Random Ramblings: Aerial Wildland Firefighting

I have blogged about aerial wildland firefighting since 2009. I am not a firefighter and am not a pilot, just an interested bystander who wants to learn more and share what I learn here. Join me here as I blog on the aircraft and the pilots who fight wildland fires from the air in support of crews on the ground. I also blog on concerns affecting fire crews on the ground as well as other aviation and meteorology issues. Learn what it takes to do jobs that are staffed by the best of the best.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Update on USFS RFP for Turbine Tankers

I have been wondering what has been happening with the US Forest Service RFP for turbine tankers (see the article that I wrote here). I suspected that at some point Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today would write a piece following up on the excellent articles he wrote on Dec 1, 2011 and Dec 2, 2011 reporting on the USFS RFP for turbine tankers.

When the USFS issued the RFP on Nov. 30, 2011 responses to the RFP had to be in by Jan 10, 2012 with the award date being January 31. Well, January 31 is tomorrow. On January 28, Bill Gabbert reported here that the USFS has reissued the RFP with a new response date of February 15, including a link to a question and answer page about the RFP. The revised award date is “to be determined".

We have 12 heavy tankers this year that will be on contract, including the BAe-146 which is currently under going maintenance (see Gabbert's January 28th article). We need more heavy tankers in the U.S.

Twelve is not enough.

In 2001-2 we had some 40 heavy tankers on contract. Perhaps our friends in Canada will help us out again this year when their fire season winds down, whenever that is. According to the 2012 Federal Contract Airtanker List it won't be until May 25 that all eleven P-2s are on contract. The start date for T-40, the BAe-146 tanker, is still to be determined.

Twelve is not enough.