Shrike 500S compliments Gold Aero Inc Natural disasters can be difficult to endure. Whether you go through a hurricane, as we have many times here on the coast of North Carolina, an earthquake or a tornado, your life changes. They can also be hard to watch, as a feeling of helplessness blankets the images we see on TV.
That’s why it prides to me to say that Twin Commanders are playing a key role in helping to fight this year’s extensive wildfires on the West Coast. In service at approximately a dozen companies in the United States and Canada, Twin Commanders are the platform of choice for firefighting operators as the forward operating aircraft. These so-called Bird Dogs take a strategic view of a fire and direct tactical assets onto the blaze.
With their stout airframe, impeccable dispatch rate, and highly reliable engines, Twin Commanders are an excellent choice for the Bird Dog role. The airplane is also fast enough to keep up with any of the attack aircraft, but solid enough in low-speed flight to easily loiter over the fire. Add to those attributes the endurance to sit on the fire for hours at a time plus unobstructed downward visibility from the cockpit and cabin, and you have an impressive list of qualifications that few other aircraft can match.
Typically, a Bird Dog will fly with two or three crewmembers—a pilot flying and an operator or two who juggle up to six radios at a time. They can look down at the fire and coordinate with firefighters on the ground to keep everyone safe, devise an attack plan, and in some cases, even mark the route with flares.
Keeping the Bird Dogs flying is a critical task if the firefighting companies are expected to fulfill their contracts and keep our communities safe. It takes an entire ecosystem of operators, Factory Authorized Service Centers and the Twin Commander factory to make that happen. The bigger operators have in-house maintenance personnel, some of whom are factory trained in properly maintaining Twin Commanders. They purchase parts and aircraft from Factory Authorized Service Centers, and turn to the factory for technical, engineering, and publications support. When we all work together, we can ensure the operators have the tools they need when they need them.
Helping to fight fires is just one of many important missions Twin Commanders perform around the world every day, and it’s one I’m particularly proud of as I watch the news and see the devastation in the Western United States and Canada. Knowing the factory and the Factory Authorized Service Centers helped just a little to keep the Bird Dogs flying makes me feel like we can all play a role in helping each other. It lets me know what we do matters, and that supporting our customers to the best of our ability is a great responsibility and privilege. Thank you to all who put themselves and their equipment in harm’s way. You are our heroes.
