Aaron Schoolcraft
PNW/AK Regional Aviation Officer
Office: 503.808.2359
Cell: 202.302.4518
Kurt Kleiner
BLM OR/WA State Aviation Manager
Office: 503.808.6593
Cell: 971.338.3091
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Hiring Regional Aviation Group
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One (1) Aviation Maintenance Division Manager
One (1) Aviation Safety Inspector – Airworthiness
Three (3) Airplane Pilots
One (1) Helicopter Program Manager
One (1) Air Attack Group Supervisor Program
Coordinator
Forest and District Hiring
◦ Two vacant UAO’s, another one vacant this fall
◦ Facilities- base infrastructure improvements
needed at many locations
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PNW/AK Aviation Program Consolidation
◦ PNW Primary Mission: Fire
◦ Alaska Primary Mission: Transportation
◦ Implement Alaska Road Map
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PNW/AK Aviation Strategic Plan
◦ Five (5) Year Plan
◦ Safety Management Systems Approach
◦ Aviation Programs
 Budgets
 Aircraft Composition
 Oversight
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Partnerships
◦ Forest Service/DOI/Cooperators
◦ New members of PNWCG Aviation Working Team
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Program and Preparedness Reviews
◦ DOI/BLM Program Evaluation (May13-17)
◦ BLM National Fire Preparedness Review OR-WA
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Aerial Supervision
◦ Plan for 2013 and beyond
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Helicopter Extraction
◦ Plan for 2013 and beyond
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Rotor-Wing Assets
◦ Rotor-wing similar to 2012
 R6: Additional Type 1 in Grants Pass
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Fixed-Wing Assets
◦ Light fixed-wing assets should stay the same in
2013
 No change in PNW/AK
◦ Airtankers potential
for change
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Lakeview District
◦ Type 2 helicopter and crew, 1 exclusive use SEAT
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Burns District
◦ Type 3 helicopter and crew (new contract)
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Vale District
◦ Type 3 helicopter and crew, 1 exclusive use SEAT
◦ Air Attack (Commander 690) with ATGS (& trainees)
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BLM National SEAT Fleet- 18 additional
exclusive use aircraft, managed in pairs
(contract not yet awarded)
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Type I Helicopters (Forest Service)
◦ 34 Exclusive Use
◦ 5 Exclusive Use in Region 6
◦ 57 Call-When-Needed
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Type II Helicopters (Forest Service)
◦ 33 Exclusive Use
◦ 6 Exclusive Use in Region 6
◦ 78 Call-When-Needed
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Type III Helicopters (Forest Service)
◦ 59 Exclusive Use
◦ 4 Exclusive Use in Region 6
◦ 171 Call-When-Needed
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Helicopter Night Operations (HNO)
◦ Contract one (1) helicopter in Region 5 (2013)
◦ HNO Study recommended missions:
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Water and retardant drops using a ground-filled fixed tank
Aerial supervision
Aerial ignition with Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD)
Emergency Medical Transport (EMT) using a hoist
◦ Aviation Business Case (ABC)
 ABC supports purchase of two
helicopters
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Airtanker Contracts
◦ Current Contract (9 Line Items)
 Extended until April 22, 2013
◦ Legacy Contract (8 Line Items)
 Going through award process
◦ Next Generation Contract (7 Line Items)
 Under Protest
◦ Call-When-Needed Contract
 2 DC-10
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Next Generation Contract
◦ Plan to award Seven (7) Next Generation Airtankers
over the next five (5) years.
C-130Q
BAe-146
BAe-146
RJ-85
RJ-85
MD-87
DC-10
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Additional Airtankers
◦ Up to 8 Convair-580s (Canadian and AK contracts)
◦ Up to 8 MAFFS (if requested)
◦ Up to 6 (Oregon Department of Forestry)
BAe-146
RJ-85
MD-87
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Very Large Airtankers (VLATS)
◦ 2 DC-10s on CWN Contract
◦ Can take up to 24 hours to initially mobilize
◦ Moses Lake is the only approved VLAT bases in the
PNW.
BAe-146
RJ-85
MD-87
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C-27J
◦ U.S. Senate passed National Defense Authorization
Act
 Wildfire Suppression Aircraft Transfer Act (amendment)
will give priority to Forest Service to acquire aircraft
 Amendment is at the House of Representatives
◦ Air Force identified an excess of 21 to 38 nearly
new C-27J fixed-wing aircraft
◦ Possible Missions:
 Smokejumper Platform
 Airtanker
 Troop/Team Transport
C-27J
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Emergency Helicopter Extraction (EHE)
◦ Priority to evaluate and determine path forward
◦ An exclusive use shorthaul-capable helicopter contract
will be awarded this year to Mount Rainier Nat. Park with
trained crew of SAR Rangers staffing the ship
◦ BLM will only support an extraction program that
complies with current DOI policy which is the “Helicopter
Short-Haul Handbook-351 DM 1” (Feb. 2010)
◦ Region 5 Law Enforcement and Investigators are
approved for Short-Haul
◦ Source List: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/aviation/av_library
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Aerial Supervision
◦ Forest Service Aerial Supervision Steering Committee
 Develop and establish a Forest Service National Aerial
Supervision Program which includes :
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Air Tactical Group Supervision (ATGS)
Aerial Supervision Modules (ASM)
Lead Plane
Helicopter Coordinator (HELCO)
 Working Groups:
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Management
Operations
Technology
Training
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Aerial Supervision (contd.)
◦ The Safety Impact Analysis identified 39 hazards and 137
mitigations
◦ Next generation airtankers out-fly current fleet of King Airs,
and arrive at fires well ahead of aerial supervision
BLM is studying alternatives for faster ASM aircraft
◦ Interagency SME’s are revising
refresher training and currency
standards for ATGS position
◦ Where will technology take the
program in the future?
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Cooperator Aircraft
◦ Continue to work with cooperators on aircraft inspection
standards and the flight profiles for which they are
dispatched and utilized
◦ Better training/communication
is needed for dispatchers on
cooperator aircraft policies
◦ FS and DOI approval process is
effective and efficient
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Regional Aviation Safety and Management Plan
◦ Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service will have
separate plans in 2013
◦ Kurt Kleiner is updating the OR/WA BLM Aviation plan
 Completed and posted on SORO Library
 Format will remain as second tier to National plan
◦ RASMP Working Group completed Forest Service
Regional plan
 Format is second tier to National plan

Total Flight Hours (Forest Service)
◦ 70,000
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Total Flight Hours (Rotor-Wing)
◦ 41,000
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Total Flight Hours (Light Fixed-Wing)
◦ 25,500
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Total Flight Hours (Airtankers)
◦ 3,500
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Total Flight Hours (Region 6)
◦ 6,160
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Total Flight Hours (Rotor-Wing)
◦ 3,534
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Total Flight Hours (Light Fixed-Wing)
◦ 2,448
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Total Flight Hours (Airtankers)
◦ 178
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11% of Total Flight Hours
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Total Spent in Aviation (Forest Service)
◦ $370M
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Total Spent Rotor-Wing
◦ $270M
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Total Spent Light Fixed-Wing
◦ $39M
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Total Spent Airtankers
◦ $47M
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Total Spent Other
◦ $14M
What Do We Need to Work On?
What Are Your Concerns?