Development of an index for quick comparison of helicopter costs and benefits

Abstract

A helicopter comparison index was developed to incorporate cost and benefit information for individual helicopters for large wildland fire suppression operations. The costs and benefits for individual helicopters are unique. Costs consist of daily availability and hourly flight rates. Benefits depend on the payload, which depends on the altitude and temperature of operation, weight of the helicopter, equipment on board, crew, and fuel. Because of the complexity of calculating payload, previous methods for deploying helicopters classified helicopters into three types according to their typical payload. The least expensive helicopter of the desired type was deployed. Because this classification system produces a broad range of benefits within each helicopter type, this method may not deploy the most efficient helicopter. The helicopter comparison index can be calculated at representative altitudes and temperatures before it is needed. As the work is done beforehand, the helicopters can be compared quickly when they are needed. The helicopter comparison index allows helicopters to be compared based on the efficiency of the individual helicopters rather than just their cost of operation. Evaluation of Type I helicopters shows that using the helicopter comparison index instead cost of operation has savings potential of 20 to 45 percent.