Eleven operations. One accountable operator.
Everything we fly for industry, agencies and land managers, from energized powerline patrol to post-fire seeding, run by the people who also maintain the aircraft.
If it is hard to reach, repetitive or time-critical, it is probably ours.
Base Camp Aviation was built around a simple idea: the team that signs off the aircraft should be the one flying your mission. That single line of accountability is why the work below sits under one roof instead of being farmed out.
Eleven operations, five broad groups. Some of it is scheduled a season ahead: utility patrol, survey blocks, seeding contracts. Some of it is a phone call at 06:00 in August. We are set up for both, and we would rather tell you plainly when a job is not a fit than take it and learn that the hard way at 8,000 feet.
- Owner-operated, McCall, Idaho
- In-house A&P maintenance on every aircraft we fly
- FAA Part 133, 135 and 137
- Registered federal vendor
Five groups, one crew,
one maintenance shop.
The grouping is for you, not for us; the same pilots and the same aircraft move between them as the season demands.
Utility & Infrastructure
Work alongside energized conductors, pipelines and the corridors that feed them: patrol, inspection, survey and precision placement.
- Pipeline & powerline patrol
- Aerial survey, GIS & LiDAR
- Aerial construction
Natural Resources
Landscape-scale work for agencies, researchers, ranchers and land managers, flown low, slow and repeatably.
- Game survey & capture
- Predator control
- Aerial seeding
Fire & Public Safety
Fire season and the emergencies around it. Certified, insured and reachable on the day it actually matters.
- Fire fighting
- Aerial tactical firearms training
- Search & rescue support
Energy & Mining
Roadless energy and mining country: crews in and out, corridors watched, drills and equipment placed where there is no road to place them from.
- Oil & gas support
- Mining support
- Remote-site crew transport
Winter & Recreation
Heli-ski and winter access flying for guide operations, lodges and private groups, with the snow-safety call left with the guides.
- Heli-skiing
- Lodge and backcountry drops
- Winter search support
Every operation we fly, and what it actually involves.
Eleven pages, eleven different jobs. Each one has its own aircraft configuration, its own crew requirement and its own way of going wrong if it is planned badly.
Pipeline & Powerline Patrol
Structure-by-structure inspection and routine patrol along transmission, distribution and pipeline corridors, flown at the speed the inspection needs rather than the speed the aircraft likes.
- Detailed and general patrol
- Thermal and corona survey support
- Storm and outage response
Aerial Survey, GIS & LiDAR
A stable, slow, low-flying sensor platform for LiDAR, photogrammetry and mapping over ground that a truck or a fixed-wing simply cannot cover properly.
- Corridor and area LiDAR
- Orthoimagery and photogrammetry
- Ground control coordination
Aerial Construction
Long-line precision placement into sites with no road, no crane pad and no second chance: towers, mechanical units, poles, penstock and lift infrastructure.
- Vertical reference long-line
- Tower and pole setting
- Rooftop mechanical placement
Fire Fighting
Bucket work, crew shuttle, recon and logistics through the western fire season, with an operator who is on call rather than booked out three states away.
- Bucket and dip-site work
- Crew and cargo shuttle
- Recon and point protection
Game Survey & Capture
Classification counts, net-gun capture, darting support and collaring flown to the biologist's protocol, with animal welfare driving every decision in the cockpit.
- Classification and trend counts
- Net-gun capture and collaring
- Telemetry and transplant
Predator Control
Permitted aerial control flown with the agency or producer holding the authorisation, on the days and in the conditions where it is actually effective.
- Agency and permitted work
- Winter and spring windows
- Documented flight records
Aerial Seeding
Post-fire emergency stabilisation and rangeland restoration, spread evenly across ground that no wheeled machine is going to reach before the first storm does.
- Post-fire BAER seeding
- Rangeland and range-improvement
- Mulch, fertiliser and cover crops
Oil & Gas Support
Crew transport, corridor patrol, aerial survey and sling work across roadless energy terrain, planned around your site rules rather than ours.
- Remote-site crew transport
- Pipeline and facility patrol
- Equipment sling and set
Aerial Tactical Firearms Training
Structured platform and crew-coordination training for authorised agency personnel who have to operate safely from a helicopter.
- Agency and authorised personnel
- Platform and crew coordination
- Ground school and briefing
Heli-Skiing
Heli-ski and winter access flying for guide operations, lodges and private groups, with the snow-safety call left with the guides.
- Guide-led day programmes
- Lodge, cabin and backcountry drops
- Winter search and recon support
Mining Support
Drill and camp moves on the long line, crew changes, core and sample runs and survey flying for exploration and operating mines.
- Heli-portable drill moves
- Crew shuttle and core runs
- Camp, fuel and reclamation support
From the first call to the
close-out conversation.
The sequence is the same whether you are a federal agency with a procurement office or a rancher with a problem.
The callSame day
Tell us the mission, the ground and the window. You will be talking to someone who flies it, not to a scheduler two time zones away. Most conversations end with a straight answer about whether we are the right operator for the job.
Scope and site review1–3 days
We look at the terrain, the density altitude you are asking us to work at, landing zones, fuel, airspace and any permits or land-manager approvals the work sits under. If something on that list is going to be the problem, we would rather find it now.
Proposal and paperworkWith the quote
Scope, aircraft, crew, rates, insurance certificates and any agency documentation you need to put us on contract. For federal and state work we can supply capabilities and past-performance detail with the proposal.
MobilisationMission-dependent
Aircraft configured for the job, fuel and support arranged, crew briefed. For emergency work this compresses hard; that is the whole reason we stay on call.
On siteDaily briefs
Daily briefing, daily debrief, and a running record of what was flown and what was found. Conditions change in the mountains; the plan is expected to change with them.
Close-outAfter the last flight
Flight records, deliverables in the format you asked for, and an honest conversation about what we would do differently next season.
The paperwork side,
handled properly.
Aviation contracting has more moving parts than most buyers expect. Here is what we bring to it.
Certificates & registration
- FAA Part 133 rotorcraft external load
- FAA Part 135 on-demand air carrier
- FAA Part 137 agricultural aircraft operations
- Registered federal vendor (SAM)
- Commercial insurance certificates on request
What we can supply
- Capabilities statement
- Past-performance detail
- Pilot hours and currency records
- Aircraft maintenance status
- Site-specific risk assessment
- Certificates of insurance naming your entity
How clients engage us
- Project-by-project proposals
- Seasonal standby agreements
- Standing services agreements
- Agency task orders
- Emergency call-out, 365 days a year
Before you send an RFP
Call us first. Fifteen minutes on the phone about terrain, density altitude and the window you actually need will produce a far more useful proposal than a specification written around another operator's aircraft.
The ones buyers ask
before the first flight.
Yes. McCall is the base, not the boundary. We mobilise across the American West and have flown project work well beyond the state line. Ferry time and per-diem are quoted openly as part of the proposal rather than buried in an hourly rate.
For fire and utility clients this is common. A standby arrangement reserves aircraft and crew for an agreed window with an availability rate and a flight rate. Tell us the season you need covered and we will put numbers to it.
FAA Part 133 for rotorcraft external load, Part 135 for on-demand air carrier work, and Part 137 for agricultural aircraft operations. Which one a job falls under changes the paperwork, the crew requirement and sometimes the aircraft, so we sort that out before quoting.
We are registered as a federal vendor and can provide the documentation package that procurement teams normally ask for. For state, county and utility clients the route is usually a standing services agreement; we will work to whatever vehicle you already use.
Weather, density altitude, fatigue, an aircraft that is not right, or a plan that has quietly become a different plan. Any one of those is enough. Nobody on this crew has to justify a no-go call to anybody.
Tell us the mission. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right ship.
Available 365 days a year across the American West.
CALL DIRECT · 208-315-5769