Still some burning love for superstar chopper Elvis

Victoria's best-known firefighting helicopter was on standby just in case a big fire erupted in the state's north-west, which was on Code Red bushfire alert.

This meant a lot of downtime for the pilots after completing the 35-minute flight from Essendon Airport at 9.30am.

Captain Terry Windschigl, who lives in Oregon in the United States, has spent the last four years flying for Erickson Air-Crane and spent 20 years flying for the US military.

"The reason for (the name) Elvis is we got the aircraft off the Tennessee National Guards, and that's where (Elvis Presley is) from," he said.

The big bird can carry up to 10,000 litres of water at a time and the pilots control not only how much water is dropped but at what rate _ anything from a light rain up to a deluge that leaves a trench in the ground when it hits.

"We try to get as much water each time _ the less fuel we have the more water we take," Capt Windschigl said.

Weighing nearly 9000kg, the pilots lower Elvis to about one metre above the water and drop in a massive hose, which fills the tank in roughly 30 seconds.

He can carry enough fuel to fly for about two hours but has a personal petrol truck following him around to maximise flying time.

Capt Windschigl and his colleagues fight fires in the US, Canada, Italy Greece, and Australia.

And there is no doubt who the real celebrity is.

"Everyone wants to see Elvis, nobody wants to see the other (air-cranes) even though they're the same model," he said.

The pilot's 21-day on, 21-off roster ends on Thursday and he is expecting a temperature of two degrees on his return to the US.