In August, availability
is the whole product.
Bucket work, crew and cargo shuttle, recon and point protection through the western fire season, from an owner-operated ship based in central Idaho that is on call rather than booked out three states away.
The best aircraft in the region is the one that answers.
Every operator has capability on paper. In fire season the question is narrower: is there a ship, is it serviceable, and is there a crew who is legal to fly it today. That is the whole conversation, and it is why we keep maintenance in-house and the documentation current.
Being based in McCall means we are already inside the terrain and the weather that most of these incidents happen in. High density altitude, narrow drainages, short dip sites and afternoon wind are not an unusual assignment here; they are Tuesday.
We are one aircraft in a very large system, and we work inside the incident's structure. What we bring to it is a resource that shows up serviceable, flies conservatively and tells the truth about what it can do.
- Owner-operated: the pilot answers the phone
- In-house A&P maintenance keeps the ship available
- Central Idaho terrain flown year-round
- Documentation kept current through the season
Six roles across an incident,
not just the bucket.
Bucket & dip-site work
Water delivery from the nearest usable source, flown at the tempo the ground resource can actually use rather than at the tempo that looks impressive.
- Dip-site selection and reconnaissance
- Sustained turn cycles
- Coordination with air attack
Crew & cargo shuttle
Getting people, tools, pumps, hose and food to a helispot that a truck will not reach before the weather changes.
- Crew insertion and extraction
- Cargo and sling loads
- Helispot recon and improvement
Recon & mapping
Where is it, where is it going, and what is in front of it. Early aerial recon changes the decisions that get made in the first hours.
- Initial size-up support
- Perimeter and spread observation
- Infrared and imagery support
Point protection
Structures, communications sites, lift infrastructure and other assets that need water on them rather than around them.
- Structure and asset protection
- Repeat coverage on a hold line
- Coordination with ground crews
Logistics & movement
Camp support, remote fuel, equipment moves and the unglamorous flying that keeps an incident running.
- Remote fuelling support
- Equipment and pump moves
- Camp and spike-camp support
Post-fire work
The season does not end when the smoke does. Suppression repair, BAER support and seeding follow the same fire.
- Suppression repair support
- BAER team transport
- Post-fire seeding (see below)
What happens between your order and our rotor turning.
The call comes inAny hour
You reach a person, not a queue. The first conversation establishes the fire, the resource being ordered, the expected duration and who is running the air side.
Availability and statusImmediate
Aircraft status, crew duty state and current commitments, answered straight. If we cannot take it, you hear that in the first two minutes, not after two hours of paperwork.
DocumentationSame day where possible
Whatever your ordering process needs: rates, certificates, pilot cards, aircraft data and insurance. We keep this current precisely so it is not the thing that delays a launch.
MobilisationFast
Configure, fuel, brief, launch. Being based in central Idaho means we are already inside the country most of these fires happen in.
On the incidentUnder IC
We work to the incident's structure and the air-operations plan, and we fly to our own limits inside it. Both of those things are true at the same time, and neither is negotiable.
Release and afterDocumented
Flight time, loads, hours and status recorded and reconciled. Then the aircraft goes back to available, because there is usually another one.
Three things that decide whether a resource is useful.
On call, not booked out
- Owner-operated and locally based
- 365 days a year availability
- You speak to a pilot on the first call
- No layers between the order and the aircraft
Certified and current
- FAA Part 133 external load
- FAA Part 135 air carrier
- Registered federal vendor
- Insurance certificates on request
- In-house maintenance keeps the ship serviceable
Local knowledge
- Central Idaho terrain flown year-round
- Known dip sites and helispots
- High density-altitude operations are routine here
- Relationships with local agencies and ground resources
Season-to-season detail we will not fake
Contract vehicles, carding, rate determinations and agency requirements change every season. Rather than publish a list that may be a year out of date, we will tell you on the phone exactly what we hold right now and what we are carded for.
The season doesn’t end when the smoke does.
The same ground that burned in August needs stabilising before the first autumn storm. We fly suppression repair support, move BAER teams, and run the seeding that follows.
It is the same aircraft, the same crew and frequently the same drainage, which means the flying is planned by someone who already knows where the wires, the wet ground and the bad air are.
What incident and agency
staff ask.
Through whatever mechanism your agency already uses. We are a registered federal vendor and we keep the aircraft and pilot documentation current so a call can be turned into an order quickly.
Because contract vehicles, rate sheets and carding requirements change from season to season and agency to agency, the honest answer is: call us and we will tell you exactly what we hold for the current season.
Yes, and for fire this is common. A standby arrangement reserves the aircraft and crew for an agreed window with an availability rate and a flight rate. It costs something whether it flies or not, and it is the only way to be certain there is a ship when the wind comes up.
We fly to the applicable flight and duty limits, and to fatigue limits that sometimes stop us sooner. On a long incident, duty management is the difference between a resource that lasts two weeks and one that breaks in four days.
Fire work is flown in daylight unless a specific programme, crew and aircraft configuration says otherwise. If your incident needs night capability, ask directly and we will give you a direct answer rather than a hopeful one.
The aircraft stays available and we keep talking to the incident. Smoke, wind and visibility decide more fire flying than anything else, and pushing into it is how aviation people get hurt on fires.
If you need a ship today, call. Don't email.
On call 365 days a year across the American West.
CALL DIRECT · 208-315-5769