UPDATE Feb. 25, 2013: The Associated Press reporter, Mead Gruver, who wrote the article referred to below, has expanded on his original fairly brief version. You can read the more complete article at the Billings Gazette.
****
The Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, called a reporter for the Associated Press Friday afternoon primarily to talk about air tankers. It has been 1 year, 2 months, and 22 days since the USFS issued a solicitation for next-generation air tankers, but Chief Tidwell said he expects the agency to award the contracts in two months.
A representative of one of the companies that bid on the contracts was recently told by the USFS that the contracts would be awarded by the end of February.
After announcing on June 13, 2012 that the contracts would be awarded to four companies for a total of seven next-generation air tankers, the USFS had to cancel the process just before the contracts were signed due to protests by two companies that did not receive awards. The aircraft that almost received contracts were four BAe-146s, an AVRO RJ85 (a variant of a BAE-146), and two MD87s, operated by Minden, Neptune, Aero Air, and Aero Flite. Four months later the solicitation was reissued with 31 changes. It required responses by November 1, 2012.
All federal contracts for large and very large air tankers expired December 31, 2012 and none were on contract until this week when the USFS extended last year’s contracts. Neptune’s contract was extended through March 5 and Minden’s will expire again on April 22, according to Jennifer Jones of the agency’s office in Boise.
In addition to the new contracts for next-generation air tankers, the USFS still needs to make decisions about new contracts for the existing Korean War vintage “legacy” air tankers and very large air tankers. Bids on legacy tankers were due December 14, 2012. A pre-solicitation for call-when-needed (CWN) very large air tankers was issued February 19, 2013.
The 2012 wildfire season began with 11 large air tankers on federal exclusive use contracts. After two 50+ year old tankers crashed on June 3 killing two pilots, we were left with only 9, down from 44 in 2002. For a few months Neptune was able to get two airliners that had recently been converted to air tankers hired on temporarily. They were BAe-146s, designated as T-40 and T-41, bringing the total for a while back to 11.
The only italicized sentence in the (2002) Blue Ribbon Panel Report:
“Possibly the single largest challenge now facing leaders of these federal agencies is to foster cooperation and collaboration among working-level staffs, contractors, and states to raise the standards of aerial wildland firefighting in the United States.”
Why confuse things by involving someone like Mike who knows what’s going on in the field, what’s working, what’s needed? RAND was instructed to ignore SEATs, scoopers, VLATs, and other alternatives to the C130J mantra of “300 kts, 3000 gallons, turbine powered, backed by OEM support”.
It’s much less complicated to find an empty suit that will drink the Kool-Aid.
The Emperor’s new clothes fit just fine.
Tankergypsie
Is that a rhetorical question? Think we all know the answer to that already!
Anybody with a modicum of heavy aviation experience and the ones running the aircraft and not “managing” the program are usually the ones sidelined and not asked for input.
There can be an argument made about all those studies since 1993 that involved industry and the folks who were the leaders THEN.
But apparently “managing” a program and riding pax or shotgun in a helo or aircraft without a nary of an airmans certificate is what counts for experience and judgement for most things LAM flying…..
Mike Lynn has a wealth of experience, and know how.
I doubt if he is going to be asked…
It is curious why they don’t involve those with the most experience. Reminds me of a former boss I had.
I’m holding my breath, how about you?
I need to go back and read that Blue Ribbon Panel report (what year was that?)
Maybe Tidwell will call up Mikey Lynn, now that he’s officially retired, and ask him what HE thinks. Smartest thing DC could do, IMHO.
Links to more info about the studies below can be found here.
Air Tanker Studies:
1995-1996, National Air Tanker Study (NATS)
2002, Blue Ribbon Panel
2005, Wildland Fire Management Aerial Application Study
2009, National Interagency Aviation Council
2009, USDA OIG Audit Report
2011, RAND
2012, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
2012, AVID (was supposed to have been completed by the end of 2012)