Four air tanker companies protest Neptune’s new contract

BAe-146 drops on Devore Fire
Neptune’s BAe-146 drops on the Devore Fire, November 5, 2012. Photo by Rick McClure.

Four air tanker companies are protesting the non-competitive contract that the U.S. Forest Service gave to Neptune Aviation for two BAe-146 air tankers on December 12. As we reported that day, the contract, with a potential value of at least $141 million over four to nine years, justified the refusal to allow competition because of a necessity to “keep vital facilities or suppliers in business or make them available in the event of a national emergency, or prevent the loss of a supplier’s ability and employees’ skills”.

The Missoulian reported the information late on Tuesday. Below is an excerpt from their article:

Four aerial firefighting companies have protested the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to award two next-generation air tanker contracts to Missoula-based Neptune Aviation.

Neptune received the $8.7 million annual contract for two BAe-146 jet fire bombers on Dec. 13. The challengers, AeroAir LLC, Coulson Aviation USA, Minden Air Corp. and 10 Tanker Air Carrier LLC, each filed a protest on Dec. 23 with the Government Accountability Office.

GAO attorney Gary Allen said he could not discuss the protest claims Tuesday, because they contained “protected information” that couldn’t be disclosed until after a decision was rendered. That decision is due by March 28, but Allen said he expected a resolution would be reached before then.

An earlier version of the Missoulian article incorrectly reported that we had written at Fire Aviation that the Coulson gravity-assisted RADS retardant tank was going to be installed in the seven C-130H aircraft being transferred from the Coast Guard to the U.S. Forest Service, to convert them into air tankers. We had only said that “It would not surprise us if the U.S. Air Force will be calling [Coulson] for a quote” for the tank system. We thank reporter Rob Chaney for making the correction.

 

Thanks and a hat tip go out to Scott and Dick

Coulson demonstrates their C-130 tank system

Coulson Aviation USA has produced a video that demonstrates some of the capabilities of their 3,500-gallon Coulson RADS-XL Tank and the C-130Q which began flying under contract this fall, designated as Tanker 131. They shot the video at and near the San Bernardino air tanker base using cameras in their Sikorsky S76 helicopter, Firewatch 76. It shows the air tanker making down hill drops, which not every modern air tanker can accomplish very well.

The company bought the intellectual property for the RADS tank from Aero Union and in the last few months has been asked for price quotes for the tank system from a number of potential customers.

Britt Coulson told us:

Our plan is to manufacture and assemble the upper hopper and sell lower hopper subassembly kits where either we can complete the airframe install or another Lockheed Service Center can do the work.

Mr. Coulson said they have not finalized a price yet but it will be somewhere around $3.5 million installed. It would not surprise us if the U.S. Air Force will be calling for a quote, since they will be putting gravity tanks in the seven C-130Hs which will be transferred to the U.S. Forest Service after new wing boxes and fire retardant tanks are installed. The tank’s previous approval by the Interagency AirTanker Board will eliminate one very costly and time-consuming step in the process of converting an aircraft into an air tanker.

Tanker 131 on the Wheeler Fire

T-131 on the Wheeler Fire, November 14, 2013

T-131 on the Wheeler Fire, November 14, 2013

Britt Coulson sent us this very impressive video and the excellent photos of their C-130-Q, Tanker 131, dropping on the Wheeler Fire in southern California. The still photos were taken by Michael Meadows on Thursday, November 14 and are used here with his permission.

You have to watch this video. I have seen lots of forward-looking videos shot from the cockpit of air tankers, but this one looking toward the rear allows you to see where the retardant hits the fire. Very impressive. We asked Britt for some details about the camera:

It is the newest version of GoPro and they mounted it on the rear ramp door. The C-130Q has a hole where the low frequency RF cable used to go out that was later converted to a window with bars over it so it doesn’t get damaged. We build a housing that attaches to the bars and holds the camera. I believe they activated it before they took off then just cut the video down.

They have another camera mounted on a wing tip but it was not turned on for this flight. The photo below was taken from that camera.

T-131 from wing tip camera

The Wheeler Fire, north of Santa Paula in Ventura County, was contained at 64 acres. T-131 dropped 10,500 USG over 3 sorties and 5 drops.

Coulson’s exclusive use contract with the U.S. Forest Service ended for the year on November 15 but the agency gave them an extension based on fire activity.

Click on the photos to see larger versions.
T-131 on the Wheeler Fire, November 14, 2013 T-131 on the Wheeler Fire, November 14, 2013Thanks Britt and Michael!

Tanker 131 drops on its first fire

Air Tanker 131, Coulson’s C-130Q, made its first drop on a wildfire Friday, September 20. It split one load, dropping on both flanks of the Sanctuary Fire on the Los Padres National Forest near the Hopper Mountain Condor Sanctuary where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raises the Condors.

The video above is the first drop for T-131 ever on a wildfire. The second video, below, is the second drop on the other flank.

Tanker 131 and T-44, a P2V, worked the fire with lead plane Bravo-52. The fire was contained at 27 acres.

A big thanks go out to Gary Monday of Ventura County Fire Department who shot the video.

Coulson’s C-130Q reports for duty

air tanker 131 at San Bernardino
T -131 at San Bernardino, August 24, 2013. Photo by Dan Megna

(UPDATED at 1:47 p.m. PDT, September 20, 2012)

Tanker 131 was dispatched to its first fire today, September 20, near Santa Maria, California.

****

(Originally published September 13, 2013)

Coulson’s Air Tanker 131, a converted C-130Q, has been fully certified by the FAA, the Interagency AirTanker Board, and the U.S. Forest Service. The 3,500-gallon aircraft was carded on Tuesday and the pilot check rides occurred Wednesday. Its first assignment was to report to the San Bernardino airport, which ironically is where it spent the last several months while going through the conversion process.

Wayne Coulson, President and CEO of Coulson Aviation USA Inc., said, “This C-130Q has been outfitted with a Coulson RADS-XL Constant Flow tank and a state-of-the-art drop controller system that will enhance the accuracy of retardant drops by using GPS speed and other inputs.”

T-131 becomes the second air tanker to be certified and activated, of the original seven that were awarded “next generation” contracts.

As you may know, the USFS announced on May 6 that contracts were going to be awarded for seven next generation air tankers. The contracts were for exclusive use and for five years, with options for the USFS to extend them for an additional five years. Another option allows the addition of more air tankers from the vendors. The activation of the contracts was held up by two rounds of protests in 2012 and 2013 from Neptune Aviation, 10 Tanker, and Coulson, but the awards, after over 500 days of dithering, finally went to:

Only one of the five companies had their air tanker fully certified and ready to go when the awards were announced — 10 Tanker Air Carrier and their DC-10. They put Tanker 910 to work around June 1. In fact, their second DC-10, Tanker 911, was activated on a Call When Needed (CWN) contract June 14 (later changed to a 90-day exclusive use contract) and both of them have been flying fires since then. The two DC-10s, which always carry 11,600 gallons, dropped approximately 698,000 gallons of retardant in the month of June.

The mandatory availability period for the six next generation air tankers was supposed to begin in the first part of August, 2013. Other than the DC-10, none of them made that date. Minden, Aero Air, and Aero Flite are still working on their conversion projects.

Tanker 131 nearing completion

T 131 taxiing
T 131 taxiing. Photo by Dan Megna.

Coulson’s C-130Q, Tanker 131, can see light at the end of the tunnel. The aircraft has the new wrap applied and looks pretty spiffy. Today they flew it from San Bernardino up to McClellan to get approval for FAA Part 137, which is for “Agricultural Aircraft Operators”, for “dispensing of any chemical designed to treat the soil or crops”.

Britt Coulson told us they are still working out a few certification details with the U.S. Forest Service, but their goal is to have the aircraft ready to drop retardant over fires as early as the end of this week, or at the latest, next week. The tank holds 3,500 gallons and very seldom will they have to reduce that load due to density altitude. Eventually they may install a larger tank.

First drop from T-131

T-130 first partial drop test
T-131’s first partial drop test, San Bernardino, August 15, 2013

Coulson completed their static tests and door calibration for Tanker 131, a C-130Q, and today did their first partial drop. They are also working on the FAA Type Certificate.

A video of the drop is below.

HERE is a link to a video of the aircraft taking off for the first time after the conversion and maintenance that has been underway for the last several months.

And below is a video of the doors opening and closing. (I know, but if you’re at home on a Thursday night, you might as well spend 18 seconds watching this.)

Update on Tanker 131

Coulson's T-130, a C-130QBritt Coulson sent us these photos and told us that last week they ran the engines and conducted calibration static tests on Tanker 131, their C-130Q air tanker. The aircraft was over at the USFS Tanker Base at the San Bernardino airport for some of the tests. They expect to complete the calibration next weekend and begin flight testing in the next few days.

If any of the other air tanker vendors with new exclusive use contracts would like to send us information and photos, we would certainly appreciate it.

Coulson's T-130, a C-130Q Coulson's T-130, a C-130Q

Coulson's T-130, a C-130Q

Coulson's T-130, a C-130Q Coulson's T-130, a C-130Q

Coulson's T-130, a C-130Q

 

Coulson’s support truck

Coulson Truck
Artist’s conception of what the Coulson C-130 support truck will look like after the wrap is applied. (click to enlarge)

Coulson is outfitting a 53-foot trailer to support the C-130 air tanker they are retrofitting. The trailer had previously been used by a race car team. According to Britt Coulson who provided these photos, it has a lounge in the front for the maintenance folks, it’s all air conditioned, has outside work lights, a massive awning, and a full rear hydraulic tail gate for putting cars on the top deck or for working on the engines.

Interior of the Coulson C-130 support trailer
Interior of the Coulson C-130 support trailer

Removing Coulson’s C-130 tank

These photos show the removal of the 3,500-gallon retardant tank from Coulson’s C-130 air tanker which is being converted in San Bernardino, California. Just going by the time stamps, it took about eight minutes. The pictures were taken today and sent to us by Britt Coulson.

C-130 retardant tank unload

C-130 retardant tank unload

C-130 retardant tank unloadWe thank Britt Coulson for sharing these photos.