How to become an Aerial Firefighter (Pilot)
Baseline info
- Aerial Firefighters fly aircraft that drop retardant and water on and around wildfires.
- Pilots move into the fire world from a wide range of flying backgrounds including agricultural cropdusting, military piloting, sea/mountain flying and more.
- Pilots can work for local departments (such as CalFire) or can work for independent companies that are contracted by the government to fight fires. I am an independent contractor.
- The author: I (Nick) am a Level 2 SEAT Pilot currently flying an Air Tractor 802 on fires in Wyoming. Over my 22 year military career I flew 6,000+ flight hours on over 40 different airframes, and am now flying an AT-802A Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) on contract to the state of Wyoming. This is my rookie season as an Aerial Fighter, and I’m excited to show you the path to this position!
1 - Get your private pilots license (Avg. $9,000-$17,000)
- To save money, consider joining a flying club
- If you are in high school, consider joining the Civil Air Patrol. CAP could help you get your pilots license at very low cost. Additionally, it would allow you to affordably fly as a teenager, while participating in important search and rescue service missions.
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time)
2 - Get your instrument rating
- Allows you to fly in conditions of poor/no visibility
- As a SEAT pilot, you will NOT fly in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) OR at night for safety reasons. If you choose to go with a job flying a large air tanker (LAT) or other multi-crew aircraft, you could legally fly in IMC and at night.
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time)
3 - Get your Commercial Pilot rating
- Allows you to generate income from flying. The step from hobby to a legal job.
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time):
4 - Get your CFI - Certified Flight Instructor
- Certifies you to teach others to fly. Build up your flight hours while getting paid to teach.
- Timeline: 1-3 months (full-time) to 1 year (part time):
5 - Build flight hours and experience. Goal: > 1,500 hours
- Try to rack up as many flying hours as possible. Get a job where you fly all day. Examples:
- Flying cargo
- Flying skydivers at a drop zone
- Flying as an instructor to students
- Towing banners
- Cropdusting
6 - Build unique experience for firefighting (recommendations specific to becoming a Single Engine Air Tanker Pilot)
- You’ll need 200 hours of low-level experience and 200 hours of mountain flying experience. 100 hours may be waived if you take a mountain flying course like McCall.
- Fly and instruct on a tailwheel aircraft (2 wheels up front, one back). The bigger the better. These aircraft generally require more skill, and can be hard to find for rent due to the challenge/risk involved.
- Work as a cropduster in Agriculture. Pays well, expect to fly sun up to sun down for weeks/months at a time. (If you pursue AG piloting, expect to do mundane tasks like fueling, cleaning and loading aircraft the first couple years to ‘pay your dues’)
7 - Get hired. If you want to fly for a local dept, apply on their application portal. If you want to work as a contractor, it’s all about who you know. Do your job well and make friends as you work up to this level. Make solid connections.
8 - Attend NAFA 1, get your Level 2 card. Your company will send you to NAFA 1, a week long intro to firefighting for pilots. You’ll then complete in-house training, then complete an oral examination and a check ride. They will issue you a Level 2 Card, which is the card you take to fires that proves you are current and qualified on all reqs.
9 - Start working!
Other paths / unique situations:
- Military pilots who flew Close Air Support (such as A-10s, F-16s etc)
- Alternate Means of Compliance (AMOC) route (new): A path for experienced pilots with the required flight hours, but no CAS or Agriculture experience.
- For these situations, consider just reaching out to each of the companies/orgs you’re interested in and see what they recommend.
How much you get paid as a contractor (generally):
- $500/hr per hour flown. Wheels moving to wheels stop, to the minute.
- $500/day for each day you are available to fly, regardless if you fly or not.
- $150-200/day for Per Diem, Food. Goes to your pocket, spend it or not, up to you.
- $60/hour that they keep you past 6pm end-of-day. Essentially overtime. Stay till 8pm, extra $120 that day.
Work volume and season (generally) :
- General rule of thumb: flying 1hr per day of the contract makes a ‘good’ season. Flying 150 hours is a great season, flying 60 hours is a pretty slow season.
- Some contracts are 75 days that are extendable to 90 days
- Some contracts are 90 days that are extendable ‘indefinitely’
- Season: Starts mid June - early July, ends mid September - early October
- My work schedule is typically 12 days on, 2 days off. Other schedules can be 12 on 12 off.
- If you want to fly year round, some companies can keep you busy with a 12/12 schedule.
- Daily schedule: Show up at 0830, knock off at 1800 (some days go as late as 2100 and pay overtime)
Living situation:
- You are given per-diem, spend it how you want. For longer stays, some stay in a hotel the first couple nights then transition to a better 2 or 3 month option for their contract.
- Many people just drive their truck and camper to the airport and live at reduced cost in that.
- Some contracts are assigned to a permanent base for the season, while others require you to move frequently.
- Some airports are located in more rural areas, so shopping and “culture” can be limited.
- Food is typically up to you to figure out, but depends on team cohesion and group participation.
Danger scale:
- 7/10. Flying close to the ground, high density altitude, in the mountains, in limited visibility and dropping loads with other aircraft nearby can be quite dangerous.
Downsides
- Uncertainty: Like most wildfire jobs, things are uncertain. Departure date, duty location, return date, and potential earnings can all be undefined. You may fly a ton, or you may have a slow season and fly/earn less than your bills require.
- Family Stress: Being away from family for 75+ days straight is challenging. Some pilots do bring their families out with them and they live in a camper, but this requires independent spouses/kids that can entertain themselves during the duty day.
Timeline
- Realistic timeline to go from zero to working as an aerial firefighter: 5-10 years, 3,000-6,000 flight hours (generally - company/org dependent). If you work an AG job and cropdust 1,000 hours per year on a tailwheel aircraft, you can set yourself up nicely.
Other Info:
- Zero to Hero Path Resource: (FlyWithTrent.com FB/IG/YT/TikTok, world record shortest time from zero to flight instructor 91 days $50k)
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram @northdeparture
Author: Nick Dew
Experience:
2001 - Graduated from The Ohio State University - BA: Commercial Aviation
Private Pilot, Airplane Single Engine Land
Instrument Rating
Commercial Pilot, Airplane Single Engine Land
2003 - 2024 Evaluator Pilot, US Air Force, AF Special Operations Command
Chief of Standardization and Evaluation
Squadron level x2
Group level x1
Flew over 35 aircraft types, to include
MC-130P
HU-16 Albatross
Basler BT-67
DHC-6 Twin Otter (wheels and amphib floats)
DHC-2 Beaver (amphib floats)
PC-6 Porter (bushwheels and skis)
PC-12
C-208 Caravan
PA-18 Super Cub (bushwheels, floats, skis)
2025 - Present: Level 2 SEAT pilot, North Departure LLC
Check my IG and XX other videos here:
IG @NorthDeparture
YouTube @NorthDeparture
Collaborated with Chris Barnett, Founder of DangerousJobs
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