usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021

while simultaneously saying that they fully intend on moving to modern helicopters that are built after the year 2000 and are all twin engine. What light twin replaces a 407? Nada! (A source in D.C. told us there is a chance the legislation will include a fix to the fire borrowing fiasco, where funds are taken from other functions to pay for wildfire suppression.). A current helicopter solicitation that is now paused was offering 1-year contracts. The Aviation Branch supports the acquisition of Airtankers, Helicopters, Light Fixed Wing Aircraft, Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) maintenance, Large Jet Transport and related aviation support including aircraft maintenance, consulting, aircraft purchase, contract pilots and aircraft equipment. The administrative bases of the helicopters will be at 48 locations. The end result is fewer options for the government, but maybe that is what they want. Today the U.S. Forest Service announced the contract awards for 48 Type 1 helicopters. Let the folks who have ADSB be exempt from ELT burden. The agency felt the surge helicopters were necessary to mitigate a possible decrease in the effectiveness or numbers of their ground forces engine and hand crews. For several years the U.S. Forest Service had contracted for 34 EU Type 1 ships, but reduced that to 28 in 2017. In my experience last year, the surge helicopters ended up on large fires, because there were so many and the need was there. The single vs twin vs safety argument doesnt have a clear winner unless youre talking about CAT A capable aircraft. The Logistics Branch provides support for WO Fire & Aviation Operations customers (located at NIFC) with the procurement of (urgent/immediate)incidentresources, such as retardant chemicals and related services, mobile food services, mobile shower facilities, firefighting crews, Critical Incident Stress Management Services (CISM) and National Videographer/Photographer Services. What about the forty plus miles along the highway- was that part of the aggressive initial attack or the aggressive firing operations? Last year we saw 18 percent fewer Type 1 helicopters and the number of large air tankers was 57 percent of the recommendation in theNIAC Interagency Aviation Strategy. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. Much of the defense budget is spent in countries on the other side of the world. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. National Pilots Local Small Business Specialist National Maintenance Agreement Robert Hoffman , Contracting Officer Office: (208) 387-5681 Mobile: (208) 866-1610 National Call-When-Needed Helicopters (Large Fire Support/Initial Attack) Flight Rate Charts Effective February 16, 2021 for contracts awarded 2013-2017 It seems nothing is making sense anymore, and we are destined to fail if this shortsightedness is allowed to continue. https://www.kelly.senate.gov/, I think many of us do understand the contracting world and the pages put out by the head shed. These helicopters are the largest that are used for fighting wildfires and can carry between 700 and 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant. But they wont tell us when they are doing that, just that as we bid on EU work within the CWN contract eventually they are going to want modern helicopters. Forest Service and interagency publications are the primary vehicles by which Forest Service and Interagency policy and standards are transmitted. Oh, and dont glance over the cockpit camera, which they want even on restricted category bucket ships. Office: (208) 616-5548 Mobile: (208) 616- 5548, Training Centers Support (Main Contact) FAA Temp Tower Agreement - Western Service Area (2019-24) SAFECOMs. have no assurance they will garner any sort of benefit for their effort. Sadly, this is just another reason why operators will have to get out of the fire fighting business or send the aircraft to other countries where they will actually be treated like the critical assets that they are. USFS Aviation Safety Management System. Sucks that theyre limiting their choices on the RFP. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Helicopters can often refill with water from a nearby lake or tank, making 5 to 15 minute turnarounds. Carson said the hell with the USFS, more money servicing the war machine in Afghanistan. A 407 isnt a twin, even tho a 407hp will outperform all the above as a type III. The FS requirements are out of synch with the financial obligations of the companies they want to hire. Helicopters cost pennies in comparison if you need to cancel them (or nothing if they dont even get off the ground!). Click here. The difference is there are very few air tankers compared to helicopters on EU and CWN contracts. A fixed wing air tanker that has to refill at an airport takes much longer. For type 3 helos it may be possible, providing the USFS can double the budget because thats what vendors are going to bid for a new aircraft with higher maintenance cost and complexity, additionally operating hot and high im sure the load charts are going to have to be quite conservative to ensure OEI is landing safely and not just crashing slower, Everything has to be in balance, you cant spend unlimited money, and you cant eliminate all risk, the safest and most inexpensive helicopter is one that sits on the ground. Type IIs? Office: (208) 387-5627 Mobile: (208) 985 6266 LGBT Themes. One thing Ive been dealing with, Rep. Mike Simpson said, are the aviation assets of the Forest Service Are we going to have a clear outline for the next 10-year plan for what the Forest Service needs in terms of air assets? And just a side note, the CO in charge of the solicitation has pointed out these things that are unrealistic but gets told to shut up and color from the mucky mucks in DCso please stop blaming Contracting and if you dont have a clue about contracting it maybe you should take some time to learn a little about contracting. (like everything they do) or does this mean there will be a shortage of helicopters available for fires?.. The USFS intends to make parent awards Summer/Fall 2022, with task orders being competed/awarded after parent awards. Type 1 helicopters are the largest, fastest flying and the most expensive helicopters used on wildland fires. Although I dont know if this counts as a legacy platform. Financing a new (2000+) aircraft with a one year contract will be the nail in the coffin for most operators considering what they have to sell will get pennies on the dollar. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. The FS is certainly aware of Mr. Gabbert who has reached out to public affairs folks within the agency on numerous occasions. Just like how the new GM Suburban for Diplomates costs millions of dollars each and the contract went to the one company that can make it. NWCG Standards for Fire. Aircraft Engineering Services Each time I go to sleep, wondering will I awake? If the income is lower and lower due to LPTA and the job security is year to year with no guarantee, most lenders will tell you to try another bank to mortgage your house. Unfortunately your assumption is incorrect, the program manager has several years experience in aviation operations and the Helicopter Specialist is one of the best around and also has several years of experience. Aerial Supervision Module (ASM) Lead Planes DO NOT listen to your bosses, DO THE RIGHT thing and pull this RFP back and get it rightMILLIONS of U.S. citizens are expecting that you will. The cheapest camera we could find is $10,000. My look and details are just that- my perception. Fax: (208) 387-5384, https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/contracting, Important Information Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic, Access to the U.S. Forest Service Contracting, Incident Support Branch, DOI SharePoint Page must be granted individually. Steve Peterson, Contracting Officer Sawtooth burned in parts of the fire scar. But you better pay for it, USFS says! The only modern type III helicopter we can find that meets the requirement is $6.4m which is triple the value of our 5 type III helicopter fleet (and we own a Type III light twin, its just too old for the Forest Services liking). Forest Service contracted Type 1 helicopters are a strategic National Resource, contracted to support the national firefighting effort. They just laugh at us.. Bill has been at this for a long time and has always been a fair arbiter of the facts. Melinda Draper, Associate Branch Chief, Logistics, LockA locked padlock Due Nov 16, 2020. Faintly, what are the advertisement you see posted on this site? Your last sentence is the the nail in the coffin.seeing as that this contract will be LPTA and a year to year option, how do you finance a new a/c that will surely be $2-$4M on the low end? National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) Support Lots more. Here is the full text from the December 13 update: The intent of the USFS for acquiring helicopter services for 2022 is as follows: 1. BTW, does anyone flying on fires really need an ELT if they have ADSB? The U.S. Forest Service (FS) is expecting to contract for 48 Type 1 helicopters for the 2021 wildfire season. in the Black Hills between Custer and Hill City and having one of these is a much needed and necessary thing especially given the dead and down Pine and Spruce trees from the Bark Beatle infestation we suffered through. Samantha Roberts, Zoological Society of London [ TOP ] Plate 42. 6-month Exclusive Use (EU) contract extensions for 34 - Type 2 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items. The arrogance and dismissal by the FS with most questions being answered Noted, Language will remain as written just adds frustration to irritation. Video of two Type 1 helicopters reloading with retardant, Lockheed looks ahead to advancing capability in wildland firefighting, Aerial Firefighters Association to promote safety, standards, innovation, Coulson tanker down in Western Australia, pilots okay, Helicopter crash kills 2 in Chilean fires. Fire managers recognized the value of helicopters to rapidly transport personnel and cargo to a fire, especially in remote locations. Other helicopters may or may not be procured on a Call When Needed (CWN) contract. Aircraft Maintenance Contracts, Regions 1,5,6 Moving to 10-year contracts for firefighting aircraft was mentioned several times in an April 15 hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, featuring U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen and her testimony. Candidates include the Bell 429, Airbus/Eurocopter H135 or H145 or other light twins on the market. The S-70 could work but again, at what cost? FS is gonna end up with a heavy National Guard helicopter fleet next year. Instead of a quick turn around of a week after the invoice closes- the new payment procedure has us waiting the full 30 days. Continual outflanking of the crews. The intent of the USFS for acquiring helicopter services for 2022 is as follows: 1. These helicopters are the largest that are used for fighting wildfires and can carry between 700 and 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant. On the other hand it seems in our world it is more important that Im not happy until youre not happy seems to rule. The ultimate goal is to drive out the independent operator entirely so they can justify owning their own fleet. Everyone agrees that the military needs to be adequately funded, but in 2016 the amount the U.S. spent on defense was almost equal to what the next 14 countries combined spent. Things like long term stability, Banking considerations and finance never enter into the Governments equation. For an operator to be competitive in the LPTA world, you need to amortize the cost of the a/c over 10 years or more. But it refers to astudy conducted from 2007 to 2009, theNIAC Interagency Aviation Strategy, which concluded that the optimum number of Type 1 helicopters on EU was 34. If the FS or DOI wants collision avoidance, fine but its gonna cost them. If you knew just one thing about contracting it may help. We cant go to the bank with a one-year contract to finance airplanes. Let the operators upgrade when if/it will work. Retrain public information officers and media how Wildland Fire works, And listening to and heeding the counsel of competent IA resources would go a long way to regaining the confidence of their employees and the general public-, I will chew on your inquiry and sleep on itget back later to you. There are certainly concerns with moving to a twin engine platform related to performance, and Im not currently versed enough in all of the platforms to have an opinion, but I do know that this article doesnt address it and instead seems to be a sounding board for industry without presenting the case for increased firefighter safety and performance in modern aircraft. So, because the Forest Service wants to push all but the top tier of their options out, they are essentially putting every government agencys resources at risk. sparked by a US Forest Service prescribed burn is the state's largest wildfire. Office: (208) 387-5272 Mobile: (208) 616-5546 Coulson pilots in Chile are aided by translators in the cockpits, Erickson converting an Air-Crane to haul military cargo without a pilot in the cockpit, Lockheed looks ahead to advancing capability in wildland firefighting, Aerial Firefighters Association to promote safety, standards, innovation, Coulson tanker down in Western Australia, pilots okay, Helicopter crash kills 2 in Chilean fires. The three-day operation used a helicopter and high powered rifles to take out the cows in a rugged area where federal officials and environmentalists say the animals have been trampling stream banks, damaging habitat for other species and ruining water quality. Have you sir watched or measured the burn scars to see how many miles apart the fires were on the Bush or any of the fires from last Seasonyou will find the distance between the fire on the ground quite interesting that using the word escape would fail to be a suitable word for the Bush Fire or other fires. Thats my Commo unit helibase pictured in the photo, and yes we were required to have a PA system to yell at the fire I think there is a better way to handle each Fire Season. The following links are provided for Interagency Fire Professionals who are tasked with administering contracts issued by our Unit and is provided solely for that purpose and intent. The FS will still have the 28 exclusive use Type 1 ships; the additional 20 will serve a mandatory availability period of 120 days, with a possible option for another 30 if the FS determines a need. What a crock of crap! Here is what they wrote. But only when they decide, of course! Huh. Hows about an STC for personal electronic devices, only available from one company, nobody else in the industry even knows what the hell the STC is or is for! Maybe all of the experienced aviation folks you mention are part of this have never actually had to buy a multi-million a/c, maintain it, crew it and ensure that its operable? agency that, more and more, is becoming its own worst enemy, as well as ours! What type of copters are under contract for Colorado? In addition, the federal land management agencies said last year they were going to limit the number of less-than-full-suppression fires and attack new ignitions aggressively. Such costs could be spread out over the period of the contract. We live near Custer S.D. These contracts require continuous availability throughout the mandatory availability period, which can be 180 days or more. Our suggestion is to prioritize the defense and protection of our citizens, homeland, forests, parks, grasslands, refuges, prairies, and wildlands FIRST, before considering spending trillions on the other side of the world. 6-month Exclusive Use (EU) contract extensions for 34 Type 2 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items. Nap time seems more like it versus getting too much into Fire Season 2021 and my thoughts. Senator Mark Kelly may be interested in hearing comments about FS & DOI aircraft contracting: Why are only Types III and II legacy helicopters being phased out? National Helicopters (Large Fire Support, Initial Attack, Call-When-Needed) Maybe the PM, HS and the CO should talk to some a/c financing companies to better understand the reality of upgrading or buying new equipment. We live near Custer S.D. Aerial SupervisionModule(Lead Planes) And of course, stop lying / omitting to the public and making false, lame excuses with only a grain of truth in their news conferences and news releases. DB109437 Archie: Volume 1. From completely unacceptable accident rates to corrupt hiring decisions and horrendously abysmal contracting they are all utter and complete failures. The Bush fire WAS aggressively IAd, however given the fuel and weather conditions at the time escaped rather quickly. Im not convinced that either trying to do an abrupt transition is appropriate NOR is standing still while other more modern aircraft are available. There was a big demand for the S-61 (w/Carson Blades) along with a call for both pilots and mechanics in Afghanistan on High dollar US Gov. People will write their Congressional Reps and lowly GS grade bureaucrats will get mushroom stamped for creating an untenable contracting environment that leads to a massive shortage of rotors when homes are burning. usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021farmington hills police. In March, 2017 when it was revealed that the six helicopters were being cut, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Jennifer Jonesexplained the agencys rationale: At this time, the agency has determined 28 to be the appropriate number of Type 1 helicopters on EU contracts given current types and numbers of other aircraft in the fleet. The administrative bases of the helicopters will be at 48 locations. At the beginning of the 2017 western fire season there were 20 large and very large air tankers on EU contracts plus two water-scooping air tankers. They can typically carry 700 gallons of water or retardant via a bucket or a snorkel that fills an internal tank. There is a question and answer phase that allows anyone to submit questions and the answers will be posted on the SAM site. Each time I wake up in excruciating pain hoping my brain ss procedure soon helps alleviate some of those immediate areas. In December, 2017 the US Forest Service cancelled a five-year EU contract it had issued the previous year for two CL-415 water scooping air tankers. _A KWS ranger learning to identify individual elephants. Dont you? In September an article on Fire Aviation about this current presolicitation included an opinion from the vendor of a Type 3 helicopter who requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid retribution from the agency. usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. I know we arent alone in how upset we are with the Forest Service right now. Plate 1. What replaces the 212? Through the use of Preseason Agreements and by partnering with the U.S. Forest Service Region 6 Fire Aviation Contracting Team (FACT), through VIPR contracts, DNR is able to pull in outside resources quickly if needed. With the expiration of contracts for firefighting helicopters looming, the US Forest Service began the lengthy process of issuing new contracts for 2022 on July 7, 2021 with the posting of a presolicitation. The new concept was based on a one year contract. hb``e``c```Y The Incident Support Branch (ISB) at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) is located in Boise, Idaho. Boise, Idaho 83705-5354 Access to the U.S. Forest Service Contracting, Incident Support Branch, DOI SharePoint Page must be granted individually. One of our readers whose company has been providing helicopters on the previous contracts has some opinions about the changes the Forest Service is pushing. If the income is lower and lower due to LPTA and the job security is year to year with no guarantee, most lenders will tell you to try another house to mortgage your house. Ignoring the facts of what that aircraft can actually carry, not what the vendor claims. Nor is it actually clear to me that is what is happening. 16, 2020. The fleet remained at that level until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 when they added an additional 22 ships for a total of 50. All crews have a mixture of men and women totaling 18 to 20 crewmembers. In 2018 when the Forest Service began issuing one-year contracts for air tankers we wrote: Few if any vendors can simply write a check to purchase and convert an air tanker, so they have to convince a lender to give them large sums of money usually even before they have a contract with the USFS. As a former FS aviator I can confidently say that every single FS Aviation Officer from the WO to the ROs needs to be fired or reassigned. The Contracting office doesnt make the requirements or evaluation criteria in the solicitation, that is the responsibility of the program office..PERIOD ! When are Fire Managers going to learn that it saves many thousands of dollars to start aircraft sooner than later, especially helicopters, knowing that you will spend a little if you turn them around when not needed. These helicopters are the largest that are used for fighting wildfires and can carry between 700 and 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant. See Full Story. in the Black Hills between Custer and Hill City and having one of these is a much needed and necessary thing especially given the dead and down Pine and Spruce trees from the Bark Beatle infestation we suffered through. Aviation Safety. Click here. Light Operational Loads Monitoring Systems (OLMS) On the other hand when your not spending your own money you can afford an almost $25 million firehawk. NIFC Operations Support Helicopters were first used on wildfires in 1947. Office: (208) 387-5670 Mobile: (208) 616-5547 Phone: (208) 387-5670 A!ican Elephant. I am curious as to your solution on how to better handle the fire season? Woodbury Fire, I cannot speak to. You have to love the obvious FS sycophants on here making contemptuous, defensive and specious arguments. Federal Contract Opportunity for National Exclusive-Use Type 1 and Type 2 Helicopter Modernization SN-2021-01 . So given that the PM and the HS are both aviation folks, this means that they have certain goals that they are trying to achieve given the shape that the Solicitation is taking.

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