Older airframe types currently dominate aerial firefighting, but a small number of forward-thinking operators are prepared to invest heavily in new, modern aircraft that are expected to provide reliable, capable service for decades to come. Heli-1 is such a company, having added an Airbus H145-D3 to its fleet.

Serious Fleet

Missoula-based Heli-1 has a long history of contracting with the US Forest Service for aerial firefighting services. It operates a fleet of aircraft that now includes the Airbus H145-D3, which was added to the contract last year. The new aircraft represents an investment of around US$15 million, a great deal more than the purchase price of typical established older firefighting types, and it joins Heli-1’s four Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks, a pair of H125s, three Bell 205s and a Bell 212. Two more Blackhawks are expected to enter the fleet within the year, and another H145-D3 is also on order, with delivery scheduled for this July.

 

Heli-1’s Director of Operations, Jordan Gipe, outlined the rationale behind the decision to go with the -D3, explaining that the USFS wants to modernize its aerial firefighting assets and now writes different tenders for older and newer aircraft types. The contracts for more modern aircraft demand higher levels of capability and performance, and the H145-D3 boasts significantly greater performance and capability than all previous variants of the type, slotting into the type-2 helicopter category and offering true multi-mission capabilities that include IFR, NVG and night operations, hoisting, HEC (Human External Cargo), rappel, fire-team deployment/support and firefighting initial attack. Ascent Helicopters in Canada was very helpful during Heli-1’s selection process, as they had already done a lot of groundwork when evaluating the H145 for their own fleet upgrade.

H145 Selection

The selection of the H145 was based on its modernity and high performance, with Gipe commenting, “Both Andy Wilcox (company owner/president) and I have teenage kids and at the core of this was the thought that what would we want our children to be flying for the next 20 years, and also thinking of the kids that are being hauled around in them. I think we’ve already utilized the best years of the Bell medium types, and nobody wants to be hanging on at the end of their careers, flying an aircraft at the end of its life.” He pointed out that the latest USFS type-2 contract requirements seemed to be written around performance capabilities that the H145-D3 and Bell 412EPX could meet. “We also looked at the Super Puma and H225 options for the modern type-1, but there was nothing that we felt that could compare with the Blackhawk for reliability and that met the USFS performance spec’.”

 

Although the H145 costs significantly more to purchase, that cost is not necessarily a true reflection of the cost of ownership compared to other types. Gipe pointed out, “The Blackhawk is much cheaper and easy to buy, but if you want to run a Blackhawk long-term and maintain it to the level at which it should be maintained, it’s a twenty-million-dollar helicopter.” He remarked that the company has had great success with its two H125s in terms of reliability and maintenance, with no surprises or unexpected cost hikes, and the H145 has proved to be the same in service so far. The downside to the Blackhawk is its limitation in the restricted category, and Gipe acknowledged that it entails a lot more legwork to get them into international work. However, he stressed that the company is always prepared to spend what is necessary in terms of time and money to get things done and done properly. “The modern aircraft help with overcoming barriers to entry into the firefighting arena, particularly with international work and availability of new aircraft is one,” he noted. The wait for a new H145-D3 is currently three years, so it is a major advantage to have a couple of examples in service and available.

H145 in Firefighting

Chief Pilot Ryan Gembala added that Airbus wants the H145-D3 to be successful in firefighting service as it is one of the first two to be introduced in the role at around the same time. He commented that they have been very proactive in assisting, ensuring that everything is up to Heli-1’s desired standard. Heli-1 collaborated with VIH and Onboard Systems to equip and prepare the 145 for entry into service, incorporating several extras and modifications that necessitated additional Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs). In Gipe’s opinion, meeting the USFS tender specification was the most stressful part of the whole process of putting the H145 into service. “When you’re within 10lbs of whether you’re going to make the contract spec’ and there are no allowances whatsoever, it’s a constant worry, and there’s a lot of weighing and re-weighing going on to make sure all the numbers stack up.”

 

As a modern aircraft, the 145 had to incorporate all the type-2 seating requirements, cargo nets to isolate all gear carried onboard, a P.A. system, pulse lights, and had to be converted to left-hand-side pilot-in-command. While the 145 can be flown in daytime from either seat, fitting and flight-testing a left-side bubble window was one hurdle and operation of the emergency release for the hooks was another, the latter was solved with a modification to allow emergency release operation from either seat and a supplement to the flight manual. Although the USFS contract doesn’t require all the extras fitted to the new aircraft, they are available as inclusions at delivery, a choice far simpler and more cost-effective than attempting to have them fitted and approved to an in-service aircraft later in its life.

With many possible mission roles in the 145’s future, it was prudent to have it enter service already configured with the hoist, dual hooks, NVGs and HEC system. With safety a paramount concern for all firefighting agencies, the 145’s hoist capability should eventually prove to be a major asset. Gipe pointed out that it does not demand the same extreme level of piloting skill and currency as short-haul HEC; it can be conducted 24hrs a day, lets the pilot keep eyes in the cockpit, adds genuine single-engine fly-away capability and introduces a second well-trained pair of eyes in the cabin to maintain lookout and additional guidance.

“There was stuff we had to include that was not on the machine, so we had to start coming up with our own ideas and a progression plan to move forward,” Gembala added. “It was a real struggle initially, but the more we progressed, the more we could see the light at the end. We’d had the contract awarded, but we eventually had the machine finished just two or three weeks before the carding date, so it was a worry right to the end.” With the aircraft finally finished and successfully carded, Gipe believes that the Heli-1 machine is the only new type-2 to have fully met the USFS’ performance and weight spec’ without the need to remove its air-conditioning system, something that the crews and firefighters greatly appreciate.

 

Bid

Heli-1 bid on all the tenders that the H145 fitted and ended up winning the Missoula contract, with the USFS ramp on the other side of the airport from Heli-1’s Missoula base. As it turned out, however, the aircraft ended up spending most of the season working in California and flew about 300hrs in just over 150 days. The contract has the H145 conducting what is known as a basic Helitac mission, which involves hauling a fire-crew, initial attack and water-bucket work, with the first contract extension already awarded for this year. Although the aircraft can conduct a much broader mission set, changes in procedures and roles are slow to be adopted, especially in a large federal organization like the Forest Service. For this reason, Gipe and Gembala see the future acceptance of the H145’s extra capabilities as most likely to be driven by state and local firefighting agencies, which are smaller, more reactive, and adaptable than federal agencies.

Gipe explained that the H145 was purchased and sent for completion before the company had even been awarded a contract. “All there was, was the possibility of a contract, and no one knows who’s going to bid,” he said, admitting that it was Wilcox who pushed for the acquisition on the understanding that the long waitlist for new D3s made the aircraft saleable at a premium price if work for it was not forthcoming. The Bell 412EPX was initially considered as a potential acquisition, but Gipe explained that for roles other than aerial firefighting, the H145 was the superior platform. “It has a better autopilot, and the fuel range and performance for the areas that we’d be looking at using it in are superior. I think that’s why you see that the demand for it is higher,” he opined.

According to Gipe, the 412 and H145 are very similar performers on paper, and the primary reason for going with the H145 was that its capabilities permit more options outside the firefighting mission. He elaborated, “The autopilot system, the dual hook system, the ability to utilize it for hoisting, that was all available for it and ready to go from day one. The 412 could also do all that, but it would have required a lot more effort to achieve that point. It also has a larger footprint than the 145, and in some of the markets that are opening up now, that machine wouldn’t have fit. While we don’t have those contracts yet, we’re going after some of that stuff and the H145 is the machine they want for it.”

Swiss Army Knife

Gipe describes the H145 as the ‘Swiss army knife’ of type-2 helicopters, due to its broad range of capabilities, although the firefighting contract has not yet utilized them all. The USFS contracts are for one initial year, with four one-year renewal options and 120 flight hours per year. Gipe described them as great opportunities to bring the aircraft online, learn it and work out the other markets that it will fit into. “That works for the Blackhawk as well and that’s where we want to be; doing a little bit of everything,” he advised. When looking to maximize fleet utilization, Heli-1 has the advantage of considering any type of work anywhere in the world. Potential future work includes harbor-pilot transfer for offshore windfarms, and Gipe stated that although it’s a big segment right now, only a small number of people are willing to do it. “If we want to go and do class-D hoisting offshore, this aircraft has superior single-engine fly-away performance, and it’s already used extensively in the role overseas.”

 

The company’s open-minded approach to expanding its missions and roles is based on a single premise, that all operations come down to problem-solving. “Helicopters are just helicopters,” Gipe expounded. “They all have strengths and weaknesses but you don’t have to be the guy that can rescue someone from the top of Everest in 90mph winds, you have to be the guys that are figuring out all the problems. I think that’s what defines what we do and what sets us apart. In everything we do, we’re really just problem-solvers and it’s all planning but a lot of people don’t want to do that part.”

Personnel

The same mindset is applied to recruitment and training, with no expense spared in ensuring that the company attracts the best people and then trains them in a professional, structured process that provides consistent opportunities for career progression. The two current hoist operators have been highly trained by the Canadian company Ascent to ensure that safety standards are maintained throughout the operation. All future hoist operators will be trained to the same standard, with the company fielding a large contingent of its own maintenance personnel. “It’s wonderful to have an owner that is not afraid to spend money where it needs to be spent,” Gipe stated.

Its initial service on the USFS contract has allowed Heli-1 to operate the machine, pay it down and figure it out. “It was as good a first year as it could ever be I think,” commented Gembala. “There was a lot of moving about because it was a new machine and everyone wanted to test it out so it left here and worked in Washington, Oregon and California. Although the Forest Service was initially skeptical, at the end of that first year they were happy to have it back and excited about the future.” Whether it has been genuinely profitable won’t be evident until the end of the first contract span, but establishing its firefighting capabilities and effectiveness are arguably of more importance at this time.

 

While the second H145 should be in Heli-1 service within the next year, there is little to no chance of USFS contracts until the current contracts expire, so it will be considered for state or federal call-when-needed firefighting work or any other work that becomes available. “We’re not so arrogant that we believe we can just go out and immediately start some new mission, but we will investigate anything that comes up, and if it makes sense for us, we’ll hire the right people and spool up to do it right,” Gipe stressed.

“We’ve looked at what they do overseas, and at this stage, I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this aircraft can do,” Gipe commented, adding that the way the 145 measures, records and reports almost everything has changed the way everyone flies and operates, pushing them to a higher level of calm professionalism. “We’re trying to get it out there and demonstrate all these capabilities that it has. Nobody is paying us to do that but we think it’s the right thing to do and it’s the future. If we beat this drum long enough, the right people are going to figure out that it’s a better alternative.”