Canadian Forestry Journal, July. ig20. 



355 



Aircraft i'n Forestry Work. 



It was hoped that upon the cessa- 

 tion of the war a considerable amount 

 of aircraft equipment and personnel 

 w^ould be employed in forest patrol 

 and reconnaissance in Canada, but as 

 yet practically the only attempt to 

 use aircraft for this work is that made 

 by the St. Maurice Forest Protectixe 

 Association in Quebec. The Depart- 

 ment of Naval Afifairs loaned two sea- 

 planes to this association and an ex- 

 ]:)erienced a^•iator, Lt. Stuart Graham, 

 was engaged to operate them. Un- 

 fortunatel}- these machines were not 

 in commission in the !~^t. Maurice val- 

 ley until the fire season was practi- 

 -cally over, and the limited service 

 they w^ere able to render by patrol 

 was not commensurate with the cost 

 ■of operation. It is generally conceded 

 that these machines, like practically 

 all the types developed for war work, 

 are not suitable for the most efficient 

 -and economical service in this field. 



In spite of these handicaps it was 

 <lemonstrated that in a country such 

 as this, where lakes are abundant, 

 hydro-aeroplanes can be used with 

 comparative safety and they oflrer a 

 -splendid means of detecting fires. It 

 is a mistake, however, to claim that 

 aircraft can replace in any great de- 

 g'ree the existing ground systems of 

 fire control. They must be supple- 

 mented b}' a considerable amount of 

 ground patrol, telephones and means 

 of transportation, so that men and 

 equipment can l)e (piickly assembled 

 to put out the fires when reported. 

 Planes in some cases can n(i doubt as- 

 sist in transportation, but it is fre- 

 quently im|)ossible to land in the im- 

 mediate \icinity of a tire. I'orest or- 

 ganizations often handle other lines 

 of work in addition to tire ])rotection. 

 for which the maintt'uance ol' a ground 

 force is essential. 



Aerial Photography 



Some verv interi'sting aerial pho- 

 tographv was accomplisiied from 

 these machines in the .St. Maurice \al- 

 ley. Photos taken from an altitutle 

 of from 3.000 to S.tXK) t'eel sliowed 

 distinctly the main geogfaphieal t'l-a- 



tures such as lakes, streams, roads, 

 etc. Swamps and burns could be dis- 

 tinguished from forested areas, and 

 by comparing the lengths of the shad- 

 ows, the heights of the trees could 

 in man}' instances be determined suf- 

 ficiently at least to tell reproductoin 

 from mature forests. From the photos 

 taken in the autumn, when the hard- 

 wood leaves had turned color, the 

 hardwoods could be distinguished 

 from the softAvoods and it is claimed 

 that it is possible, after some experi- 

 ence in interpreting these pictures, to 

 distinguish quite satisfactorily the var- 

 ious forest types, for purposes of map- 

 ping. To secure estimates of timber 

 stands, a certain amount of supple- 

 mental work on the ground by cruisers 

 is essential, to give average contents 

 per acre for the various types of for- 

 est. It is confidenth- believed that 

 excellent results can be secured in this 

 way. 



In ])roviding quick transportation to 

 distant i)oints, aircraft can be used to 

 great advantage. Work can be done 

 in a forenoon which with the ordinary 

 means of transportation would take a 

 week to accomplish. 



The extent to which aircraft can 

 be used in forest work will depend 

 primarily on the cost of operation, and 

 as \(ti no satisfactory figures as to 

 this ])oint have been secured. 



U\ Quebec, two of the ind]i and 

 l)aper companies. Price Brothers and 

 the l^rown Ci>r]>oration, have pur- 

 cliased aircraft. ])rimarily for general 

 adniinistratixe purposes. 



The .\ir Board of Canada has l)een 

 presented bv the Imperial ("lovernment 

 with UX3 aircraft ^A \arious kinds, in- 

 cluding very complete et|uipnuMit. 

 As a result ^A the .\ir Board's opera- 

 tions \W\> year much \aluable intonna- 

 ti« in will be secin"ed. 



It is expected, how e\ er. th.al until 

 a t\ pe of machine is de\ elopi'd which 

 ])ro\idcs for griater safety and carry- 

 ing ])ower. with a smaller fuel cimi- 

 sumption. the use oi aircraft will not 

 l)ecome as general as stmie ^A the en- 

 thusiasts have predicted. l\ttorts are 

 being made to devel«»p a type ^^i ma- 

 chine which can land on. as well as 



