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USFS buying KA-250s

Daveroo

Daveroo

Members +
good news to me..lol

http://fireaviation.com/2017/12/16/forest-service-to-purchase-up-to-20-new-king-air-250s/

[h=1]Forest Service to purchase up to 20 new King Air 250’s[/h]They “expect” to purchase four each year for five years.

KingAir250.jpg

Above: The King Air 250 as seen on the Beechcraft website.
(Originally published December 16, 2017)​
The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a contract to purchase up to 20 new King Air 250 twin-engine aircraft. The contract, potentially worth $142 million, guarantees the procurement of only one plane, but contains “estimated” purchases of four a year for five years.
The contract was awarded to Textron Aviation, Inc., the company that was formed in 2014 following the acquisition of Beech Holdings which included the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft businesses. The new business unit includes the Textron-owned Cessna.
The aircraft would be used primarily for four missions:

  • Lead plane/Aerial Supervision Module
  • Infrared Mapping
  • Air Attack/Air Tactical
  • Forest Health Protection
The solicitation uses the term “Multi-Mission Aircraft” several times. The state of Colorado bought two Pilatus PC-12’s in 2014 that they refer to as MMA’s which since then have been loaned quite a few times to agencies in other western states. The PC-12 is single-engine, while the King Air 250 is a twin. The performance of the two is similar in some respects, but the PC-12 is much less expensive to operate. If you’re curious about the other differences between the two, check out Charlie Bravo Aviation for a comparison.
DSC03640.jpg
One of Colorado’s two Pilatus PC-12 “Multi-mission Aircraft” which was seen at McClellan Air Field March 23, 2016. Photo by Bill Gabbert.I doubt if Colorado uses their aircraft as a lead plane often, but the USFS would use it frequently in that role. Flying low and slow over rough terrain, many pilots would prefer to have a pair of engines.
The “presolicitation” for the procurement was issued July 14, 2017 and the award was made five months later on December 11. That may be a record in the last five years for a USFS aircraft contract. But if there are protests, all bets are off. The first Next Generation large air tanker contract took 555 days.
Here are some of the award details:
Screen-Shot-2017-12-15-at-7.01.48-PM.jpg
King Air 250 contract award
 
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