Port Lincoln pilot of 30 years Tony Warren is spending his third winter far from home, helping fight fires in the European summer.
The 45-year-old aviator is among a growing cohort of overseas-trained pilots in Europe, including pilots from the United States, Canada, and South American countries with agricultural flying backgrounds.
Mr Warren cut his teeth in aviation crisscrossing paddocks on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula before switching to firebombing about seven years ago.
The first Australian aerial firefighting effort was in 1967, when two agricultural aviators dropped retardant on a fire in north-eastern Victoria.
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