Prior to the 1990s the use of aircraft for fire fighting in Australia was a relatively rare occurence. Now Australia (and many other counties) spends millions each year to water bomb fires using aircraft. Unfortunately the portrayal of these aircraft in the media as a panacea for fire suppression has created the impression that aircraft are key to a successful fire fighting campaign. There has been increased interest in recent years in understanding the role of aircraft.

Studies to date have observed that aircraft are generally most suitable in the intial stages following the ignition of a fire, but this does not appear to translate into the decision making undertaken by modern fire managers.

Science Industires has developed a simple and robust model which provides an estimate if it is feasible for any given fire to be suppressed using aircraft and has made this application available for the iPhone though the iTunes store.