Fire Season (Authors Notes)

"suspense that will have you glued to your seats" BookPleasures

For Matt and his flying club, there aren't any options left. Trapped residents, threatened towns and one small airstrip safely upwind of the fire line. It's not a promising position, but they volunteer anyway, hoping a protected position and a base close to the fire might make a difference.

And then the wind changes.

Can cropsprayers be used to fight forest fires?

The answer is yes and no. Surprisingly, cropsprayers tend to jump when the emergency drop is used, and don't always have the accuracy needed - the aim is to get the water off the aircraft, not place it presicely. When they emit a water as a spray, a large fire can evaporate the water droplets long before it hits the flames.

However, it has been done, usually in desperate situations. The same make of aircraft may be available in firefighting and cropspraying configurations. There is also an adaptor kit available for certain makes of cropsprayer that allows them to convert to firefighting aircraft.

It's not easy to find somewhere that is prepared to let an author climb all over the inside of an aircraft that has been everything from wide patrol and early warning to a nuclear bomber. I was fortunate to find somewhere that possesses not one but two of these versatile aircraft and who had no problems with me scrambling around inside the cockpit. 

Since this was a live aircraft, there was someone watching me at all times. 

To give you an idea of the size of the Shackleton, I could walk clear under the wing, and they had a smaller aircraft parked under the wings of both to shelter it during restoration.

The video above shows a test run of all four engines on the aircraft I visited. Loud, isn't it?

The aircraft are owned by Peter Vallance, who runs Gatwick Aviation Museum next to Gatwick Airport. For anyone who wants to see it for themselves, Gatwick Aviation Museum is normally open once a week during the summer, and they are very approachable.

Their website at http://www.gatwick-aviation-museum.co.uk/ has more details.

The Shackleton MK III was used in the story, but there is one remaining flying Shackleton. WR963 is a MKI in Coventry, England, being restored by the Shackleton Preservation Society:

http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/

"Thought provoking, emotional and compassionate, this is a book I could read again. A recommended read." Clover Hill Book Reviews

For over one hundred years, the small town of Brooke's Vale has been a sanctuary from forest fires. Unfortunately this year is different, when a rash of fire bugs, unseasonal winds, and the sheer scale of the fires leave the emergency services stretched beyond the limit.

For Matt, owner of the Brooke's Vale cropsprayer airstrip, and his flying club, accepting the unusual chance to fly fire prevention missions is simply being good neighbours. Deviating from his assigned fire prevention duties to try to stop a tragedy as it unfolds, the result leaves him devastated. Now the nearer towns are threatened and Brooke's Vale itself is at risk.

Jim, a transport pilot on leave, takes on the fire prevention flying to buy them time while Matt, grounded and in shock, is left to organise the community. With no power, no communications, one cropsprayer, thirty stranded residents and the fire closing in they'll have to find a miracle - or fly one.

"Fire Season captures the horror of a surging fire front and the bravery of small communities that face the terrifying threat." Shelleyrae at Book'd Out