![]() ![]() ![]() Not to mention working with the crew members here at Coulson – that’s been ‘icing on the cake’ for me. “Being able to help other people, as well as the earth’s beautiful landscape, is very satisfying. “This is the most rewarding job that I have had.” “Each night we are prepared to end the day at any tanker base we’re assigned to, so we take all of our gear with us on the plane,” Mac said. The team can fly up to 8 hours a day and they have to be prepared to engage a multitude of different aerial firefighting missions. The aircraft is made ready first thing in the morning and the crew waits in readiness to be dispatched on firefighting missions. ![]() There are slow days and busy days for the crews, but a normal routine means being available at the tanker base from around 9am to 6pm, unless elevated fire dangers exist, in which case they stay longer. Mac mentioned that fire was one of the largest wildfires (burning 180,000 acres) in Arizona’s history. Recently they worked on the Telegraph fire near Phoenix, Arizona. The C-130 Hercules (Herc) was also designed to be highly maneuverable, with ability to land and take-off on relatively short runways. Since returning from Australia earlier in the year, Mac and the team have flown aerial firefighting missions in California and Arizona. Capabilities of a Coulson C-130 Herc The C-130 was designed and built to deliver large amounts of payload via landing or by dropping it out of the aircraft while inflight, Mac said. ![]()
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May 2023
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