Peter has been a policeman, park ranger and fireman and is now the chief pilot for Windward Aviation. He flies helicopter rescue and fire fighting missions. He said that Maui county has a much better arrangment than other Hawaii counties because it budgets and contracts with Windward Aviation to own, maintain and be ready 24/7 for missions instead of spending many millions of dollars to purchase and maintain its own helicopter. 

Rescue and firefighting helicopter pilots need speed and accuracy and need 5,000 hours of experience to qualify. They are allowed to fly a maximum of 1,400 hours per year, but they average 1,000 hours. Windward rescue operates under strict FAA rules and can fly their helicopters in winds up to 50 knots. Here's a link to their website.

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Air 1 supports Maui's 14 fire stations fight wildfires by dropping buckets filled with 110 gallons of water weighing 1,200 pounds, sometimes scooped up from swimming pools. They minimize fuel to reduce weight so they can carry more water. When needed, they take helicopters off other jobs to fight a fire.

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They also do searches for lost people, rescues from accidents, fires and floods and body recovery from fatal events. Searches cost $1,000 per day and often last for three days. Body recovery costs ten times more than a live rescue. A rescue often takes less than an hour and averages only six minutes.

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They have done thousands of rescues. One of the most memorable was a series of rescues along a stream that was in a flash flood. At the last stage, they picked up 19 girls, age 19-23, who had been skinny dipping in a stream when the flood swept away their supplies and clothes and stranded them.

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Thank you Peter for the interesting talk and your heroism every day.