One of the most important tasks that the helicopters undertake is fire fighting- not fire fighting in residential area, but in huge areas like in the case of forest fires and terrorist attacks. The destruction is on a large scale and efficient and quick management of crisis is required. A lot depends on the competency of the pilot as well, because gadgets are of no use in ignorant hands.

Techniques: One of the simplest and the most effective methods that the chopper uses is the water bucket. It is actually a portable bucket-like structure, hung externally below the helicopter using cargo hooks. The mechanism is not very complicated, and once emptied, it can be refilled very quickly from nearby lakes and ponds, making it very efficient and quick in times of crisis.

Another such tool is the Bambi Bucket, which is a slightly advanced version of the water bucket and can be carried in distant regions as well, making fire fighting possible even in those remote regions where there are hardly any facilities for such severe possibilities.

Fire Extinguishers: Apart from water, the helicopter also uses chemicals and water enhancers like foams, gels and specially formulated fire retardants. The helicopter is also used for Foam System Operations. The manufacturers produce foam of different chemical densities to suit the requirements of different aircraft.

The foam is added to the water buckets in concentration levels of 0.5% to 1.0%, though they may differ according to circumstances. Foam tanks are almost similar in use to water tanks but they require power pumps to operate.

Advantages: The helicopter is also an excellent way to survey the entire area and keep a contact with the ground personnel regarding the current situation. The standard method of controlling fire is to start at the “heel” or the starting point of the fire and to continue along the “flanks” or the side, towards the area where it is headed. This gives the added advantage of checking whether the fire has changed course and affected other area or not. Moreover, a fire spreads more rapidly if it is moving uphill, because of the wind and other driving factors, and such situations are most efficiently controlled from the air.

These techniques that can be performed with helicopters make them a boon during rescue operations.

A stall is one of the scariest flight experiences that a pilot can encounter. When an airplane goes into a complete stall, it basically becomes like a boat with out a sail or rudder, but with one great exception: it doesn’t just float around in the air; it starts plummeting towards the ground, which spells doom unless the pilot can restore function to the plane’s wings and tail. In aviation, a stall is formally defined as occurring when a plane’s angle of attack increases to the point that the plane’s lift begins to decrease.

Obviously, the best way to avoid a stall of an aircraft is to be familiar with your aircraft’s critical angle of attack and be vigilant to not exceed it. Stalls invariably occur as a result of simple pilot error, but most stalls are precipitated by something that disrupts the airplane’s flight path or the pilot’s horizon orientation, such as wake turbulence, system failure, inclement weather or other conditions that create low visibility. Consequently, there is far more literature that instructs pilots on how to recover from stalls than there is literature that instructs pilots on how to avoid them.

Most modern aircraft contain technology that lets a pilot know when the critical angle of attack is near to being exceeded. Some planes alert the pilot of an impending stall with an audible warning, while other aircraft are designed to begin stalling at the wing root instead of the wing tip, which causes the yoke to vibrate. When the yoke begins vibrating, the aircraft’s wing tips are still fully operational, which allows the pilot to easily reduce angle of attack and avoid a full stall.

Instrument recovery training is usually recommended in addition to general upset recovery training and aerobatic flight training. As opposed to instrument recovery training, aerobatic training helps equip pilots with a “natural feel” for what to do upset attitude situations. Combining all three forms of training offers the best preparation for dealing with stalls. To enroll into these programs is as simple as visiting a flight program in the aviation adventure industry online.