Windward Aviation Inc.

Windward Aviation Inc., a small business Subchapter S Corporation based in Kahului, Hawaii, operates as a prime contractor providing on-demand helicopter flight services to the Department of the Interior across natural resource management, scientific research, facilities maintenance, and emergency response missions throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. The vendor competes predominantly on total small business set-asides, though individual task orders under its core IDIQ vehicle frequently carry no set-aside designation; across its 233 prime awards spanning nearly thirty years, small business set-aside posture recurs on the parent IDIQs rather than uniformly across all delivery orders.

Windward Aviation's customer base concentrates heavily within the Department of the Interior. The top five Interior sub-agencies account for 98 percent of combined potential value: the Departmental Offices Office of Policy Management and Budget leads with $38.2 million across two awards, followed by the Interior Business Center ($18.9 million across 18 awards), the National Park Service Alaska Region ($9.3 million across 53 awards), the National Park Service Pacific West Region ($4.4 million across 54 awards), and the Army Installation Management Command Pacific Region ($2.5 million across six awards). By award count, the two National Park Service regions dominate: Pacific West Region issued 54 delivery orders and Alaska Region issued 53, accounting for 65 percent of all recent awards. This concentration reflects Windward Aviation's specialized operational positioning in Hawaii, where the vendor holds exclusive or near-exclusive access to helicopter assets for federal land agencies.

The vendor's primary contract vehicle is the Interior Business Center's $9 million total small business set-aside Indefinite Delivery Contract 140D8122D0008, awarded March 1, 2022, running through February 28, 2027. This vehicle alone generates 62 task orders valued at $1.5 million in combined potential value. A preceding vehicle, the DOI Alaska On Call Helicopter Flight Services 2017-2021 IDIQ, supported 54 task orders totaling $1.2 million. Older vehicles including Helicopter Rental Services in Hawaii (2013-2017) produced 36 task orders at $1 million combined value. Representative recent delivery orders under the current IDIQ include a $85,000 Resource & Visitor Protection order from Pacific West Region (August 28, 2025), a $43,000 Hale Farm VSRP order from Pacific West Region (August 1, 2026), a $30,348 invasive species control order from Pacific West Region (August 28, 2026), a $23,777 Hawaii Volcano Observatory Armstrong-USGS order (April 29, 2026), and a $20,000 National Park Service Alaska Region wildlife management order (August 21, 2026). Task orders span forest bird recovery, invasive species control and aerial spraying, vegetation removal and management, wildlife and predator control, crew and cargo shuttle, facilities inspection and maintenance, long-line remote hook work, firefighting support (including emergency orders like the $119,943 Makaopuhi Fire suppression order from October 8, 2024), and scientific research transport.

Activity has remained stable to declining over the past five years — 18 awards in 2022, 15 in 2023, 15 in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 7 in 2026 — reflecting the episodic, mission-driven nature of helicopter procurement rather than contract attrition. Combined potential value across all 233 awards is $75.1 million, with $9.4 million obligated to date (13 percent). Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months is modest: 8 awards totaling $233 thousand face ultimate completion by October 2027, including several late-2026 delivery orders under the current IDIQ vehicle. Place of performance centers on Kahului Airport (OGG) with subordinate mission-specific operations across the Hawaiian islands — Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and other locations as required. The vendor's footprint is confined to Hawaii and reflects specialized capability in high-altitude, remote-access helicopter operations in challenging terrain and emergency response scenarios where federal land agencies lack organic aviation assets.

HELICOPTER UTILITY SERVICES THAT INCLUDE FIREFIGHTING, SEARCH/RESCUE, HEC, WIRE PULLS, AERIAL SURVEY, AERIAL SPRAY, MATERIAL TRANSPORT, CEMENT WORK, BRIDGE BUILDING, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, EQUIPMENT LIFTS, ETC. OAS CERTIFIED AND DEPT. OF DEFENSE APPROVED.