the U.S. Forest Service. Pilots, smokejumpers, and firefighters are termed “official national assets” by the U.S. government. Aircraft used by federal and state agencies include the Lockheed C–130 Hercules, Grumman S–2T, Air Tractor AT–802, DC–10, MD–80, and the granddaddy of them all, the Global Supertanker Boeing 747–400.

Both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft are used in aerial firefighting. In 2019, EAA AirVenture honored aerial firefighters with an aerial firefighting demonstration, with air tankers performing a mock fire drop.

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