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What the heck is that second airplane doing? Here’s the answer…..
“The first plane is called a lead plane, and as the name suggests, it “leads” the air tanker. He is in radio contact with Air attack, who flys around the fire and talks with both ground and air resources. Resources on the ground relay what is needed to air attack, and he relays that to the lead plane, which makes “dry runs” if you will so the tankers can just come in and line up on the drop. There is usually no direct communication with the tankers and ground resources. The smoke is just to give a visual to the tanker on where to start the drop. “
