Learning how to use a Heli-Torch

[@ministryofadventure]

The no smoking sign on the dash kind of hits different when slinging a barrel of fire 🤣

[@Brother-Louis]

What do you want to be when you grow up? Chopper-pilot legal-arsonist probably never crossed his mind. Great video!

[@FynnWilson-zd9xy]

😂

[@MichaelOfRohan]

*probably

[@zombieregime]

They certainly never told me I could be one.....damn American school system......

[@I_Dont_Answer_Questions]

@Brother-Louis You got that ameritard stench. Nobody likes it... Gross. Oh you're a bible banger... That's even worse.

[@lewsdiod]

As someone who's been carrying the idea to get a heli license around for the past 25 years while doing software engineering, this brings some spark back to me! And even though some aspects might seem mundane in the sense that you're circling around some forest, in my eyes this looks super fun. Thanks for sharing mate!

[@betterl8thannvr]

This looks like a ton of fun, but incredibly challenging flying while maintaining situational awareness.

[@zombieregime]

Nah, that barrel is only a few hundred lbs of fun at a time.... 🥁🥁📀 Thank you, thank you, Ill be here all week! 🤣

[@Wannabearborist]

I’d say fun isn’t the right word. You are after all using a last resort option that involves light a forest on fire thus negatively impacting the environment and killing a lot of animals. If you are doing this you do it knowing that but also knowing that in the long run it protects the ground guys and the rest of the forest but I think if you take fun in doing something like this you’re not the right person to do it. I’d describe it more as a important job. It’s just like medical helicopter pilot. The flying part is fun but you know that when you’re up in the air someone is very critical and might not make it or even die during the flight. Fun is the wrong word but I get what you mean 👍

[@Wannabearborist]

@@zombieregimeyou find yourself way to funny… no one is laughing

[@dragonace119]

@@Wannabearborist Said section they are lighting is already very close to the main fire so what few animals were in that area beforehand already are long gone before they even start igniting.

[@Wannabearborist]

@@dragonace119 my point is mainly just that if you do this it isn’t fun, you do this knowing that it’s a last resort, you also know that if you are doing this there is another fire endangering humans, villages, animals and environment. Having to do this isn’t fun because of that.

[@nathansteinhardt7072]

Love the videos mate, I am a fresh heli pilot in Aus with a goal of aerial firefighting. Currantly flying Ag Spraying to build experience. These videos keep are so cool to see the ways of sling lines and firefighting

[@gawebm]

Flying with explosives into a wild fire. Definition of a friggen brave hero, even if you may not feel like it.

[@realulli]

Technically, it's not an explosive. It's just very flammable.

[@scopex2749]

Basically NAPALMING a forest👍 Great video not seen this gizmo before.

[@zombieregime]

Napalming the forest....FOR SAFETY! 😎👍

[@kliether33]

I appreciate the detailed artistic schematic to help my toddler brain understand the strategy :D

[@jjrise]

I just binged just about every video on your channel... what incredible content, I'm stoked I found your channel and look forward to more!

[@MrThuggery]

Gee mate, your artistry is on another level!

[@williamstrachan]

50' above trees at 25-30kts has to be right in the deadmans curve? Bold work! I'm not sure I'm impressed with how finicky that torch is to ignite and the aerodynamic instability but the fact it exists is pretty nuts.

[@luke6565]

not sure why it hasn´t aero covers and some fins. and than mount it in flying direction

[@zombieregime]

@@luke6565 I mean, it looks pretty slap dash. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But its gotta be a proof of concept, Version 1.0 kind of design. There is also the fact its out in the deep bush, probably hauled in on a truck. Maybe they could mount the fuel barrel so its not slung removing the worry of the pendulum effect, then have a heavy hose that hangs down possibly on a winch like the sky crane water drop config has, but then that might remove the ability to reload quickly, jettison the slung load in case of an emergency, and put the fuel closer to the pilot. Might be simply that it is a minimum risk design, its not like they're gonna be hauling ass doing that kind of work, so having to keep it under 50kts is an acceptable compromise. Either way, I like the idea! Why didnt my school counselor tell me I could be a fire bug helicopter pilot?!

[@brandonadler1022]

“Im a pyrot” “A pirate?” “A pyro pilot.”

[@gblank70]

How cool is it that you get to legally start a forest fire!!! Great video. Looking forward to future videos.

[@TheBenzKid]

This was awesome to watch! Never seen anything done like this before in a heli just on foot.

[@austin.england]

Such a cool video. That 360 camera is a must have.

[@BigRed-MWA]

These 369 cameras are crap.. 💩🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Chinese wannabe GoPro's. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insta360

[@CyberSystemOverload]

This thing is right out of a Just Cause game lol, great video and flying skills dude.

[@StormChaserGriffin]

i honestly don't know how you don't have more subs! just gained another!

[@Xtrida]

Appreciate you fixing up my province darcy. Spent a lot of time up there last year on the fires Im the nw. Round rainbow lake south to gp. Big help up there.

[@VillainState]

Awesome mate keep them coming.

[@Bob-t1v]

Very cool... thanks for taking us along.

[@feynthefallen]

It's so mind-boggling to think that you can fight fires by lighting things on fire. But once you think about it, it makes perfect sense. What has burned out can't burn again.

[@SimonButler]

This was really interesting, thank you for sharing it!

[@FKSPARTO]

Awesome Job mate

[@AlexKall]

Nice flying!

[@RCCopterLove]

This is the definition of multitasking while flying! My goodness, flying over fire is challenging. But flying over fire through smoke with a barrel of fire on a 10ft short sllng, having conversations, looking for position. Thats something!

[@frisk151]

Helipyro.... How cool is that! I wonder if they welded a vertical fin on that drum framing if it would fly better in faster forward flight?

[@scarletlightning565]

It certainly would, but also add dead weight. I imagine things are "good enough" and plenty safe with just the spreader over the skid. But yeah, additional/improvised aero surfaces are a thing sometimes in sling load ops

[@ploebliegamer6]

underrated channel fr

[@bushpiloting]

thanks my dude

[@UltraMagaFan2]

I always thought DAID launchers were the only fire starters that are used out of helicopters. I had no idea aerial drip torches were a thing. This is cool as hell.

[@corbindallasmultipass]

ironic the one of the biggest tools in fighting fire is more fire. God bless our firefighters!

[@dwaynesykes694]

a nuke was once used to put out an oil well fire

[@mediocreman2]

There's an entire saying about just fighting fire with fire. This is the reason.

[@HAWKCoinMillionaire]

Damn this might have just reignited my passion for being a pilot. No pun intended.

[@Testpilottim]

Nice track and ballance on that machine

[@chetmcmasterson]

4:57 Is the coolie hat switch being used to control the torch unit? Could a heli-bro chime in and tell me if that's usually used for trim, or is it always an accessory in helos?

[@bushpiloting]

Used as an electrical accessory for the drip torch 💯

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Pack the drum with fiberglass if you don't want to cut it open and add baffles. Not sure on density. Probably similar to some acetylene tanks (those are full of acetone the gas dissolves into under pressure). Another thing is a counter pendulum below it, maybe above. Ask someone, I'm not sure.

[@Kni0002]

This is what LA needed when it was wet...

[@CapnFlags]

02:40 My own notes. Examining systems lately and need to figure out why your sup split into 2! 😅

[@bushpiloting]

because he cant sit in the machine with me while im doing slinging operations (he kinda can, its a grey area, but i dont want him to)

[@morph-]

Do helicopters have "macro" buttons that can just be mapped to whatever utility you need, like big flamethrower or a winch or something?

[@bushpiloting]

Yeah kinda. It has the ability to activate power to whatever device is installed and compatible

[@keefsmiff]

"If I say it's safe to napalm that cut line, it's safe to napalm that cut line airman" .

[@Hoopaball]

Good job Darcy, but apparently at 19:33 you did a really good job. There won't be a forest fire there for the next 100 years.

[@bartvanpelt588]

Would you recommend these for home defense? Asking for a friend...

[@notsurejr4957]

shouldn't you test it with a new drum? To see if the igniter is armed and valve is open.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Will it dance at the end of the rope with a wind vane tail added, or a drag chute of tin?

[@justananonymousperson7011]

"flammable snotty like substance" would this happen to be commonly known as napalm?

[@ronwastney2530]

No Its jellied petrol Napalm has other ingredients

[@monostripeexplosiveexplora2374]

that is pretty amazing

[@Wolfhound_81]

Interesting strategy, thx for the sketch.. do you know why you didn't just burn down a small area in front of the fire to create a break and keep the rest of that pocket alive?

[@Lucanos]

0:48 The southern side of the fire is the "Heel", not the "Head" - the northern side of the fire is the "Head" as it is "heading that way".

[@bushpiloting]

Oh shit, you’re not wrong! Thanks for catching that! I always get them two mixed!

[@Lucanos]

@@bushpiloting It was the only thing I picked up in the video. Apart from that, it was great to see how you guys help us crews on the ground. I haven't seen an aerial driptorch over here, but have seen the potassium permanganate ping pong balls used for aerial ignitions for hazard Reduction burns. Driptorch looks alot more fun.

[@DailyFrankPeter]

Doesn't this spread towards healthy forest when done from the leeward side of the fire?

[@bushpiloting]

Negative. Due to the wind direction, it will be blowing back into the fire and burning its self out, that’s the whole point

[@DailyFrankPeter]

@@bushpiloting Yeah, but surely one side blows *away* from the fire (I thought his was the leeward one, but I'm no pilot/sailor).

[@Rutherfordium2023]

Imagine the smell, never even knew these kinds of professions crossed paths until my cousin started forestry. Always wanted to be an engineer but this is very tempting.

[@Lordoftheflamesissketchy]

Where is this located? Cool terrain

[@bushpiloting]

Hay river, NWT Canada

[@mikeselectricstuff]

Seems this would be a perfect job for a DJI agricutural drone.

[@RiverCampbell-wu4yd]

Good video mate, are you going to make vlogs of tassies fire season this year?

[@bushpiloting]

Not sure if I’ll make it back to Aus next season. Working on some things here in Canada over winter

[@RiverCampbell-wu4yd]

@@bushpiloting ah yeah, well it was good to have you last season mate, wish you best of luck in canada

[@FlightFixer]

As a pilot, is it hard to breathe when you are close to a fire? I know it's bad for the particle separator in the helicopter.

[@bushpiloting]

Only when you’re in the smoke is it a cunt

[@azwrenchmaster5334]

Fuel, mixed with some kind of jel, hmm I wonder if there's a Vietnam era name for that 😅

[@gstoddard1325]

How about a crop-dusting setup? Tons of Bell 47s with that setup.

[@neilyoung7373]

Not trap the wild life with no escape route?

[@humang]

If the fire is in the middle of an unpopulared area and not threatening anything, why try to put it out? Honest question, just curious.

[@bushpiloting]

Yeah very fair question. It’s early season, and although the nearest property/value is quite far away, it’s best to action the fire and wrap it up while resources are available, rather than to let to burn towards the population and be a problem later in the season when manpower is low

[@humang]

@@bushpiloting makes sense. Thanks for the reply!

[@TonyTony-rd4rj]

You never leave a fire unchecked because you will not know where it might head to.

[@CASA-dy4vs]

Leaving fires to die out itself if it’s large isn’t a great idea since the fire can and probably will start steamrolling way towards a populated area

[@max___power]

Plus it reduces fuel load for the future as well.....

[@SCARFACE69247]

You're the firestarter, twisted firestarter

[@yoshtg]

doing a circle literally traps life within, kinda weird, i dont mind the co2 that this puts in the air because i think co2 levels below 800ppm are fine but weird to see

[@bushpiloting]

Luckily this fires has been burning for days and the animals would have departed the area long ago. Im just making assumptions, but aren’t we all

[@fishyfish2935]

What do they do with any unused fuel? Can it be saved or do they dispose of it?

[@bushpiloting]

i think they save it for later

[@carlosesteban5601]

Napalm is back boys on a serious note the US should be held accountable for their numerous documented warcrimes

[@seanys]

What’s this “boot” he keeps talking about?

[@unfaced29]

I just have 2 words to say. hell yeah.

[@Nderak]

Only you can start forest fires

[@Simonwies]

Always wondered about the Canadian wildfires. Now I see they they just Napalm The forest and call it a wild fire...

[@AnotherGlenn]

I was looking for this comment.

[@Dan-yk6sy]

Who needs a killdozer when you have a drip torch...

[@b5a5m5]

"No need to test again, we already know it works" But shouldn't you anyway since shutoffs were closed and the drum was replaced? Would suck to get out there only to realize a switch wasn't flipped or a valve opened.

[@infantryrecon101st]

Would definitely benefit from a copilot or just another set of eyes up there and able to run the fire system so you can fully focus on just flying.

[@bushpiloting]

Sometimes you have to wear two hats at the same time. This is the essence of bush flying

[@ilovetomcats]

How do you like the Lift helmet vs things like the Gallet/Evo or Gentex line?

[@bushpiloting]

I froff the LIFT helmet. Fits well, light plus noise cancelling for a good price is pretty sweet. Unfortunately it’s only fitted for my skull, so selling it on to someone else will be difficult due to my weird head

[@TheReal_MinecraftSteve]

I’m just gonna ask: what province/territory is this?😊

[@bushpiloting]

NWT

[@TheReal_MinecraftSteve]

@@bushpiloting ok thanks bc I live in Saskatchewan right below Nwt

[@Nickgowans]

Literally fighting fire with fire

[@willdenton9676]

Awesome video as usual mate, do you think you'll be back in Aus to do the summer season here?

[@bushpiloting]

Up in the air at the moment. Trying to get citizenship in Canada so that requires me to stay here for a bit longer

[@yolobathsalts]

Was this the Timmins fires? The man you were on comms with sounds exactly like someone from Timmins. Maybe Cochrane or Porcupine?

[@bushpiloting]

Negative. I’ve never stepped foot in Timmins

[@yolobathsalts]

@@bushpiloting must be a far north accent in general then lol

[@europeantechie]

my 12 year old me is fascinated

[@curlywood]

What is the reason for this burning trees And distruction ?

[@bushpiloting]

watch the first 2 minutes and find out

[@BilllyBillz]

What kinda of schedule are you generally on?

[@bushpiloting]

This season I’ve negotiated a 20 day on 10 day off schedule. Most of the work is in summer and I’d usually work more, but because I work all year round by going back to Australia, I opted to work less this season due to burnout

[@soflaav8r]

@@bushpiloting Do you go back to Australia during your 10 days off?

[@bushpiloting]

God no. I’m over here for the whole season and just travel around on my time off

[@dukeofdevon5608]

Bears hibernating be like wow it’s getting warm in here 😂

[@bobbates7343]

So when someone asks you what you do for a job you can say I fly around in my helicopter and start forest fires.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

I don't really want to train with that over a forest. Is there somewhere safer, like a city where I could practice with that sprinkling can?

[@black_valkyrie]

quite literally fighting fire with fire

[@user-jt5vm3mi1w]

Augmented reality digital mission planning could help

[@James-hy8gu]

What is the purpose of this all?

[@nexttonic6459]

wait what.. "Low" lead?! You of course mean no lead. I mean who uses LEAD in fuel anymore?

[@bushpiloting]

pretty much every single piston aircraft in the world. 100LL is standard.

[@nexttonic6459]

@@bushpiloting is that what they call AV gas? Or something similar?

[@nexttonic6459]

@@bushpiloting No wonder our children are ... neurotic, apathetic and etc.. pumping lead to the nature... At least here in Europe they are trying to do ban it. And yeah I agree it needs to be banned! Even if "it's so little" Just pumping it to the air and all over where we fly is bad. And to you people who use it as a torch.. Don't! Just get the zero lead gas, it burns the same. Sure you have to get it (separately) but... Lead is Lead, and it never goes away. An animal eats it then a hunter kills animal. Of course it will end up in our bodies. Man I really thought that kind of thing was behind us. And I'm sure we have the tech to change the engines for non lead consuming ones. It was proven when car gas went lead free that long term benefits are greater than short term " Research has shown significant neurological damage in children even at very low levels of lead exposure." Literally poison in the air.

[@backpages1]

Hmm. The guy advising where to drop is watching the drop helicopter, why didn’t they just put the barrel on his helicopter?

[@bushpiloting]

it's illegal to carry passengers with external loads in Canada

[@mrbmp09]

Kind of a waste using avgas vs pump gas .

[@in4merATP]

Thanks, this is really interesting stuff. Sadly, we have all the evidence we need to know that suppression of wildfires only makes them worse.

[@kane3745]

"snotty substance" basically Nepal 😆😆

[@theeyeofty6812]

Its so odd hearing 500 meters to a mile as a American hahahah but I understand it tho

[@v3700]

napalm, he's spraying napalm

[@Lieutenant-Danskie]

Gimme the ping pong balls

[@WhallonJesse]

100LL? Couldn't have picked a cheaper gasoline, one that doesn't cost $7.50 a gal? rofl Plus is has lead, even worse for the environment.

[@bushpiloting]

because we use litres and not gallons in Canada

[@edwardlong189]

AH, GOOD OLD ALUMIGEL (napalm).

[@ronwastney2530]

No it's not Alumagel

[@edwardlong189]

@@ronwastney2530 When I flew for Okanagan Helicopters in the 70’s we used that stuff. I am sure there is something newer and safer.

[@ronwastney2530]

Before the New Zealand govt disbanded the Forest service they had developed an advanced aerial fire lighter. The Aphid was equipped with propane for ignition ,a variable speed pump that that consisted of a windscreen wiper motor that also was fitted variable length arm to increase the volume of the droplet, also fitted with Co2 extinguisher to ensure that no gell was in the exhaust when landing and if flying outside the burn. The unit was operated by a certified operator in the helo leaving the pilot to fly . It used 91 octane petrol mixed with a jelling agent 1kg to 60L fuel. This is not Napalm ,my understanding is napalm has Ammoniam nitrate to give it the explosive effect as seen in veitnam ​@@edwardlong189

[@ronwastney2530]

This unit had to be certified by the CAA to meet aerial operations specs

[@edwardlong189]

@@ronwastney2530 We also had to certify with transport Canada. In fact they were the ones pushing the Alumigel installation. before that we used diesel with a propane torch setup. The TC mandate was all driven by the dangerous goods legislation. A complete waste of time.

[@TARAetJOHN]

You already done a video on that , not so long ago

[@bushpiloting]

you’re not wrong. I was urged to take it down, reedit and reupload after peak fire season with more information due to the controversial nature of the operation.

[@Tomshuski350]

Cool to see it done with a heli i just spent the week lighting and fighting fires here in aus love vids btw ❤

[@Bornintheseat]

Making a youtube video about a specialized job the first time he does it. Someday you’ll rewatch this and cringe as I am now doing.

[@bushpiloting]

Hahah mate if you think this is cringe then you haven’t seen my other videos 😂 always nice to meet a fan

[@Slide164]

I think he did a great job.

[@Slide164]

@@bushpilotingMy son knows you. He is a firefighter out of Saskatchewan. He fought fires up in NWT in the summer of 2023. Was busy in Sask this summer. His twin brother is based out of Alberta at Rocky. Stay safe!

[@relativenormality]

Charlie don't surf.

[@argentinaerialsFPV]

Why catch fire a complete tree forest? Poor animals

[@bushpiloting]

no animals were harmed in the execution of this operation

[@BigRed-MWA]

Lol most fires a caused by lightning strikes ⚡🔥🔥🔥🤦‍♂️

[@steefant]

*human lives

[@bushpiloting]

Human lives*

[@steefant]

@@bushpiloting thanks but missing the point

[@austin.england]

@@steefantI think he gets the point

[@nscaledelights]

Your boss sounds like a jerk.

[@bushpiloting]

Na he’s a good dude

[@TonyTony-rd4rj]

He is doing his job and calling in the positions.

[@BigRed-MWA]

Why not put stabilising wings and tail on the fire torch 🔥🔥🔥🔥🤦‍♂️

[@Nicky_Nacky_Nooo]

I love the heli content but I cant fully work out how this helps with fighting fires. I understand that if you burn out a line of forest, it will make it impossible for the wild fire to continue as theres nothing left to burn, but the routes you're flying look all random 🤨

[@bushpiloting]

Hey mate. yeah it does seem random, but there is method to the madness, and is something that has been actively used since the 70's

[@Nicky_Nacky_Nooo]

@@bushpiloting I agree, it must work or they wouldn't do it. I just can't see, or figure out how it works by the video, as I would have expected it to be separated into something similar to blocks like American streets. If you're purposely igniting fires to create a dead space to prevent it from spreading, surely there has to be other people extinguishing the same fires to make sure it's properly contained and doesn't get out of hand. I'm assuming this is also done by air as it's quicker than ground machinery.

[@Marsh9344]

Is pretty simple It’s basically a burn that takes away the fuel of the uncontrolled flames so it can’t burn there. Keep In mind that this is controlled not random these people know where and when to light the fire.