Beginning operations in 1985, many would be surprised to know that Kestrel Aviation began not an aerial firefighting company, but as a training provider. Although training is still a significant component of what the company does, Kestrel Aviation has grown to be very...

Nowadays, aircraft operators and fire-fighting authorities take for granted capabilities that up until a few years ago didn’t exist. In this article, we look at how aircraft capability has evolved from the early simple mechanical “pull the lever” designs, to today’s...

Not having a plan when it comes to aerial firefighting operations can create critical issues; this has been demonstrated in many after-action reports of major fires where topics such as communications have hampered the ability to fight a fire effectively. After a...

The aerial firefighting industry lost a much-loved pilot this week after veteran pilot Chip Paige was lost in a helicopter accident outside of Mesa, Arizona while ferrying his aircraft back from servicing. The crash, captured on several amateur videos, shows the...

At the Aerial Firefighting North America 2020 Conference in March of this year in Sacramento, California, international firefighting agency attendees assessed the damage, intensity, and scale of Australia’s January bushfires. More than 15.6 million acres (6.3 million...