OTA Dispatch Issue 3

Logging to jointly purchase a helicopter to work with Timberland Logging’s already established helicopter operation. In 2013 Mark and the other aviation management staff at Timberland Logging purchased the helicopter operation and formed Timberland Helicopters. Timberland Helicopters currently owns four aircraft, two under lease from Timberland Logging in Oregon, and also runs a base in Salt Lake City, UT. Timberland Helicopters also operates trucks in support of the helicopter operation, mainly to fuel the helicopters. The Helicopter Business Most of the work for Mark’s other company, Timberland Helicopters, consists of firefighting and powerline and gas line patrol work. He has contracts with The Department of Forestry, US Forest Service, Cal Fire, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and other organizations for fish and wildlife and general charter. The company also operated an emergency medical helicopter program in conjunction with Mercy Flights of Medford for over 22 years. Operations typically take place in the Western US, but they’re sometimes commissioned for other projects, such as an oil spill burn test for the Coast Guard in The Gulf of Mexico a few years ago. Other work involves utility power line patrol for organizations like Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power. His helicopters often patrol transmission lines to look for problems and anomalies if there’s an outage, or simply as preventative maintenance. In the last four years, the company has also moved into the drone business with a focus on utilities. With drones, you can’t go beyond visual line of sight without a waiver, but they’ve been useful for close-up inspections of powerline structures/towers, dams, wind turbines and solar farms. Helicopters, on the other hand, can fly from Ashland to Klamath Falls and inspect all the power lines. “What we’re doing now is selling drone training for individuals within other organizations to get their own pilots license, provide services like waivers for night flying or beyond visual line of site, offer consultation and recommendations about drone products, and even sell drones as an authorized dealer to those individuals/companies. We want to be a one-stop-shop.” Though drones can play a significant role in firefighting, such as taking infrared shots of affected areas, mapping the perimeter of the fire and determining the direction where the fire is moving, Timberland’s helicopters and drones complement each other in providing services where they fit the best. Mark utilizes satellite tracking for the helicopters and his trucks for many years. There are obvious advantages in both safety and efficiency in knowing where all your assets are in real time. The company has one aircraft specifically dedicated to the Oregon Department of Forestry. Timberland is involved in water bucket work, air attack (where the aircraft flies overhead to analyze how best to put the fire out), and/or dropping off fire crews. Besides the obvious, aviation differs from trucking mainly because the FAA has a different set of rules and regulations. You need a director of operations, a chief pilot responsible for training, a director of maintenance, and a full plan of rules and operating procedures to follow. He’s got a lengthy book of rules and an established plan of operations his company needs to follow. OTA and Getting Involved Mark has been involved with Oregon Trucking Associations as an executive board member and Annual Convention attendee for over ten years. He was OTA Chairman from 2007–2009, has attended OTA’s Call on Washington, and currently leads the OTA in Action committee, the grassroots branch of the association. STI is also a member of the American Trucking Associations and Timberland Helicopters is a member of the Helicopter Association International, because Mark believes in supporting the industries he belongs to. “A willingness to do things for the industry is invaluable. It’s typical for associations to have a small number of people invest the majority of time and effort, so the challenge is how to get more people involved, write letters, etc. It’s important to get your voice heard and not just assume that the rest of the industry members will do something.” Mark tries to stay current with legislative issues and often personally contacts legislators on behalf of both trucking and helicopter industries. His goal for the OTA in Action committee is to identify individuals in trucking, related industries, and in the legislature to cultivate www.ortrucking.org How a Family Logging Operation Turned to the Sky for Aviation Opportunities 19 Issue 3 | 2018