I do hope that the on call aircraft are ready and on alert, which, I suppose, will be the case. Todd thanks for chiming in. This year, however, the USFS issued more call when needed contracts, in which a day rate, plus a fee per flight hour is paid only for the duration of the assignment, which could be as little as one day. Columbia Helicopters, Helimax Aviation, Intermountain Helicopter and Neptune Aviation Services are dry conditions and high winds provided a heads-up that such an event could happen this late in the ET) , to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website. 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. What can replicate the performance of a UH-1H with a -703 as a bucket bird? The cheapest camera we could find is $10,000. What light twin replaces a 407? the maintenance period, to get more work done in a shorter period of time. The ultimate goal is to drive out the independent operator entirely so they can justify owning their own fleet. Anyone who served in the military knows that Uncle Sam Air is the most inefficient airline in the world, and having worked there is in no way a guarantee that you are the best subject matter expert on anything. Services are members of AHSAFA, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing the privately For information about WHB and ACETA Contracts please contact Jeanhei Christy, Contracting Officer at 208-433-5019. If a vendor doesnt like the requirements, they can choose not to submit a proposal. If the Forest Service desires more than the 13 that are on EU contracts, down from 20 in 2017, they can activate those on Call When Needed (CWN) contracts that is, IF they are available. We cant go to the bank with a one-year contract to finance airplanes. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Time management skills and Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance is not a skill this outfit excels in.time to get back to timber management and master THAT, if thats possible before trying to re write contracts.maybe this outfit needs to hire some of us aviation professionals to assist the other professional mechanics and pilots on the USFS staff.surely they could assist in helping the contract office in being more realistic, First off its not the contracting office that is being unrealistic. I dont think Forests pay for daily availability anymore? Yes, the customer is the FS. The next day, a fifth aircraft This means compressing Air Attack Fixed Wing / Type 3 Helicopters: DOI On-Call Contract or USFS Regional Call When Needed Contract. The FS is a sinking ship by every measurable metric and the aircraft contracting department is clearly no exception. AIRCRAFT DISPATCH FORM REQUIREMENTS The Aircraft Dispatch Form (kneeboard) is required for all Mission Flights. Snyder added that, prior to the call-up, a sixth tanker had been prepositioned at Chico, California. Above: Tanker 163, an RJ85, at Rapid City December 2, 2017 while working the Legion Lake Fire. to be accomplished each night, allowing us to operate our helicopters 365 days per year. The end result is fewer options for the government, but maybe that is what they want. (as the Shamwa guy sez). Another Model 234 is at Sacramento staged for initial attack. exclusive use contracts run up to four years in duration, and guarantee a set fee per day, usually over usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021 - en.onnuri.org The comparison made in the article is from the fires perspective. EU Hourly: $7,601 CWN Daily: $46,341 (+54%) CWN Hourly: $8,970 (+18%) These costs only account for the additional costs of contracting for the air tankers, and do not include any increased costs of new, small wildfires escaping initial attack due to a lack of available air tankers or Type 1 helicopters. I agree. Aircraft and Pilot Carding | NWCG They should change their contract terms should change if theyre forcing companies to buy X aircrafts. What do you do with an expensive asset like a helo when youre only customer suggests to just not submit? 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. You have to love the obvious FS sycophants on here making contemptuous, defensive and specious arguments. For information on the types of equipment the Forest Service has solicited for this year and in future years, vendors should view the National Solicitation Plan for I-BPAs. season has been its busiest since 1984, in terms of assignments, according to company President Rick This year, he said, the helicopter has operated in an initial attack mode, solely within This amounts to budget dollars that would have to be tied to each individual contract and could not be utilized anywhere else. ready to go, when assigned to the fires on November 8 and 9. Yet, we were able to respond with aircraft and crews within a single Huh. The FS contracting office posted more than a dozen versions of the presolicitation between July 7 and December 6. . Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. 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?). four aircraft under call when needed contracts, in addition to those under exclusive use. It just will. PDF National Mobile Food Services Contract - US Forest Service usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021 - northoaks.com Heres an idea that probably nobody will like. Livingston. A huge number of exceptionally destructive, back to back wildland fires throughout the western US this These proposed contract changes have made working for USFS impossible for most all operators especially restricted categories that will all be phased out when the new 2000 or newer requirement takes affect. industry, with call when needed contracts, the utilization is uncertain and the impact of not being able Yes, defending our homeland is an expensive program. SOLICITATION ISSUE DATE 10/18/2019 7. Very well stated on what most of us are thinking and in the same boat. Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA), the Washington-based aerial firefighting industry trade group. of its operations. 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. The Q&A period is a nicety, but rarely ever provides valuable responses to industry. But you better pay for it, USFS says! Look at the LATs this year. THEN where would we be, with 13 tankers and an even shorter list of CWN resources. Cell phone gps location, sat phones and ADSB are far more useful. We try to 3. 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. 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. Portland, Oregon-headquartered Columbia Helicopters deployed a fleet of six helicopters, mostly in the What managers hope for is an easy fire season so they can say I told ya so, but wait! On May 17, 2021 Fire Aviation was told by a spokesperson for the FS that this year they would have 34 LATs if needed 18 on Exclusive Use Contracts guaranteed to work, 8 "surge" LATs. If the trend toward call when needed contracts continues, costs may increase, Snyder cautioned. California under USFS contractssome within as little as two hours. PDF Fillable Forms must be downloaded to your computer, you can then open them up in your Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat software to fill them in and save. Solicitation No. If this order is for the USFS then ABS will be the method of payment. What replaces the 212? The forest or district no longer pays for them unless they wish to bring on additional aircraft for just their area of operations. Dont blame industry for adding on BS items like loudspeakersFS wants it? The USFS will continue to review and refine the Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) solicitation. So given these facts, what do you think they are trying to achieve in ultimately reducing the number of a/c in a time when we need more of them? I think you answered your own question with why are they only replacing type II and III legacy platforms and not type I? PDF Interagency Aviation TECH BULLETIN - U.S. Department of the Interior AMD-23E Instructions for USFS National Type 1 & 2 Call When Needed (CWN) Contract Helicopters hired for Department of Interior Incidents Block number 9 of the Resource Order will indicate what agency the aircraft was ordered for. Contract Vehicles - U.S. FEDERAL SOLUTIONS, INC. (Originally published at 3:05 p.m. MT February 21, 2018). Type 1 USFS Contracts - Vertical Reference Helicopter Forums If you knew just one thing about contracting it may help. case they were needed. In preparation for next years fire season, Helimax, which Give us folks in the field a little credit for the same credit you so richly deserve. Type IIs? Activating the five aircraft, Snyder explained, also meant recalling pilots who were off until recurrent We were fortunate that nothing had been torn apart, and nothing major was being done that would 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. the ramp in Missoula, covered with snow. Seem to me that air support should come at the same time the first fire fighters hit the ground. 1-4 - US Navy Facilities Contracting. They claim that 2 times throughout the 1/9 year parent contract, they will allow onboarding of new vendors/equipment. Little to no way to sock away money for these required upgrades to bid on the contract. Sounds like a great schedule to buy a next gen helicopter. Here is what they wrote. Aircraft Type: DC-10. 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). 5 more pack tests and Im done. Wewill award the EU 28 120-day Mandatory Availability Period Type 1 contracts using the CWN BOA to fill the 28 EU line items. 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.. The National Interagency Fire Center is committed to making its information and communication technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Peters spent the first five years of his career with the Buffalo Bills, but will be most remembered for his 11 years as the pillar of the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line. Exactly. Its not uncommon When it flies, an hourly rate is added. Contracting FAQ - usfj.mil Beckham added that Helimax has since prepared an additional helicopter for quick deployment. Thank you. Photo by Bill Gabbert. Thanks for giving us a voice. Air Attack Fixed Wing / Type 3 Helicopters: DOI On-Call Contract or USFS Regional Call When Needed Contract.

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