Western Air Pilots LLC

Western Air Pilots LLC, a sole-proprietorship limited liability company based in Brighton, Colorado, provides pilot staffing, mission instructor training, and backcountry aviation support for wildland firefighting and forest management operations to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) under the Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a small business prime contractor.

Western Air Pilots holds a $10 million single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with NIFC, designated as a total small business set-aside, awarded January 10, 2022 with ultimate completion December 31, 2026. All nine awards in the source portfolio are delivery orders or the parent IDIQ under this single vehicle. Concrete work includes $2.31 million in pilot services (delivery order 1202SA22T9700, January 2026 through January 2027), $1.83 million in pilot services (February 2025 through January 2026), $1.79 million in pilot services (February 2024 through February 2025), $708,341 in infrared forward-looking mission instructor services (May 2023), $1.26 million in pilot services (December 2022 through January 2027), and $112,480 in backcountry operations pilot support (January 2022 through January 2027). A standalone $21,000 delivery order covered USFS mission instructor training (August 2024).

Customer concentration is absolute: the National Interagency Fire Center represents 100% of awards and combined potential value ($19 million across nine awards). Western Air Pilots operates as a pure prime — zero subcontract footprint — with performance locations across western states including Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, and Montana, with primary operational bases at Boise, Idaho and Brighton, Colorado.

Activity is sparse and declining. Four awards were issued in 2022, followed by one award in 2023, two in 2024, one in 2025, and one in 2026. Combined obligated dollars total $9 million (47% of combined potential value), signaling partial funding draw on the remaining IDIQ capacity. The recompete cliff shows three awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months, carrying combined potential value of $3.7 million — the parent IDIQ itself completes December 31, 2026, making recompete or rebid on the core contract a near-term driver for competitive activity in this space.

Western Air Pilots' capability set clusters under NAICS 488519 (Other Support Activities for Air Transportation) and PSC code "Transportation/Travel/Relocation — Passenger Air Charter." The firm's footprint is narrow, stable, and single-customer dependent, reflecting deep specialization in federal wildland firefighting aviation rather than diversified federal IT, professional services, or logistics exposure.