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. Bill would rather not take his private industry advertisers $$$, but he should and needs to get paid for the hard work he puts in and he knows you Government boys cant/wont pay him to tell the truth. Guess what those choppers wont have cockpit cameras or loudspeakers or TAS. Sounds like a great schedule to buy a next gen helicopter. The schedule calls for most of them to begin in April and May. Carson said the hell with the USFS, more money servicing the war machine in Afghanistan. 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. Objectives, Policy, Scope of Operations and Administration Chapter 10 1 1 Chapter 10 - Objectives, Policy, Scope of Operation and Administration 2 3 Mission Statement 4 The principal mission for theCalifornia Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACC) is cost-effective 5 and timely coordination of wildlandprotection agency emergency response for fire and all risk 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. Dont you? Just need to add, Mama told me the customer is always right. What light twin replaces a 407? These are the largest helicopters used for fighting wildland fires in the United States and can carry between 700 and 3,000 gallons of water. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Getting older with health concerns doing my best to stay on top of current events has not been a smooth path. Given the current climate of helicopter contracts there will be more people getting out of helicopters than getting into them. Your input allows us to recognize outstanding service and also provides a tool to address areas of industry concern. 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. Publications include manuals, handbooks, standards, guides, plans, and other documents. There is obviously some back door dealing going on with this RFP as it very specifically pushes money to certain equipment providers and tips the hat to certain helicopter companies. You must be USFS this sounds exactly like the Q&A session Language will remain as written. Much of the defense budget is spent in countries on the other side of the world. HMS8:A[>!Leq`dXfgo$av`w*ldevq7mXm`F,s}PA.?|ZA[7lY7z rCXB:Y;M7\c>]-kFt^j1_>ey)4?haGUEX5M7IW? xt*9b`w,$$B.vc&8Hx.Yjf9N3 |B^gW?.n}tZ8 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. But you better pay for it, USFS says! _A KWS ranger learning to identify individual elephants. . In 2020 the agency started out with 13 on . Helicopters were first used on wildfires in 1947. Typos, let us know, and please keep in mind the commenting ground rules before you post a comment. 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! They never seem to be logical ! National Pilots The FS is certainly aware of Mr. Gabbert who has reached out to public affairs folks within the agency on numerous occasions. This would raise the total military budget for the next two years to $1.4 trillion. 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. I also assume that the CO just channeled the PM and HSs needs for the program. When the helicopter is in position, the crew releases the water to extinguish hot spots. Helicopters cost pennies in comparison if you need to cancel them (or nothing if they dont even get off the ground!). 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. Thats my Commo unit helibase pictured in the photo, and yes we were required to have a PA system to yell at the fire Look at the LATs this year. 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. 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. Once we get all of that figured out, turns out that the increase in performance specifications at 7,000 / 30C combined with the added equipment pretty much eliminates legacy ships from meeting performance requirements. Federal Contract Opportunity for National Exclusive-Use Type 1 and Type 2 Helicopter Modernization SN-2021-01. October 27, 2021 Forest Service Response: The USFS recognizes the importance of safety recommendation A-10-168 and continues to refine Flight Data Monitoring requirements. 2023 us forest service airtankers - schedule of items (mar 1, 2023) next generation airtankers 2.0 National Maintenance Agreement, Robert Hoffman,Contracting Officer SD3-60 Sherpa Avionics Upgrade, Dave Hershey, Contracting Officer The U.S. Forest Service (FS) is expecting to contract for 48 Type 1 helicopters for the 2021 wildfire season. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. We have gone a few years in the past 10 where we had zero USFS work at all based on fire behavior but they want their random equipment to be installed on our dime. CO Support on all major contract programs (Mobile Food Services, Mobile Showers, Type 2 & 2-IA Crews, Retardant Chemicals), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Alternate Focal Point Perhaps thats the point: There are available alternatives on the market that can replace the legacy platforms for type II and III, so we should continue upgrading the fleet as we can. Office: (208) 387-5609 Mobile: (208) 616-5550 My look and details are just that- my perception. Bush fire, Heavy IA and A/C response, not much daylight left when start was dispatched. We dont fly in 58Ts (which I saw on exclusive use contract as an unrestricted as late at 2006) Llamas, etc. Vendors reserve the right to refuse service to the customer that is rude, arrogant and disrespectful. If we have an aircraft on the market that give us a better margin of safety in the high and hot environment the USFS works in why wouldnt we pursue it other than money? 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. Steve Peterson, Contracting Officer CTS Language Link (On-Demand Remote Interpreting (OPI & VRI) and Document Translation) PADD202000297. Each bucket has a release valve on the bottom controlled by the helicopter crew. Smokejumper Aircraft 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. NWCG Standards for Fire. The cheapest camera we could find is $10,000. In 2016 the FS hired 34 Type 1 helicopters but starting in 2017 reduced the number to 28. The end result is fewer options for the government, but maybe that is what they want. If it aint broke, dont try to fix it. Hopefully it wont be used to often but should the need arise its great to have one right here locally to answer the call. What about the forty plus miles along the highway- was that part of the aggressive initial attack or the aggressive firing operations? Other candidates would be the 412, and the other twin engine mediums on the market from AW and Airbus/Eurocopter. National Exclusive Use Helicopters (Large Fire Support/Initial Attack) Website Coordinator Along with Monitormonkey from above. Budget Coordinator Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Brian. The U.S. Forest Service (FS) is expecting to contract for 48 Type 1 helicopters for the 2021 wildfire season. Office: (208) 387-5682 Mobile: (208) 407-6003, Andrea Marks-Cash, Contract Specialist That wind yesterday has me in a sinus pressure headache today. Office: (208) 387-5610 Mobile: (208) 867-5073, Tonya Campbell,Contracting Officer They can be fitted with tanks or buckets to deliver water and fire retardant to the fireline. Official websites use .gov Maybe they could have figured out a better transition, maybe not. These devices have their place but has any downed firefighting aircraft actually been located by one? I am curious as to your solution on how to better handle the fire season? Woodbury Fire, I cannot speak to. What replaces the 212? Office: (208) 387-5665 Mobile: (208) 616-5549, NIFC Operations Support BTW, does anyone flying on fires really need an ELT if they have ADSB? 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! Region 6 Cache Freight Services Office: (208) 387-5252 Mobile: (208) 866-0417 This document provides errata to the 2022 Red Book. Give me a break. Sawtooth burned in parts of the fire scar. On the contractor side, if you want to bid on a contract without those things, fine, lets see how important they really are for the mission by whether the FS still go for the low bid or walk the walk and share the expense of upgrades. The Call When Needed (CWN) Parent Contract is a 1 year with 9 option years contract, with Exclusive Use (EU) contracts being bid *through* the parent contract for 1 year with four option years. Like in 2020, this solicitation has the unusual provision of limiting the 20 surge contracts to the participants of the existing Forest Service Type 1 Basic Ordering Agreement. 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). Well, maybe in some locations. Too busy feathering their own nests and grade-hopping they couldnt care less about the program at large. 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. Cell phone gps location, sat phones and ADSB are far more useful. Little to no way to sock away money for these required upgrades to bid on the contract. Candidates include the Bell 429, Airbus/Eurocopter H135 or H145 or other light twins on the market. 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. Basic Equipment Requirements: Each piece of equipment has a minimum required equipment inventory that must be on the equipment at the time of hire. We all understand that. One vendor said new requirements could reduce the number of helicopters on contract. Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) for 28 Type 1 helicopters having 120-day mandatory availability periods. Besides the cost for the new equipment will be passed on the FS through the increase in Daily Availability rates. Type 1 are known as Interagency Hotshots Crews (IHC), faster production, highly skilled, extensive training, advanced qualifications, and arduous physical standards. Welcome to the Nation's Logistical Support Center | National . Firewatch Cobra (Bell 209-AH-1) Aerial Supervision Helicopter Aviation Guides/Publications. Office: (208) 387-5627 Mobile: (208) 985 6266 Call-When-Needed (CWN) Amphibious Water Scooper Aircraft Click here. There are only 2 options and they are well in to the 10s of millions of dollars. 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. Im waiting for airbags..oh no, wait, they have an explosive charge generator so youll need the whole hazmat approval, and track the squib date to have that particular safety device. Click here. I can see being a little conservative with air tankers because most have to jettison their load if not used. So do we get balanced journalism here. The arrogance and dismissal by the FS with most questions being answered Noted, Language will remain as written just adds frustration to irritation. Its logical that the USFS move to a more modern helicopter fleet. Its killing aviators, driving people from the agency and putting our only vendors/partners in impossible positions. You have to love the obvious FS sycophants on here making contemptuous, defensive and specious arguments. Yes, the customer is the FS. Helicopters can often refill with water from a nearby lake or tank, making 5 to 15 minute turnarounds. Office: (208) 387-5350Mobile: (208) 258-1450, Tessa Bach, Contract Coordinator Like in 2020, this solicitation has the unusual provision of limiting the 20 surge contracts to the participants of the existing Forest Service Type 1 Basic Ordering Agreement. Above: N137BH, a Sikorsky70A or Firehawk helicopter, flies to refill its water bucket after dropping on the Rankin Fire in South Dakota September 13, 2017. The difference is there are very few air tankers compared to helicopters on EU and CWN contracts. There is a question and answer phase that allows anyone to submit questions and the answers will be posted on the SAM site. usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021 forest service contracts usfs type 3 helicopter contracts 2020 usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2020 interagency call when needed helicopter contract usfs call when needed contracts usfs type 3 helicopter contracts 2021 A quick direction on editing National Exclusive Use Airtanker Service Contract Online And now this year before we head into fall contracting with the MATOC still looming they have changed how they pay us. If you like warm beer, buy a FS refrigerator. The stats are in for the use of firefighting helicopters in 2017. Just curious on what you think would have made the difference as the Initial Attack IC? Airtankers These standards assign typing designations based on measurable capability and performance criteria. These are the largest helicopters used for fighting wildland fires in the United States and can carry between 700 and 3,000 gallons of water. Many of us here may not see the inner workings of The Office but we surely do see the end product of some inept folks or folks in the contract office who may not have the fortitude of researching aviation subjects to inform their leadership. & _d0E]e%j6;L*>{c/}*l!nxOV3--kS~4AUI~i,:(-D6+8'd&+'Xucj=e r%9qCz'lEf}\5{%r |G~]~&Bg1">8_=567s~ 8+u5#1b& +2 The U.S. Forest Service (FS) is expecting to contract for 48 Type 1 helicopters for the 2021 wildfire season. 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. The Contracting office doesnt make the requirements or evaluation criteria in the solicitation, that is the responsibility of the program office..PERIOD ! Maybe they could have figured out a better transition, maybe not. 2021. I will agree to have a different look at the Fires. I think there is a better way to handle each Fire Season. They essentially want a Sky Crane to do a Jet Rangers job. So a one year contract with each additional option year at the discretion of the agency with unreliable congressional funding is not a concept that makes potential vendors feel all warm and fuzzy. The U.S. Forest Service had estimated there were as many as 150 of the . The administrative bases of the helicopters will be at 48 locations. LockA locked padlock It doesnt matter what we say if we dont pay the price , the US Forest service only go and hire the Canadians to do our job. The Q&A period is a nicety, but rarely ever provides valuable responses to industry. Making low bid for a set of parameters the winner will always get you what you pay for, and as weve seen, sometimes a lot less. A quick peruse through that Q&A shows that dozens of operators really gasped when this RFP came out. The biggest issue overall is that this contract is a prerequisite for our other federal and state work such as state fire and wildlife survey, etc. I do not know of any small operators who can afford to buy new ships, if any are even available. Erickson Incorporated announced three new USFS Firefighting contracts for the upcoming 2021 wildfire season. To request access to this page, submit request to FS-FS AQM ISB. They can typically carry 700 gallons of water or retardant via a bucket or a snorkel that fills an internal tank. The ICP may be co-located with the incident base or other incident facilities and provides certain essential auxiliary forms of support, such as food, sleeping areas, equipment, trailers,and sanitation. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. I will say this The U.S. Forest Service (FS) is expecting to contract for 48 Type 1 helicopters for the 2021 wildfire season. (Originally published at 5:34 p.m. MT February 8, 2018). As I indicated, Im very interested in more reporting on this from the customer side of the table, IE the USFS as well as industry. Yes, the customer is the FS. 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. If any of those folks everrrrrr knew what it takes to run a rotary operation. endstream endobj startxref Posted by on Jun 10, 2022 in iroquois word for warrior | which of the following statements about histograms are true? Say goodbye to the 205 and 212, its brand new 412EPXs or nothing. The what, why and where of this story seems like it warrants additional reporting. 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. They are all tied to contractors in the business. Web portals include key information that is updated on a continuous schedule. I may be incorrect in this, but I think the less than excited response from industry is based on them providing questions and input to the PM, HS and CO and getting pretty unsatisfactory responses. Melinda Draper, Associate Branch Chief, Logistics, Y63 u3e11iQfkbKT?cx6Yi>#/@ G6 The USFS cooperates with CAL FIRE, US Department of Interior agencies Bureau of. https://www.kelly.senate.gov/, I think many of us do understand the contracting world and the pages put out by the head shed. rao autorius Autorius ; rao data welsh springer spaniel club of america; rever de fiente d'oiseau sur la tete rae usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021 rae usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021 These one-year firefighting aircraft contracts need to be converted to 10-year contracts, and the number of Type 1 helicopters must be restored to at least the 34 we had for years. We all understand that. Typos, let us know, and please keep in mind the commenting ground rules before you post a comment. Fire camp infrastructureand Incident Command Post (ICP) is a location at which primary command functions are executed. Aviation for Regions 3,4,6,8 We operate Type III helicopters and are now faced with 40lbs+ of equipment (costing over $60k per aircraft) to meet minimum requirements things that we really dont need like a Traffic Avoidance System (but the ADS-B they required last year isnt good enough) and a loudspeaker (because yelling at the fire helps?). The Woodbury Fire overhead were told to let it go, isnt that right, SCC? There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. A nod to newer technology. It seems nothing is making sense anymore, and we are destined to fail if this shortsightedness is allowed to continue. But look on the bright side the SMEs will feel like they are back in the military! With the twin engine requirement would a K-Max also be DQd? Type 1 helicopters are frequently moved around depending on fire danger and incident activity and are often not at their home base. I think the word escape needs to be looked at a little deeperthat is what I do as a housewife hiker. More insanity from the USFS ! The USFS did not get the number of LATs they assumed they would, I know it shocked them. . The USFS has determined there is not enough time for an adequate response from industry, a complete evaluation by the government, and ultimately timely award prior to the start of 2022 mandatory availability periods. Bill has been at this for a long time and has always been a fair arbiter of the facts. hour: $1.31 : 8011: Air Compressor Theyre only offering a one-year contract, said Ron Hooper, president of Missoula-based Neptune Aviation. The FS would gladly issue multi-year contracts (vs. base year + options). Official websites use .gov Chapter 1 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and. From completely unacceptable accident rates to corrupt hiring decisions and horrendously abysmal contracting they are all utter and complete failures. Each time I go to sleep, wondering will I awake? Its playing out exactly like we (helitack crews who actually do the work and are face to face with the vendors every day) predicted at the beginning of this season. The FS is a sinking ship by every measurable metric and the aircraft contracting department is clearly no exception. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Not the news we all are hearing. The partners to the USFS are all moving that direction with their purchases of Firehawks. 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? Bill do you have access to USFS decision makers? USFS to contract for 48 Type 1 helicopters this year. sparked by a US Forest Service prescribed burn is the state's largest wildfire. Shame on them!! As this is being written, the politicians we elect to represent us in Washington are trying to put together a last minute (literally) federal budget that will keep the government from shutting down again tonight. What is your source on zero HLCO platforms? Unmanned Aerial Supervision(UAS) Program, Delphine Arizana, Contract Specialist 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. Thats what happens when non-aviation people get put it charge of aviation programs. Oh and theres a reason for the price difference, all the vendors you see with blackhawks have restricted category aircraft. Smokejumperstravel all over the country, including Alaska, to provide highly-trained, experienced firefighters and leadership for quick initial attack on wildland fires in remote areas. 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. We can only hope the upcoming DOI on-call helicopter RFP due out later this year isnt so crazy. HmmmThey say its for aggressive initial attack but we know that has not been working out, (e.g. Your last sentence in 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? Does a 407 not meet the new requirements? I also think your comments are short sighted on Bills pandering to industry.