Thank you for your concern on the furloughs. I am actually going to miss them, thankfully, and will most likely still be a line holder. I do feel very much for those being furloughed though. I know that with most of the captains I fly with, jumpseaters are always welcome. And my feeling too is that they are welcome.
For the forest service work, I am familiar with the recon/air attack side of things; but not so much with the fire bombing or actually working for the forest service. I would think that a good way to get into things would be the recon/air attack stuff. The way to get started with that is just ask around with FBOs that are contractors. I worked for Inter-State Aviation in Pullman, WA when I was doing the forest service work. They were a small contractor then and are moving into being a fairly large one now (last I heard they were training 12 to 15 pilots for this seasons work). You pretty much need ATP mins with 200 hrs over like terrain (mostly mountain flying). Forest Service also wants 25 hours in type. If your friend has 25 hours in a twin commander or skymaster then he is set (many of the contractors are willing to work with people on getting them the time in type). If your friend is pursuing the contractor route, have him look for permanent contractors rather than fill in ones; this way his paycheck will be secure. It is best to start pestering employers late winter for the upcoming season. It is around that time that they start thinking about their needs and staffing. Though it wouldn't hurt to get his name in sooner.
I can answer any of your friends questions if you want to pass my email address along.
greg.thomson@fltnews.com I would be happy to point him towards employers that I am familiar with. Just to give him a warning ahead of time, the paychecks are nice; but the working days are very long. Though it wouldn't probably be much of an issue for him if he is used to military life.
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