High-flying Intel
Of course, if the air-attack crew is busy handling tankers, coordinating activities or helping the ground teams, they are too busy to draw and transmit anything. In such a situation, the IR+GIS system serves as a window that lets them see through smoke and darkness. On this basis alone, some aerial firefighters say IR+GIS is a 30% overall improvement in tactical effectiveness and possibly the best new thing since the use of airplanes for wildland firefighting.
A simple video or VGA computer screen provides a cockpit display that's out of the way but still in the natural line of sight.
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On those windless mornings when the ground is so smoky that helicopters can't depart, the air-attack crew can safely fly in from a nearby airport and see down through the murk and smoke inversion. Up above the smoke in the clear blue sky, the air-attack crew can still keep those on the ground safe, when previously they would have just gone home.
Loading maps is simple and not too costly. DeLorme XMap 7 software, along with moving-map topos for all of the United States, costs just over $250.00. National Interagency Fire Center data usually arrives before the first flight. Every morning, teams upload their GIS data to ftp://ftp.nifc.gov, so downloading is as easy as surfing a Web page. The hard part is getting someone to walk out to the plane's computer to preload map data. Start DeLorme XMap 7 while on the ground, drag-and-drop the day's files onto the electronic map and save them to the computer's startup directory.
Infrared installation is similarly easy from a mechanic's perspective. IR must have an open-air view because it can't see through airplane windows. The preferred technique is to mount the camera inside the fuselage behind an inspection plate with a quarter-sized open hole. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved all installations using a 337 form, the same as other avionics. Inside the cockpit, the IR video is viewed on a $99.00 automobile headrest display mounted where the control panel meets the right side. The IR video is in the natural line of sight for both pilot and air tactical group supervisor, yet it does not block anyone's view of anything.
Hooking up the transmission system is less complicated than installing the IR camera. A serial cable is run from the existing AFF box — the SkyNode S200 requires a free firmware upgrade — to the aircraft's PC, and Latitude Messenger software is installed on the computer. Because it accepts only one e-mail address, the best practice is to create a group list that includes the e-mail addresses of anyone on the fire who wants to see maps and photos.
Clamshell laptops should not be used in the cockpit; it's best to use newer dual-core tablet PCs that are dedicated to the plane. Duplicate touch displays then can be wired into both the front and back seats for situations when a trainee comes along as part of cockpit resource management. The position feed comes from a Bluetooth, USB or avionics GPS.
Another great technique is to hang a standard- or high-definition camcorder in the air-attack plane's window with a four-cup suction mount. Consumer camcorders are cheap, small, light, very powerful and easy to use. Instead of using cameras with an internal hard disk, tape, DVD or CD, choose one that uses a solid-state, secure, digital high-capacity chip. A 32-gigabyte SDHC chip will capture a four-hour flight mission. With an extended-life battery installed, a crew can turn on the camera before a flight and forget about it.
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The resulting video is incredibly useful. Whole fires have been translated to a map within a half hour after the first plane lands — long before mapping flights occur or the GIS team has assembled. Watching the post-flight video is almost like sitting in the back seat. The trick is to run the previously recorded DeLorme GPS track in one computer window with the camcorder video synchronized in another window, a second display or a TV. The moving-map window continually shows the precise location, and watching the rolling video is like looking out the plane's window. Without getting airsick, any map enthusiast can leisurely draw fire lines from the video until they're exactly right. The work of an entire team of field observers can be done in just a few minutes from the safety of an office. Infrared video also can be recorded and played in sync with visible video and GPS track.
The computer used to watch video — especially if in HD — needs to be powerful. One system can work on both the ground and in the air if it belongs to the air tactical group supervisor. A Windows 7 convertible (clamshell-style keyboard that folds underneath to make a tablet PC) with an outdoor viewable screen and an HD-playback-capable processor is a good choice.
As easy and cheap as it all is, only a handful of air-attack platforms have implemented IR+GIS. When ordering an air attack, "infrared" must be requested. So far, no one is charging extra for these capabilities because they all cost less than a single digital FM radio.
Those involved in air-attack platforms can learn more details, techniques and links at www.aerialfiretech.org. A white paper describes how to implement the system, and several shops, such as Courtney Aviation, will perform turnkey installations.
These innovations can provide cost- and time-effective breakthroughs in fire management. Whether providing strategic intelligence to the IC team or improving air-attack effectiveness and tactics, low-cost infrared and airborne GIS have become something to consider on every mission.
Mark Zaller is an air-attack pilot. Dan Ward is an air-attack pilot, air tactical group supervisor and retired battalion chief.
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