Elkhorn Aviation, Inc.

Elkhorn Aviation, Inc., doing business as Elkhorn Aviation Inc., operates as a self-certified small disadvantaged, woman-owned, and veteran-owned business providing helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft services to federal land management, conservation, and emergency response agencies, exclusively as a prime contractor across a portfolio of 145 recent federal awards valued at $309.1 million combined potential value.

Headquartered in Baker City, Oregon, Elkhorn Aviation competes primarily under small-business set-asides, with roughly two-thirds of awards designated as total small business set-asides. The vendor's capability footprint centers on Type III helicopter flight services for aerial animal capture, eradication, and tagging (ACETA); wildland firefighting and aerial fire suppression; prescribed fire operations; wildlife surveys and monitoring; search and rescue support; and fixed-wing light-aircraft services for aerial firefighting and air attack supervision across the western United States. The company holds no subcontracting engagement; all delivery work is self-performed across SCI-reportable contracts. Representative work includes a $2.37 million National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Type 3 helicopter support delivery order for Salmon, Idaho wildland fire operations awarded May 30, 2024; a $738,146 NIFC Type 3 helicopter delivery order for fire suppression at Custer, South Dakota (May 30, 2024); a $4.8 million NIFC light fixed-wing aircraft delivery order for 2022 National Air Attack services through March 31, 2027 (April 27, 2022); a $70,890 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BPA call for wolf eradication in Loomis, Washington (April 9, 2026); and a $176,906 FWS Region 2 BPA call for Mexican Gray Wolf Survey, Darting, and Capture (December 30, 2024).

Customer concentration is heavily skewed toward the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center, which accounts for 46 awards worth $141.8 million combined potential value—46% of all awards and 46% of total potential value. The Department of the Interior Interior Business Center ranks second with 13 awards worth $93.8 million, followed by Interior's Office of Policy Management and Budget (3 awards, $49.4 million), Interior's Bureau of Land Management Idaho Region (3 awards, $21.3 million), and NPS Intermountain Region (16 awards, $512,000). The top five customers account for 68% of awards and 99% of combined potential value. Within Interior, ordering activity spans the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management regional offices (Oregon-Washington, Nevada, Northwest, Western, and Idaho regions), National Park Service (Intermountain and Midwest regions), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Regions 1, 2, and 3), and the USGS Water Resources Division.

Elkhorn holds multiple parent indefinite-delivery vehicles anchoring most of its federal footprint. The Type 3 Helicopter Support Services 2023-2032 NIFC vehicle (ultimate completion December 31, 2033, $50 million ceiling) carries 20 task orders worth $4.1 million combined potential value. A Blanket Purchase Agreement vehicle (BPA 140D8020A0004) for On-Call Type III Helicopter Flight Services under Interior Business Center (May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2030, $11 million ceiling) carries 20 BPA calls worth $969,000 combined potential value. The On-Call Type III Helicopter Flight Services 2022-2027 Interior vehicle ($49.5 million ceiling through April 30, 2027, total small business set-aside) generates continued ordering for aerial seeding, prescribed burns, and wildlife operations. An On-Call Fixed Wing Aircraft Rental Agreement with Interior Business Center (January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2027, $9.98 million ceiling) supports aerial firefighting and fixed-wing transport. The USDA Forest Service National Light Fixed Wing Services IDC ($27.1 million ceiling, multiple-award) and a Type II Helicopter Support Services contract with NIFC ($50 million ceiling through December 31, 2033, multiple-award) round out the vehicle portfolio. A single-award National Air Attack Light Fixed Wing ATGS contract with NIFC (March 30, 2022, through March 31, 2027, $4.38 million ceiling) supports Air Tactical Group Supervisor observation flights in San Bernardino, California.

Activity has grown inconsistently over the trailing five years—12 awards in 2022, 18 in 2023, 21 in 2024, declining to 13 in 2025, and 10 in 2026 year-to-date. Twenty-five awards carrying $6 million combined potential value reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing a modest recompete exposure window.

SCI-reportable invoiced revenue totaled $1.7 million in FY2022 across 2.2 FTEs on prime contracts; subsequent fiscal years show zero FTE allocation in SCI reporting despite active contract ordering, indicating either small task-order values below the $150,000 SCI threshold or a shift toward smaller, more frequent purchase orders. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI-reportable prime contracts ranged around $331–$416 per hour (10th to 90th percentile), with a median near $373.67/hr. The vendor performs all contracted labor in-house with no named subcontractors across its federal footprint. Elkhorn Aviation's primary NAICS concentrations are Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation (102 awards) and Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation (27 awards), reflecting its helicopter and aircraft charter service model. PSC coding aligns to passenger air charter (50 awards), forest-range fire suppression and presuppression (44 awards), and air passenger transportation (23 awards).

e are a friendly full-service Fixed Base Operator (FBO) with 24 hour call out services. We offer first-class maintenance, rental aircraft and charters. Our aircraft fly charter flights throughout the United States. Our helicopters are available for fire fighting, charter, game surveys, cattle and horse gathering, scenic flights and training. Our UH-1H helicopter is available for a variety of heavy lift helicopter services and aerial crane work including remote hook long line services capable of lifting heavy loads up to 4000 lbs to remote areas. Both the UH-1H and Long Ranger helicopters are experienced in power line services. We offer a full range of services including scenic flights, game surveys, telemetry, search and rescue, air attack and forest recon.