McCall Smokejumper Aircraft
The DH-6 300 series Twin Otter is a Short-Take-Off-and-Landing (STOL) aircraft ideal for demanding smokejumper missions in the back country. The Twin Otter has a cruise speed of 150 knots, providing an initial attack capability of eight smokejumpers with a two day supply of food, water, and firefighting supplies within a range of 340 nautical miles from the base of operation. The STOL capability…
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McCall Smokejumpers - History of Smokejumping
Smokejumping was first proposed in 1934 by T.V. Pearson, Regional Forester of the Intermountain Region (Region 4), as a means to quickly provide initial attack on forest fires. By parachuting self-sufficient firefighters to the fire, they could arrive fresh and ready for the strenuous work of fighting fires in rugged terrain.The Smokejumper program began in 1939 as an experiment in the Pacific…