General Patton on Lieutenant Kerry

"Clark" stillnospam@me wrote
"S. Sampson" wrote
"Mike Marron" wrote

Haven't flown fighters like Ed but I have flown single pilot IFR
under Part 135 like you and no offense, but that DC-4 position
sounds like just another uneviable, low-pay, low-prestige yet
high-risk flying job. No thanks.

On top of that, very little is done to tame the fires. In most cases
the fires just keep burning until the weather changes. Water and
Retardant bombers are like ****ing on a house fire.


Haven't been around many wildland fires, have you?

Summer of 71, Missoula fire, worked three months on the line before
the weather changed, and the fire went out on it's own. We ran eight
fire lines, and it hopped over all of them. I lost 20 pounds. Charlie
Prescott drowned in the river. He always said he'd never let the fire
get him, and compared to all the molten Bears and Deer we found,
he looked a little bleached, but not BBQ'd. Best damned aerobic
program there is, and like most aerobic programs, it is all non-
productive.

Haven't been around many wildland fires, have you?

Summer of 71, Missoula fire, worked three months on the line before
the weather changed, and the fire went out on it's own. We ran eight
fire lines, and it hopped over all of them. I lost 20 pounds. Charlie
Prescott drowned in the river. He always said he'd never let the fire
get him, and compared to all the molten Bears and Deer we found,
he looked a little bleached, but not BBQ'd. Best damned aerobic
program there is, and like most aerobic programs, it is all non-
productive.

And I worked on the ground in Missoula on a fire august of last year. I
actually would sometimes come across old lines that had been dug on previous
fires on the mountain. It is one hell of a work out, especially if you are
digging line all day, or carrying rolls of fire hose up and down mountains.

It was fun, but I sure look forward more to being back in the air on fires this
summer, hope I get this DC-4 job.


Ron
Pilot/Wildland Firefighter