Below are Ms. Allen’s answers:
As a Leadplane pilot, I have an immense variety of what I get to do. I have a constant mental workload managing a multitude of aircraft responding to wildland fires all while flying a King Air 200. Each fire mission is unique due to changes in weather, fire behavior, terrain, time of day, location in the country, and types of aircraft responding.
One of the challenges of Aerial Firefighting is the work schedule, which is long and unpredictable. During the fire season, I work 12 days in a row followed by 2-3 days off, from April through October, which usually are spent away from home. I may spend the whole day standing by waiting for a fire call, I may fly all day or somewhere in between. During each work cycle, I may start the morning in one location and end up across the country by the end of the day. I really enjoy this unpredictability, but it is hard to make and keep any plans.
To supplement the money I earned and saved from my 4-H livestock projects, I started out in Wildland Fire as a summer job to help pay for college, with no intention of turning it into a career. However, after two summers on an Engine, I progressed to a Hotshot Crew and Smokejumping. During this time, I also got my airplane and helicopter pilot’s licenses as a hobby. After 12 years of Smokejumping, I realized there would come a time when I couldn’t pass the physical test and I wanted to combine my flying hobby with my wildland fire experience for my next adventure. Through the BLM’s Pilot Development Program, I made the transition from being a ground firefighter to an Aerial Firefighter as a Leadplane Pilot, and without realizing it, 27 years have gone by and Wildland Firefighting as a Leadplane Pilot is my career.
At the start of a workday, I rarely know what my day will entail. When I get dispatched to a fire, I am handed a piece of paper with GPS coordinates and radio frequencies. When I arrive on the fire, I will spend 3-4 hours, flying 60’ to 1000’ above the ground, coordinating with ground firefighters to get them the retardant and water they need. This is done by managing the Fire Traffic Area, scouting the area where the drops are going to be made for drop headings, altitudes, and hazards, joining up with airtankers, and leading the airtankers onto the drop runs. Once my mission is done, I return to an airport, which may not be where I took off from, to refuel and reset for the next mission.
Becoming a BLM leadplane pilot requires experience as a Wildland Firefighter, multiple pilot’s licenses and ratings (Commercial, Multi-Engine, Instrument license), and hundreds of flight hours (1500 hrs total time, 1200 hrs Pilot in Command in land based airplanes). These requirements are the minimums to get hired, however, most pilots have way more experience and its just the beginning of the qualification process. A Leadplane pilot is trained in airspace management, wildland fire behavior, tactics and strategies and piloting in the low-level environment. On average it takes a trainee 1 ½ to 2 fire seasons to get fully qualified.
Issued in furtherance of extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mandy Marney, Director, University of Wyoming Extension, College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming Extension, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071.
The University of Wyoming is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.
© 2025 Wyoming 4-H. All rights reserved.
Amber Armajo
University of Wyoming Extension 4-H/Youth Educator – Washakie County
Phone: (307) 347-3431
Email: amwall@uwyo.edu
PO Box 609
1200 Culbertson Ave, Suite G
Worland, WY 82401
Amber Armajo
University of Wyoming Extension 4-H/Youth Educator – Washakie County
Phone: (307) 347-3431
Email: amwall@uwyo.edu
PO Box 609
1200 Culbertson Ave, Suite G
Worland, WY 82401
© 2023 Wyoming 4-H
