Aviation Working Team Meeting
October 16, 2007
9:00 AM – 15:00 PM PDT
Agenda
Topic
Presenter
Time
Review minutes from last meeting
Jim and all
0:15
Update and perspective from the PNWCG Steering
Committee.
Ken Snell
0:30
07 Fire Season in Review/ PNW MAC Group issues.
Lessons Learned
All
National Interagency Aviation Council Update
Jim
0:30
Aviation Training for 2008
Clay
0:30
Safety \SAFECOMS Issues
Gary
0:30
Approval Process for cooperator aircraft discussion
Policy Matrix
Standardization of policies and procedures
Agency Updates
Jon/Ken/all
0:15
Ken/All
0:05
All
0:30
This meeting will be held at the Goat Rocks Room at the Gifford-Pinchot Supervisor Office at;
Hillin’s Notes
Ken Snell comments:
Steering Committee information. Now have an executive Manager (Pat Kelly) Getting old task
orders together and becoming more productive. There is a Strategic Plan for PNWCG now. Not
posted anywhere. Ken should send to us. The PNWCG web site is being updated. The OWT
made a proposal to annually get the SC and chairs from all the working teams together to get
focused.
Jon Rollens:
Briefed his paper. Need to query Susie regarding approval for NPS to use Canadian Airtankers.
Interagency group (States) are working on a set of helicopter minimum standards. Starting with
the CWN list and documenting things like governments can’t get STC or operating certificates.
This will be taken to NIAC. We advised Dave that the group needs to involve the Fed
Maintenance guys at the beginning to help get buy in when they are ready to present this.
Dave Doan stated that WADNR doesn’t comply with the ICAP requirements for maintenance of
their helicopters.
We discussed the use of a state contracted aircraft under a letter of approval.
Forest Service contracts by 2010 will be 4 year and there will be several so that every 2 years
one is up for renewal so that vendors have that cycle to work within.
2007 Lessons Learned
Overhead for management is about equal to what we can field for helicopters. The big 35/39
national contract has been killed and new national contracts are planned as mentioned above.
Last year 1.4 Billion was spent on fire suppression. The good news is the Forest Serviced spent
20% less on aviation than in previous years. I related to Ken my concerns for ODF getting paid
for the helicopters that were flown on Federal fires. These were those that were not on contract
with Boise at the time, but were carded for those federal contracts. The directors need to have
information on aircraft assignments during fire season. I told him I would need his help with the
Access database and that it should supply this information.
Training
Briefed ACE would be in Boise from now on. This was a Bathrick mandate. November and
March are the months these will be scheduled.
SEAT Refresher sponsored by Greg Loper for April 8-9 in John Day
Air Operations March 3-7, 2008 Redmond
ATGS Referesher 4/21-24 Redmond
ATBM workshop 4/14 week
UAO 1/22-24 Redmond
HELM workshop 4/7-11/08
No LP training scheduled
Lead Planes may not be available next year for the Forest Service. June is their best guess for a
delivery date for airplanes and they don’t know what they are getting on the National Contract.
FS needs $400K to go through June with what they have in R-6, and additional $300K to cover
through September.
Safety/Safecom Issues
Jon will send Gary’s summary. Nothing much else was discussed.
Agency Updates
BLM
John Glenn is now in vice Tom Boatner and Kevin Hamilton is in vice Dash. This may change the
national strategy somewhat. At present SEATs are all going to CWN same with Scoopers. BNO
may get a T-2 and Vale will keep theirs light.
FWS
Richland SEAT Base pumped 50,000 gallons of retardant. Have some buckets to give away.
There are 15 cooperators using the SEAT.
NPS update on LE short-haul, STEP and Exemption Application process.
WADNR
They were given $1.8 Million to comply with the AD.
They have a hazard system to help them avoid dipping from contaminated water sources.
Using AFF on all of their aircraft now. Flew 611 hours this year.
Building a new dispatch center containing CWC, WADNR, COF in Collville.
The PBY will no longer be used. The FAA inspected it for them and said that they would not
approve it as a civil aircraft. Their contract was 100 day. They are looking at options for
replacement. Dave admitted that the aircraft wasn’t worth much for fire fighting anymore.
FS.
ABS may not allow the FS to know how many flight hours they have flown.
They will have the same 2 EU SEATs in the Region. Moving the B-407 to Prineville and
introducing rappel. Lakeview and Burns may also go rappel.
Jon is working on an aerial delivered firefighter ADFF study. Big mess and part of the NIAC
strategy. Data analysis will not stand up to scrutiny. Starting into phase 3 of this plan.
Competitive Study still not released.