Dear Ultralights and Yenn
Further info today on the effectiveness (?) of large firefighting aircraft - from a critic of the current situation (of the whole thing, not just aircraft use):
Some selected quotes (confined to aircraft) from today's Crikey ezine (item 13) which unfortunately is available only by paid subscription -
" Fire authorities fiddling while the bush burns
Nicholas Gellie is a fire ecologist and former fire manager with 25 years experience with various agencies, including the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. He is currently completing a PhD thesis at the ANU on the topic of "Exposure of the ACT region to severe drought, fire weather and lightning ignition". He writes:
As south eastern Australia braces itself for another day of intense bushfire activity, it's fair to question why our fire authorities are again fearing the worst. Simply, they are unprepared.
..........
We need to critically evaluate the effectiveness of large helicopters, such as the Ericsson sky cranes. “Elvis†might be a cult hero, but in many situations he is ineffective when compared to smaller and more deployable helicopters.
For first attack purposes, small to medium sized helicopters equipped with buckets are more effective because you can hit the fire hard and more often. Then there’s the cost issue. One sky crane costs more than $250,000 a day, but you can have ten medium helicopters at $25,000 a day supporting fire operations. It’s a huge cost difference and nobody is doing the cost-benefit analysis. People who have lost property, national park users and taxpayers should be asking why."
Dear Ultralights and Yenn - are you still sure big is better??? Even in America there are far more SEATS and helos than ultra-large bombers. In fact it's considered that the ultra-largies are only suitable for ridgetop work - of which there's not a lot - there's far more stuff burning in the valleys and gullies than along the ridges. I will admit that the ultra-biggies have their proponents, notable amongst them are the companies that provide them! The old story, do your homework, don't just listen to the sales pitch. Buyer beware.
