January 2001 - Logging and Sawmilling Journal -

Like other facets of the forest industry, helilogging has remained in a holding pattern for the last few years as the economy and other factors have made staying in the black even more of a challenge for helilogging companies. Rising fuel costs and a falling Canadian dollar are just two of the factors to be overcome in a business that must be finely tuned in order to make a profit. Bob Holt, chief pilot for Cariboo Chilcotin Helicopters Ltd in Lillooet, British Columbia, says the industry faces many challenges in the current economy. "This year is going to be one of the worst. (Cont'd below the summary)

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Company	# of Years	Helilog Hours	# of Helicopters	Make/ Model	Total Payload	Ground Support	RSC#
Aberdeen Helicopters Ltd	5	50	2	Bell 206	1,000	Hauling chokers & ground crew; GPS; aerial photography	586
Advantage HeliLog	6	20,000	Not specified	Bell 204/205	4,000 lbs	Stump to dump	587
Black Tusk Helicopters Inc	30	7,500	2	Bell 214B	8,000 lbs	Stump to dump; dryland sort.	588
Canadian AirCrane Ltd	10	10,000	5	S64E	20,000 lbs	Not specified	589
Cariboo Chilcotin Helicopters Ltd	6	1,300	2	KMax Bell 205	6,000 lbs 5,000 lbs	None	590
Conair Helicopters	31	7,000	3	Bell 205	4,000 lbs	Service truck; fuel tanker	591
Coulson Forest Products Ltd	15	65,000	4	Sikorsky S61	10,000 lbs	Support vans,Bell 206 helicopters; ambulances; pickup trucks; grapples; chokers; fuel trucks; fire/pollution suppression equipment.	592
Harbour City Helicopters Ltd	3	Not specified	1	AStarB2	2,000+	Grapple	593
Hayes Helilog Services Ltd	40+	Not specified	2	Sikorsky S61	10,000	Two Bell 206 helicopters for crews & choker transport; data transfer via satellite; doublewalled fuel storage tanks; support trucks; helirigging and chasing crew, as required; front end loader for choker retrieval in landings; water drop equipment; barge camp and fuel barge facilities; stump to dump.	594
Helifor Industries Ltd	22	70,000	5	Boeing Vertol Chinook 234	10,500 lbs 28,000 lbs	Full range of support 107 equipment.	595
Company	# of Years	Helilog Hours	# of Helicopters	Make/ Model	Total Payload	Ground Support	RSC#
HeliQwest Aviation	6	3600/yr	6	Bell 205 A-1, 204C, UHI-H, Bell 212	3,500 lbs	Grapples; fuel truck loaders, etc	596
Pacific International Helilog	5	Not specified	1	Sikorsky S-61	10,000 lbs	Ground crew; Hyundai 290 loader; Cat 325 processor; Cat front end loader	597
Panther Helicopters Ltd	11	1,000	1	MD500D	1,000 lbs	Shake blocking only	598
Prism Helicopters Ltd	14	10,000	12	MD500D AStar 3500	1,200 lbs 1,600 lbs	Longlines, hooks grapple, pruning blade, stretcher kit	599
Timberland Helicopters Inc	4	1,000+	1	SA 315B Lama	2,500 lbs	All necessary field equipment	600
Tundra Helicopters	30	10,000	3	Sikorsky S58ET Bell 212	5,000 lb 4,000 lbs	Stump to dump crew, grapple	601
Vancouver Island Helicopters Ltd	10	9,000/year	5	Kamov KA 32 Sikorsky S-61	11,000 lbs 10,000 lbs	All fuel trucks, service vans, a fleet of Bell 206 jet rangers, two 40 man float camps.	602
Wildcat Helicopters Inc	2	600	3	Bell 21 Bell 206LR	4,500 lbs 1,500 lbs	Fallers, riggers, processing, loading, trucking.	603
Yellowhead Helicopters Ltd	25	130	2	Bell 204C	3,500 lbs	None	604

The helicopter industry is very fragile right now," he says, citing the high cost of necessary but expensive replacement parts shipped from the United States and priced in US dollars. There is also pressure on the industry to remain competitive. "We have a glut of helicopters in Canada right now," says Holt. Keeping costs down is a constant challenge. Holt has changed his company's Workers' Compensation Board designation from "helilogging" to "aerial work" in order to avoid ever increasing premiums that will exceed $20 per $100 of earned income for heliloggers by 2005. As a result of this change, his company no longer provides ground or landing crews. He notes that there is a substantial amount of wood that is lost to the market solely because crews aren't allowed in fast enough to take the wood out in blowdowns or bug killed forests. "The loss of revenue is incredible. They're losing billions of dollars."

Although many of the larger helilogging companies seem to fare a bit better than the smaller ones, Holt foresees a "mediocre outlook" for the industry in general. Jonn Bertramm, a principal in Pacific International Helilog of Delta, BC, agrees with Holt's assessment, for the most part. "The last two years have been challenging to say the least," he says, adding that the supply of aircraft has made for a competitive market. "It seems like there's been ample aircraft to do the job out there." Bertramm, whose company has been carrying out most of its helilogging in the interior lately, says that, when necessary repairs must be done, "the key is having good maintenance backup ." His ground crews have also become quite proficient during the five years they have been working together. "Safety is a big item for us. The equipment operators know exactly what's going on," he says, "and they've learned how to work together safely. It makes such a difference when your crew works together all the time.

We're very proud of our people. We just can't say enough about them." Several of the helilogging companies contacted by Logging and Sawmilling Journal report that they are no longer carrying out helilogging, but hope to reestablish themselves in that sector in the future. A few heliloggers have gone out of business. Large or small, helilogging companies have been feeling the pinch. "The industry in general has been subject to severe market pressures and challenges in the last few years and heliloggers too have found it to be very, very competitive," says Harold Hayes, vice-president of Hayes HeliLog Services Ltd of Cobble Hill, BC. He notes that, despite inadequate stumpage appraisal allowances on crown land, his company has done well this year, developing new customers and building a solid reputation. "Helilogging will continue to be part of the harvesting profile," says Hayes. "In the long term there will be steady and continued helilogging and probably some growth."

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