Gordy Cox's guest appearances

Gordy Cox

Rotary Wing Show - Interviews from the Helicopter Industry 

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Gordy Cox is the Director of Operations at Redding Air Service and knows a thing or two about helicopter firefighting.   A great example of the utility of helicopters is their use in firefighting support. There is more to it than meets the eye though. [Warning: This is a longer episode, approx 85mins, so you might want to download the file and play locally] Using underslung buckets or bellytanks helicopters are able to provide water right where it is needed to aid in the fire management of bush and wilderness fires. The ability to use natural water sources close to the area of operations, even if that is a small waterhole or a backyard pool, results in quick turnarounds. [leadplayer_vid id=”54CEBA4AC393F”] Helicopters are able to move equipment and people around the fire area quickly and to areas with no other infrastructure. Its this ability to work so closely with ground firefighters that makes them so effective. [Tweet “Firefighter first, pilot 2nd. The flying has to be second nature. Head is outside 90% of the time.”] A big part of managing a large fire is the removal of combustible fuel in the path of the fire or around areas that need to be protected such as buildings. Ground techniques such as fire breaks and back burning can be complemented by helicopter carried heli-torches and other incendiaries. On the flying side it requires a bunch of skill and experience. To deliver as much water as possible the aircraft are operating at high all up weights, often in mountainous terrain, poor visibility and hot conditions. Significant co-ordination is needed between other aircraft, ground personnel and the ability to maintain situational awareness of how things are developing. Being able to talk and listen on several radios at once is a bonus.      In this episode veteran helicopter firefighter Gordy Cox takes us inside the world of aerial firefighting to get an understanding of what is involved. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download In this week’s episode: 01:50 Gordy Cox, Director of Operations Redding Air Service 02:11 Based in Salt Lake City, Utah 02:50 Parents in the RAF, Born in Ghana 03:30 1982 RAF in backseat of Nimrods chasing Russian submarines 04:10 Helicopter Adventures for helicopter training and then CFI 05:15 First forestry work dropping hay bales in Robinson R22 06:10 Bunch of hours in Hawaii 07:05 Chief Pilot at Redding Air Services 07:45 Flying in bare feet Hawaii – control touch 09:15 History of helicopter use on fires 10:30 Smoke jumpers 13:30 Standard exclusive use contract daily routine – ‘fire station standby’ 17:20 Smoke report actions on and initial attack 20:01 Tools of the trade 22:24 Finding a water source, portable tanks and ‘pumpkins’ 25:00 Handling a spot fire 28:20 Campaign fires and helibases 30:30 AirAttack and HelCo, locating dip sites, gates, burnouts 35:50 Helibase accommodation arrangements 38:02 Operations and aviation briefings at the start of the day 39:55 Wrapping building with silver foil, resupply and flying in sprinklers 41:10 Aerial fire starting – plastic sphere device (PSD) and heli-torch 46:10 Fire bucket characteristics and operation, typical bucket weight/machine combos 50:34 Drop methods for different fuel types 52:10 Belly Tanks 54:10 Retardants, gels and foams 59:30 Flying conditions near fires 1:04:30 Getting a start with flying on fires 1:07:45 Aerial highrise fire fighting 1:08:55 Night vision devices and fire fighting at night 1:10:07 Drone use on fires and future applications 1:14:11 Traveling gnomes Timothy and Tabitha in Gordy’s photos 1:18:00 Chris Hadfield’s approach to life 1:19:03 ‘Gordy’ on PPRuNe, Redding Air Service, happy to answer any questions 1:23:06 Sponsors trainmorepilots.com – marketing tip, using the tool snip.ly Links from this week’s episode: Gordy is Director of Operations at Redding Air Service The King Fire in 2014 was one mentioned in the interview. Chicken Wings Comics Forum Twitter account for the Gnomes Gordy Cox flying on a fire in Idaho, 2008 Plastic Sphere Device – Incendiary balls [leadplayer_vid id=”54CEBAE6D9C2A”] Gordy’s two gnomes Timothy and Tabitha on an adventure to the Pacific for a satellite launch We got to fly the other day… @Sea_Launch @Eutelsat_SA pic.twitter.com/Nm0fnFRbUk — Timothy &amp; Tabitha (@Timothy_Tabitha) May 24, 2014  Video footage of the Twin Falls Helitack crews 2013 fire season. Credits: David Frey [leadplayer_vid id=”54CCB0EF9D2A8″] Heli-torch operations for backburning – like napalm! [leadplayer_vid id=”54CCB26D88E57″] [Tweet “Its almost impossible to put a fire out, what we do is manage it.”] [Tweet “You get to know everyone on the crew. It really is like a family. Work hard, play hard.”] Redding Air Service bucket trials in 1957 Picking up ground crew – beats walking out Many thanks to Gordy ‘G-man’ Cox for sharing his fire fighting experience with us. Have a question for Gordy or tips on firefighting with helicopters? Was this episode too long, should it have been two parts? Let us know in the comments.  The post RWS 20 – Aerial Firefighting with Gordy Cox appeared first on The Rotary Wing Show Podcast.

Gordy Cox is the Director of Operations at Redding Air Service and knows a thing or two about helicopter firefighting. A great example of the utility of helicopters is their use in firefighting support. There is more to it than meets the eye though. [Warning: This is a longer episode, approx 85mins, so you might want to download the file and play locally] Using underslung buckets or bellytanks helicopters are able to provide water right where it is needed to aid in the fire management of bush and wilderness fires. The ability to use natural water sources close to the area of operations, even if that is a small waterhole or a backyard pool, results in quick turnarounds. [leadplayer_vid id=”54CEBA4AC393F”] Helicopters are able to move equipment and people around the fire area quickly and to areas with no other infrastructure. Its this ability to work so closely with ground firefighters that makes them so effective. [Tweet “Firefighter first, pilot 2nd. The flying has to be second nature. Head is outside 90% of the time.”] A big part of managing a large fire is the removal of combustible fuel in the path of the fire or around areas that need to be protected such as buildings. Ground techniques such as fire breaks and back burning can be complemented by helicopter carried heli-torches and other incendiaries. On the flying side it requires a bunch of skill and experience. To deliver as much water as possible the aircraft are operating at high all up weights, often in mountainous terrain, poor visibility and hot conditions. Significant co-ordination is needed between other aircraft, ground personnel and the ability to maintain situational awareness of how things are developing. Being able to talk and listen on several radios at once is a bonus. In this episode veteran helicopter firefighter Gordy Cox takes us inside the world of aerial firefighting to get an understanding of what is involved. Podcast: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ph/podcast/rotary-wing-show-interviews/id903691746?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe in iTunes</a> | <a href="http://media.blubrry.com/rotarywingshow/p/s3.amazonaws.com/rotarywingshow/RWS20-Gordy_Cox_firefighting.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Play in new window</a> | <a href="http://media.blubrry.com/rotarywingshow/p/s3.amazonaws.com/rotarywingshow/RWS20-Gordy_Cox_firefighting.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download</a> In this week’s episode: 01:50 Gordy Cox, Director of Operations Redding Air Service 02:11 Based in Salt Lake City, Utah 02:50 Parents in the RAF, Born in Ghana 03:30 1982 RAF in backseat of Nimrods chasing Russian submarines 04:10 Helicopter Adventures for helicopter training and then CFI 05:15 First forestry work dropping hay bales in Robinson R22 06:10 Bunch of hours in Hawaii 07:05 Chief Pilot at Redding Air Services 07:45 Flying in bare feet Hawaii – control touch 09:15 History of helicopter use on fires 10:30 Smoke jumpers 13:30 Standard exclusive use contract daily routine – ‘fire station standby’ 17:20 Smoke report actions on and initial attack 20:01 Tools of the trade 22:24 Finding a water source, portable tanks and ‘pumpkins’ 25:00 Handling a spot fire 28:20 Campaign fires and helibases 30:30 AirAttack and HelCo, locating dip sites, gates, burnouts 35:50 Helibase accommodation arrangements 38:02 Operations and aviation briefings at the start of the day 39:55 Wrapping building with silver foil, resupply and flying in sprinklers 41:10 Aerial fire starting – plastic sphere device (PSD) and heli-torch 46:10 Fire bucket characteristics and operation, typical bucket weight/machine combos 50:34 Drop methods for different fuel types 52:10 Belly Tanks 54:10 Retardants, gels and foams 59:30 Flying conditions near fires 1:04:30 Getting a start with flying on fires 1:07:45 Aerial highrise fire fighting 1:08:55 Night vision devices and fire fighting at night 1:10:07 Drone use on fires and future applications 1:14:11 Traveling gnomes Timothy and Tabitha in Gordy’s photos 1:18:00 Chris Hadfield’s approach to life 1:19:03 ‘Gordy’ on PPRuNe, Redding Air Service, happy to answer any questions 1:23:06 Sponsors <a href="http://www.trainmorepilots.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">trainmorepilots.com</a> – marketing tip, using the tool <a href="http://snip.ly" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">snip.ly</a> Links from this week’s episode: Gordy is Director of Operations at <a href="http://reddingairservice.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Redding Air Service</a> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Fire" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">King Fire</a> in 2014 was one mentioned in the interview. <a href="http://www.chickenwingscomics.com/forum/index.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chicken Wings Comics Forum</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/timothy_tabitha" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter account for the Gnomes</a> Gordy Cox flying on a fire in Idaho, 2008 Plastic Sphere Device – Incendiary balls [leadplayer_vid id=”54CEBAE6D9C2A”] Gordy’s two gnomes Timothy and Tabitha on an adventure to the Pacific for a satellite launch <blockquote>We got to fly the other day… <a href="https://twitter.com/Sea_Launch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@Sea_Launch</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Eutelsat_SA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@Eutelsat_SA</a> <a href="http://t.co/Nm0fnFRbUk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/Nm0fnFRbUk</a> — Timothy &amp; Tabitha (@Timothy_Tabitha) <a href="https://twitter.com/Timothy_Tabitha/status/470319661645443073" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">May 24, 2014</a></blockquote> Video footage of the Twin Falls Helitack crews 2013 fire season. Credits: David Frey [leadplayer_vid id=”54CCB0EF9D2A8″] Heli-torch operations for backburning – like napalm! [leadplayer_vid id=”54CCB26D88E57″] [Tweet “Its almost impossible to put a fire out, what we do is manage it.”] [Tweet “You get to know everyone on the crew. It really is like a family. Work hard, play hard.”] Redding Air Service bucket trials in 1957 Picking up ground crew – beats walking out Many thanks to Gordy ‘G-man’ Cox for sharing his fire fighting experience with us. Have a question for Gordy or tips on firefighting with helicopters? Was this episode too long, should it have been two parts? Let us know in the comments. The post <a href="https://rotarywingshow.com/rws-20-firefighting-gordy-cox/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RWS 20 – Aerial Firefighting with Gordy Cox</a> appeared first on <a href="https://rotarywingshow.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Rotary Wing Show Podcast</a>.

RWS 20 – Aerial Firefighting with Gordy Cox