usfs helicopter rates

We really love being on Team USFS. 0 So this all begs a question how do we bridge the gap here? Maybe the PM, HS and the CO should talk to some a/c financing companies/banks to better understand the reality of upgrading or buying new equipment? See what happens when the arrogant customer has no place shop! I know we arent alone in how upset we are with the Forest Service right now. Helicopters are used for firefighter and cargo transport, water or retardant application, fire reconnaissance, aerial ignition operations, search and rescue, law enforcement missions, short-haul, sling loads, and seeding. I remember seeing N1168U on the LP & Southern Sierras in the 80s! NIFC Operations Support Each rate covers all costs eligible under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. Same thing with Erickson. Regardless of how many aircraft are available it is how to use them in a timely manner, not a 1000 mile ferry two days later. No wonder there is absolutely no concern about the financial impact of this proposal. qG4f2v$dlP^~nyH6JQ[c~x(-lCA;r:\00v40pt00 ) -: Some helitack crews are trained to rappel from helicopters to fires in remote locations. 0000001945 00000 n Helicopters have a tank of flammable product and a flare and are used to burn down wooded areas in prescribed burning and fire areas. Id guess many of them follow your websites, but if not and you have access to them, it would be good to alert them to the commentary here on this pageif anyone else feels strongly negative about this, chime in!! Home | About The agreements and contracts you are about to view have been established for government aviation users whose agencies have formal agreements with DOI, Interior Business Center, Acquisitions Services Directorate (AQD) and are authorized to order services from those agreements and contracts. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. Try to pass on the cost of newer, more expensive equipment in less than 10 years, than the operator fails on the LPTA front b/c his day rate will be too high. Provides support to both the Aviation and Logistics Branch Chiefs Website Coordinator N/A = Not applicable Forest Service Aviation Management. To request access to this page, submit request to FS-FS AQM ISB. Fire camp infrastructureand Incident Command Post (ICP) is a location at which primary command functions are executed. USFS R8 / USFWS R4 Annual Operating Plan for the use of the AS350B2 Helicopter. For heavyweights, we know that the KMax may have ventral kits but the general opinion is that the aircraft is much more stable and secure with a Bambi Bucket under a long-line and it is in this configuration that it is mainly used against fires. The Blackhawk wont work because they are restricted category. The reason your seeing all the blackhawk bucket ships is because you can buy a milsurp bird for less than 2$ million and be flying on a fire for less than 5. Steve Peterson, Contracting Officer I also assume that the CO just channeled the PM and HSs needs for the program. SD3-60 Sherpas;Avionics; Maintenance On May 9 the agency released a list of 14 helicopters for the >1,600 tier. Nobody should bid, then when everything is on fire and the USFS comes begging then youd have some leverage on them. %PDF-1.6 % Topping the list is Tennessee, with New Jersey and Hawaii close behind in second and third. Each year, DNR works ahead of the fire season to improve its access to professional equipment and services for fire suppression. Personnel shall meet the qualification requirements of. Nevertheless, the aviation branch of the US Forest Service is often seen as a versatile administration, without any long-term vision, with abrupt and sometimes difficult to understand decisions and against which innumerable legal proceedings and even lawsuits are brought by its subcontractors and those who are in line to become one. GPS Visualizer - Convert Coordinates. AMS Mission Codes. The States contracted for Fed approved airtankers so just like we all share resources like engines and shot crews now we can share airtankers too. fleet is composed of primarily contractor-owned and operated aircraft but the Forest Service does own numerous helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Application of gel, foam or retardant? (Y/N) So do we get balanced journalism here. These helicopters can support firefighters on the ground by delivering up to 300 gallons of water to thefirelinein a bucket or tank. We are all for the push for better equipment for our wildland fire efforts but the USFS cant do the change this suddenly and without any industry input. CWN aircraft, both fixed and rotor wing, cost more than exclusive use ships. Melinda Draper, Associate Branch Chief, Logistics, November 25, 2017 Revision 2.8 . Do any of you FS boys understand how capitalism works? Apart from a few military helicopters mobilized occasionally and only as reinforcement, most of the air assets used to fight fires in the US are the work of countless more or less specialized aerial work companies, who each have very varied means. There are only 2 options and they are well in to the 10s of millions of dollars. 9-Mar-2021 Source: Fire Aviation. Well not quite, imho. National Type 1 and 2 CWN Contract: To put things in perspective, these aircraft perform interventions against US fires which CL-415 water bombers perform at home. They are versatile fire management tools. . As a former helitacker I know we were always looking forward to moving to a more modern helicopter fleet. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Focal Point, Mike McFarlane,Contracting Officer Large Jet Transport Sucks that theyre limiting their choices on the RFP. Guess what those choppers wont have cockpit cameras or loudspeakers or TAS. As for air assets, Tankers dominate the sky. "Today is a day of zeros, zero rate of spread, zero flame length, zero probability of ignition and zero fire growth." . Video of two Type 1 helicopters reloading with retardant, 41 Companies on $1B Forest Service Helicopter Support Contract, Updates on Nob Fire and WatchDuty is looking for help, North Carolina: Great Lakes Fire burning in footprint of 2012 fire. Office: (208) 387-5835 Mobile: (208) 407-6002 We've identified seven states where the typical salary for a Helicopter Flight Instructor job is above the national average. Aircraft Maintenance Contracts, Regions 1,5,6 553 0 obj <>stream 0000000923 00000 n But only when they decide, of course! Thank youfor taking the time to tell us how we're doing! A lot of the operators that will get pushed out because of this RFP do a lot of irrefutably safe work when fire season peaks, or when resource work is needed, with excellently maintained legacy platforms at great value to the taxpayers. All the experienced aviation folks leading the latest helo RFP need to know that what youre proposing will lead to less a/c and more accidents/deaths. Bill do you have access to USFS decision makers? FS is gonna end up with a heavy National Guard helicopter fleet next year. Forest fire contracts are also an economic windfall for operators and manufacturers, yet they are a tiny portion of the $ 3 billion that the fight against forest fires cost in 2017! These standards assign typing designations based on measurable capability and performance criteria. Airbus Helicopters breaks ground on first helicopter as Leonardo: Centaurium Aviation Ltd. takes delivery of it Health Crisis: the French Gendarmerie air support. The Forest Service also has helicopters on Call When Needed contracts, on the hope that they will be available when the phone rings. Most smokejumpers work from late spring through early fall. National Exclusive Use Helicopters (Large Fire Support/Initial Attack) The Call When Needed contracts, which are also valid for 5 years, are intended to provide additional equipment when the situation requires it. They requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid retribution from the agency. Instead of a quick turn around of a week after the invoice closes- the new payment procedure has us waiting the full 30 days. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) 545 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<699CE8B7B060C148BAB896A267C961CC>]/Index[527 27]/Info 526 0 R/Length 94/Prev 249949/Root 528 0 R/Size 554/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream The USFS, forestry branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, is in charge of the protection of the largest natural areas, it is also the body that is officially in charge of this function at the national level. 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? The companies willing to make adjustments will do just that and end up with contracts. 3833 S. Development Avenue What do you do with an expensive asset like a helo when youre only customer suggests to just not submit? National Geographic Area Coordination Center Website Portal Agency Abbreviation. Helicopters were first used on wildfires in 1947. What replaces the 212? USFS R8-R5 Operating Plan. I am concerned that it will reduce resources in a way that will harm the communitys we generally get to help. Position Title. Montana / Dakotas Fire and Aviation, NRCC Temp Tower Agreement -, Interagency Emergency Helicopter Extraction List, USFS Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Coordinator Forest Service Fire and Aviation Qualifications Guide (FSFAQG) Federal Wildland Fire Qualifications Supplement. Mission: Designed to carry out close-air support at low altitude and low speed. Nope. MOU - Interagency Fire Helicopter Standards Forest Service Agreement # 13IA-11130206-011 . The Branch is comprised of two teams; aviation and logistics. to Air Missions (NOTAMS), Para Maybe in talking to a 3rd party lender the FS would learn more about these challenges that industry is facing due to the well intended, but poorly delivered solicitation requirements? The Forest Service was looking for 10 helicopters in each tier, if available, with Mandatory Availability Periods commencing on either June 1stor June 15th. Potentially an EU ship could sit all season and never turn a rotor and they would only collect the daily rate. Aircraft Type: DC-10. Flight Rate Hourly Daily Availability # OF UNITS TOTAL COST Exclusive Use Helicopters Type 1 HEL1 $ 4,290 $ 13,950 Type 2 HEL2 $ 1,760 $ 5,030 Type 3 HEL3 $ 1,050 $ 2,325 Call When Needed Helicopters Type 1 HEL1 $ 4,200 $ 26,600 Type 2 HEL2 $ 1,960 $ 7,150 . Aircraft Purchases: Todd Novinger, Contracting Officer Initial attack, fireline construction, firing as directed. Aero Flite, Aero Air, and Neptune all swapped out some EU aircraft but each still has the same number of allocated slots. I say all you vendors simply BOYCOTT the USFS. Things like long term stability, Banking considerations and finance never enter into the Governments equation. All perpetuated by the Gov. Office: (208) 387-5682 Mobile: (208) 407-6003, Andrea Marks-Cash, Contract Specialist If you like warm beer, buy a FS refrigerator. Additional information for required crew training and equipment recommendations can be found at the position catalog. FS. Say goodbye to the 205 and 212, its brand new 412EPXs or nothing. USFS awards 90-day contracts for 22 additional helicopters Bill Gabbert May 13, 2020 Contracting, Helicopters contract The U.S. Forest Service has awarded 90-day contracts for an 22 additional helicopters that can lift at least 3,300 or 7,000 pounds. Most exclusive use helicopters have a daily rate and a flight rate, but no guaranteed hours. Thats discouraging as it suggests that the customer really isnt listening and just providing the perception of doing so.your point of just not choosing to submit if an operator doesnt like it is incredibly insensitive and uninformed. Furthermore the numbers they provide are usually . You have to love the obvious FS sycophants on here making contemptuous, defensive and specious arguments. Organizations needing assistance are numerous. DOI Incident Position Qualification Guide (IPQG) AABI. Type 3 Helicopters Although Type 3 helicopters are smaller, they have a higher cruise speed than a typical Type 2 helicopter and can arrive on the scene of an initial attack wildfire faster. Call-When-Needed (CWN) Amphibious Water Scooper Aircraft What can replicate the performance of a UH-1H with a -703 as a bucket bird? Why is it presented as CWN when it looks like E.U? 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. We speak of aircraft with a maximum mass of 3000 kg, and a payload of 1200 kg. When the SMEs include pilots who had a previous career in the military, also Aviation Maintenance Inspectors who previously worked as mechanics in industry and the military, I do not think the label of career beaurocrart quite fits. For aircraft in the first two categories, fire-fighting equipment consists of efficient and versatile ventral kits or a Bambi Bucket. NWCG operations standards are interagency by design; they are developed with the intent of universal adoption by the member agencies. Click here. Office: (208) 387-5695 Mobile: (208) 860-7334 0000000716 00000 n If as you suggest they can choose to not submit a proposal then two things are going to happen: 1) that aircraft will not be part of the AFF fleet next year and 2) you will have less a/c in the future b/c of it. 5765 West Broadway, Missoula, Montana 59808-9361, Automated Does anyone smell a red herring or see a strawman waving his arms? U.S. Forest Service. The FS is a sinking ship by every measurable metric and the aircraft contracting department is clearly no exception. The "All Other" annual billable rate will be used to obtain reimbursement for services provided to organizations outside the Federal government. Very well stated on what most of us are thinking and in the same boat. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. National Pilots Fires are taking place in sometimes isolated areas, and this ancestral technique is very widely used, allowing firefighters to block the fire thus depriving it of fuel. jtaris@aspentimes.com. You guys (and gals) should possess enough experience to influence how contracts are conceptualized, and bring some common sense back to the process, Nobody should bid, then when everything is on fire and the USFS comes begging then youd have some leverage on them.. I would be interested to see more reporting on why the USFS is making this transition now and how they made the decisions. Here is what they wrote. Aviation Management, USDA Anyone else seeing a trend, that they like to spend money on the most expensive piece of equipment they can find, including fixed wings. I can see daily availability rates sky rocketing, which it sounds like is expected. Category 2 is that of aircraft with 6,000 to 12,500 pounds at take-off and having a water carrying capacity of more than 300 gallons. HUn6S@F$E]7Mb UOm"!'!RKGO%zqRHR.~H"Z~QBEIGjZW_^VJ4)+lMT@I-|7%J81^ Horsepower rating taken at the flywheel with all the engine accessories installed not counting transmission losses or anything after the flywheel. 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. U.S. Forest Service employees (Forest Service Internal Link), U.S. Department of Interior (DOI Internal Link). That means NO helitack, NO rappelers, ONLY flight crew and bucket work. Modular AirborneFirefighting System (MAFFS) Mechanics Airtankers TheNWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Resource Typingis jointly developed and maintained bythe following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) committees and their subgroups: While they may contain current or useful information, previous versions are obsolete. The ultimate goal is to drive out the independent operator entirely so they can justify owning their own fleet. The banker looks at your household income and job stability. 0000074247 00000 n Besides the cost for the new equipment will be passed on the FS through the increase in Daily Availability rates. For example, the 2017 average daily rate for large federal call when needed air tankers was 54 percent higher than aircraft on exclusive . TFRs List/Map, Nat'l Have a fire aviation news tip? It has been lightly edited. Light Operational Loads Monitoring Systems (OLMS) In addition the Logistics Branch provides procurement support for eleven National Cachesfor wildland fire suppression and prevention, as well as other emergency incident response activities. If it aint broke, dont try to fix it. The single vs twin vs safety argument doesnt have a clear winner unless youre talking about CAT A capable aircraft. Please help us improve by taking a few moments to complete our voluntary USFS Fire Industry feedback form. This change will be a double edged sword..as operators cannot meet requirements or afford changes they will shut their doors and then already limited resources will be permanently removed for fire. They never seem to be logical ! More insanity from the USFS ! Category 3 includes helicopters capable of lifting more than 700 gallons of water or retardant. 6-month Exclusive Use (EU) contract extensions for 34 - Type 2 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items. 0000001014 00000 n Normally both are higher with a CWN. Office: (208) 387-5272 Mobile: (208) 616-5546 Unmanned Aerial Supervision(UAS) Program, Delphine Arizana, Contract Specialist Aviation for Region 2 Toggle Dyslexia-friendly black-on-creme color scheme, Aerial wildland fire training taking place this week at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Military aircraft equipped with MAFFS mobilized to assist with wildfire suppression efforts, First Annual National Wildland Firefighter Day Announced, BLM and Maverik Partner to Reduce Human-Caused Wildfires, Aerial wildland fire training taking place in Boise april 25-29, Andrus Center for Public Policy and Partners Seek National Student Congress Address Wildland Fire Management, National Interagency Incident Communications Division, National Incident Management Organization.

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