LEBANON, Ore. — A graduate from Lane Aviation Academy in Eugene, Cory Peters is now an aerial firefighter and instructor for Aeroflite.
Aeroflite is a private aerial firefighting company that provides services for the US Forest Service with a fleet of over 12 aircraft.
Their main mission is to support wildland fire management and ground fire-fighters.
Peters graduated from LAA in 2000, and then transferred to a 4-year university to fulfill airline hiring requirements.
After years of flying, he was commissioned to transport an airliner’s plane that was converted to an airtanker - a plane loaded with long-term fire retardant used to reduce a fire’s intensity.
Transporting this plane led to Peter’s understanding of the complexities of engineering a firefighting aircraft.
For over a decade, Peters has flown air tankers used to drop fertilizer-based retardant around the perimeters of an active, shifting fire.
The Dash 8-400 and Avro RJ85 can transport up to 3,000 gallons of retardant, foam or water.
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