Ground to Air Communications - Panels and Arrows 2026

The communication between aircraft and ground resources is one of the most important and challenging tactical elements of wildland firefighting. Crowded radio channels, confusing perspectives from very different views of the same terrain and same fire, as well as compressed time frames, all contribute to this communication difficulty.

This RLS is a simple best practice to share—and hopefully begin a dialogue—on this communication issue.

Many of us have a length of this aircraft signal panel rolled-up in our line gear. As we know, they work great to mark a ground position or target for the aircraft. However, a very simple cut and fold to a rectangular signal panel creates an even better version of this tool.

By running a cut about halfway across the short axis of the rectangle for a few feet of length, you create two “legs” on the panel. These can then be folded back at 45-degree angles to create an arrow.

An arrow is much better for pointing out a target and communicating your intent to the pilot above.