Construction Helicopters, LLC

Construction Helicopters, LLC, doing business as Chi Aviation, is a veteran-owned small business that provides heavy-lift helicopter operations, aerial firefighting, military freefall and static line training support, aircraft readiness and maintenance, air ambulance services, and smokejumper aircraft operations to defense and civilian federal agencies as a prime contractor on 98% of its recent awards. Headquartered in Howell, Michigan, the company competes predominantly full-and-open (no set-aside designations on most awards) and holds positions on two GSA GWACs—OASIS+ Unrestricted (multiple-award) and OASIS+ Small Business (total small business multiple-award)—alongside single-award and multiple-award IDIQs with the National Interagency Fire Center, Naval Air Warfare Center, and U.S. Special Operations Command.

Chi Aviation's customer concentration is highly skewed toward defense and special operations. The top five customer agencies by potential value account for 96% of combined potential value: the Department of Defense United States Transportation Command anchors the portfolio at $5.7 billion (2 awards), followed by Department of the Army Central Command at $3.11 billion (8 awards), U.S. Special Operations Command at $1.31 billion (13 awards), Department of the Army Africa Command at $896.6 million (2 awards), and the Department of the Air Force Air Mobility Command at $220.8 million (4 awards). By award count, the National Interagency Fire Center (25 awards, $189.6 million) leads the civilian-agency footprint. This concentration reflects Chi Aviation's core competencies in specialized aviation: the company holds a $650 million multiple-award IDIQ with USSOCOM for military freefall and static line support services (17 delivery orders, $10.3 million combined potential value), a $98.96 million single-award contract with Naval Air Warfare Center for Pacific Missile Range Facility helicopter services (multiple annual delivery orders in the $9.8–$9.95 million range), a $50 million Type 1 Helicopter Support Services IDIQ with the National Interagency Fire Center (awarded January 1, 2025), a $50 million single-award National Smokejumper Aircraft Services IDC (total small business set-aside, awarded January 1, 2025), a $42 million single-award Air Mobility Command blanket purchase agreement for air ambulance services (October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2027), and a $14.001 million National Light Fixed Wing Services IDIQ with the National Interagency Fire Center (January 1, 2024). Representative work includes a $7.495 million delivery order from USSOCOM (September 2023) for airlift, blade hours, vertical wind tunnel access, parachute rigging, instructor support, and facility services in support of the 75th Ranger Regiment's Training Iteration at Fort Moore, Georgia; a $9.95 million Naval Air Warfare Center delivery order (June 2024) for aircraft readiness and minutes supporting the Pacific Missile Range Facility; and a $488,880 firm-fixed-price definitive contract from Naval Sea Systems Command (February 2024) for Operation Ice Camp 2024 air transportation services under a total small business set-aside.

Activity trajectory shows volatility in recent years—12 awards in 2022, 14 in 2023 and 2024, declining to 5 in 2025 and 4 in 2026—though the portfolio's combined potential value of $11.71 billion reflects the size of the parent IDIQs and the Navy and USSOCOM single-award contracts. Only two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months with combined potential value of $10.6 million, indicating minimal near-term recompete pressure. The company's SCI-reportable invoiced revenue totaled $539 thousand in FY2023 (0.4 FTEs), a narrow slice that reflects SCI's $150,000 reporting threshold and exclusion of goods-heavy and classified contracts that dominate Chi Aviation's federal footprint; SCI data understates the company's actual federal service-contract revenue and workforce. On the one SCI-reportable prime contract captured, the government-paid hourly rate was $618.61/hr, and the vendor performed 100% of work in-house with no sub-hours.

Chi Aviation operates as a prime on 98% of recent awards, with only two named sub-awards: aircraft maintenance and logistics support services to Amentum Services, Inc. for special services on AS350 aircraft at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (July 2024), and maintenance and operation services in support of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) base under Amentum (December 2024). The company maintains a named subsidiary, Helimax Aviation LLC, a for-profit organization that likely houses or manages aviation asset ownership or specialized operations. Award dates spanning from 1997 through September 2026 indicate sustained federal engagement, with recent task orders issued through September 2026 against the Type 1 Helicopter Support Services IDC and other mature vehicles. Primary NAICS categories are Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation (38 awards), Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation (35 awards), and Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation (26 awards); primary PSC codes reflect Natural Resources/Conservation—Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression (44 awards) and Transportation/Travel/Relocation—Passenger Air Charter (42 awards), anchoring the company's federal identity in emergency-response and specialized-transport aviation.

CHI Aviation ("CHI") is a premier helicopter service provider with over 30 years experience delivering premium service to its customers. CHI's customers include large Oil and Gas producers, Department of Defense, US Forestry Service and others.