Proposed Changes to USDA Contracts, are you ATU Ready? Story by Stephane Momy Keeping up to date and understanding the new proposed contract changes may be challenging and daunting for operators. This article aims to simplify some of the recently proposed changes to the upcoming 2022 aerial firefighting helicopter (AFF) support service contracts with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Forest Service (USFS). Draft contracts have been made available for feedback. The proposed changes introduce several new service and equipment requirements for aerial firefighting helicopter support services. Some of the main changes to these contracts include equipment requirements for Additional Telemetry Units (ATU) and Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) systems. Operators have expressed that some of these changes will be challenging in terms of overcoming financial and logistical obstacles. While the final contracts will not include all of these proposed changes, it’s safe to say the ATU mandates will become the new norm for their ability to measure accountability. The ATU mandates are in effect in other parts of the world. They have been anticipated for a while to catch up with government agencies currently compliant and leading the integration and requirements of new supporting technologies. The ATU requirements apply for Type 1 and Type 2 rotorcraft and fixed-wing water bombers with the expectation that the program will expand to all aircraft. The ATU requirements should not be feared as this article will cover the background and importance of ATU, simplicity of integration, and cost-effective implementation. ATU provides the valuable capability to measure water volumes and retardant (suppressant) type used, report associated GPS positions, over the air (OTA), where the aerial platform picks up the water volume, and where it is dropped to support firefighting operations. Typically, this GPS-tagged ATU information is then overlaid onto electronic geographical maps so that operators and government agencies can effectively manage the firefighting operation. AF 30 | aerialfiremag.com
The introduction of ATU is very similar to the introduction of Automatic Flight Following (AFF) in 2005 by the USFS. Government agencies originally introduced and mandated AFF for primary operator firefighting contracts, but it has spread into other jurisdictions and applications. We’re at the beginning of ATU, with government agencies demanding greater accountability with aerial firefighting. Faced with more intense and more prolonged fire seasons, government agencies need to track the efficiency of their efforts, and basic flight tracking is not a good measurement of their efforts. The result is an ATU requirement to utilize accurate and tested costeffective solutions to properly manage operations. ATU systems integrate seamlessly with many existing AFF systems and work parallel with routine AFF position reports, resulting in aircraft sending both AFF and ATU GPS position reports. The new contract requires operators to describe the ATU system installed on the offered aircraft during the bidding process. A few select vendors are providing this technology, including Guardian Mobility Inc. The ATU system must be active in all phases of flight and report information on; tank/bucket open, close, gallons filled, and gallons dropped events with GPS data (Date, Time, Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Speed, and Heading). Additional information may be requested for pump on/ off and coverage level. The data must be delivered to the government within two minutes of the event and not interfere with any AFF position reports. Like AFF, ATU follows the same format as the AFF JSON requirement. A web-based mapping application will automatically forward all ATU and AFF events to the required government system through a subscription service with a vendor such as Guardian Mobility. Operators need to understand their overall system onboard their fleet and ensure it is appropriately configured, as load cells are used to provide ATU.
