Early Start Predicted For The 2012 Wildland Fire Season
Neptune Aviation is gearing up for the 2012 fire season through
an accelerated maintenance and training program, given predictions
of earlier than normal wildland fire out-breaks--particularly in
portions of the US Southwest. "The US Forest Service approached us
last fall, and asked that we have our aircraft available early,"
said Dan Snyder, President of the Missoula-based company. "To meet
our customer's requirement, we commenced our fleet maintenance
about a month early in preparation for the fire season. To do that,
we leased additional hangar space at Missoula International
Airport, and increased our contract maintenance staff to 30--up
from the 10-15 we have employed in prior years. The contract staff
supplements the 70 mechanics we employ full-time."
Snyder noted that in a typical year, the contract maintenance
staff, which includes airframe mechanics, electricians and sheet
metal technicians, is on site from November through March, with the
total cadre in place by January. "But, this year, we ramped up to a
full staff of 30 in October, and we expect that they will be here
through April, so we're taking on more people for a longer time
period," he said.
The contract maintenance staff will focus exclusively on the
company's nine active P2V Neptune tankers. As Snyder explained,
Neptune Aviation is also deploying a single BAE 146 regional jet,
modified for aerial tanker duty. The aircraft has operated since
October 2011, under Interagency Airtanker Board interim approval.
Given the capacity constraints generated by the accelerated
preparation schedule, maintenance on the BAE 146 has being
outsourced to Tronos, the company which partnered with Neptune on
the tanker modification. Pilot recurrent training has also been
moved up by a month, starting January 1st. Neptune currently has 25
pilots, of which five are qualified on the BAE 146.
The earlier resumption of maintenance activity, and pilot
training, reported Snyder, will enable Neptune Aviation to make the
first aircraft mission-ready by February 26, with the last ones
available no later than May 25. "In 2011, availability of the first
aircraft, by contract with the Forest Service, was March 18, with
the last one ready for dispatch by June 25," he pointed out, adding
that the longer availability time-frame will mean more time in the
field for pilots, mechanics, and support vehicle drivers. Because
of this, the company plans to hire additional staff in order to
assure those on the line their regular periods of time off.
"Neptune Aviation was well-prepared to meet the Forest Service's
request for early aircraft availability because of changes made in
our operations over the past three years," Snyder said. "We were
positioned to respond to our customers' requests in a timely
fashion, and we are on track to do that."
"The capability of Neptune Aviation to make its aircraft
available earlier than in past years, without compromising safety,
is another example of the kind of flexibility we have come to
expect of private enterprise in the aerial firefighting sector,"
said Tom Eversole, AHSAFA Executive Director. "It is another
illustration of the ability of the commercial operators in this
business to respond quickly to changing customer requirements."