Snowbird Future

[YZT580]

I thought they died along time ago with the Buffalo?

Ah yes, death by U.S. air force policy. No the Otter is still alive and DE Havilland is still taking orders for new ones. It is still one of the very few STOL a/c available for those countries that don't have 10,000 ft. runways

 

[foresterab]

those are comparable a/c for a controller and a circuit operation. Take those same a/c and throw in two C150s on solo circuits including one on first solo and it gets complicated real quick. I had the joy of telling Transport 101 with Pierre on board to execute a missed approach because the L329 was getting too close to a student on his very first trip around the circuit. Imagine the same scenario with students in both the jets and the props. Safety first.

Hence why they bird dog controls air space on fires while tankers are in the air. Altitude stack, target assignment, zone entry in addition to fire mapping and situational updates. Also includes helicopter entry....so you might be sent high altitude while they operate low or grounded if in conflict. In a military context this is much more aligned with what I think of the old artillery FO's or Vietnam era bird dogs (L-19 Bird Dog, OV-10a Bronco, O-2 Skymaster) coordinating air strikes.

My apologies for not being up on what was used in recent theaters like Afghanistan. But there is a reason why in the US former A-10 Warthog pilots are a key profession targeted for water bomber pilots.

But in a training world, which is why I mentioned the Dash-8's in the first place, it's amazing to me how much remote, simulator based training is going on for this type of work. When I can go see a Air Attack Officer (Bird Dog) in Alberta coordinating pilots in simulators in BC and Washington State practicing formation work I do wonder if there are more options to expand beyond just using RCAF resources. If it's simulators throw a provincial or civilian resource into the scenario

 

[YZT580]

But in a training world, which is why I mentioned the Dash-8's in the first place, it's amazing to me how much remote, simulator based training is going on for this type of work. When I can go see a Air Attack Officer (Bird Dog) in Alberta coordinating pilots in simulators in BC and Washington State practicing formation work I do wonder if there are more options to expand beyond just using RCAF resources. If it's simulators throw a provincial or civilian resource into the scenario

Would be a great area in which to combine resources with our allies. Eurocontrol was set up to link their simulators in a number of countries to create a mosaiced picture; including linking for instance an Air France airbus sim. into the ATC simulation. Would certainly reduce hardware costs per country and would add a unexpected complication to the exercise.