Windward Aviation Inc.

Windward Aviation Inc., a small business Subchapter S Corporation based in Kahului, Hawaii, provides helicopter flight services to the Department of the Interior as a prime contractor across 228 federal awards spanning natural resource management, scientific research, facilities maintenance, emergency response, and specialized aerial operations. The company operates exclusively as a prime (100% of awards) under full-and-open competition — no set-aside designations appear across its recent prime portfolio, though the parent IDIQ vehicle itself carries a total small business set-aside.

Windward Aviation's capability footprint centers on on-demand helicopter operations for federal land management across the Hawaiian archipelago. Concrete work includes forest bird recovery and invasive species control (Hale Forest Bird Phase 1, $12,821.90, Pacific West Region, 2024), vegetation removal and aerial spraying (Hale Vegetation Aerial Spraying, $83,000, Pacific West Region, 2024), wildlife management and predator control (Hale Wildlife Management/Predator Control, $18,000, Pacific West Region, 2025), crew and cargo shuttle operations, facilities maintenance, long-line remote hook work, emergency fire suppression (Makaopuhi Fire suppression, $119,942.81, Pacific West Region, 2024), and routine remote field work supporting Kalaupapa National Historic Park ($12,098.30, Interior Business Center, 2024). Recent awards also include a $23,777 delivery order for Hawaii Volcano Observatory scientific research support (April 2026) and a $17,000 order for the Hale Wildlife Management Project Phase 1 (July 2026, the most recent award).

Customer concentration sits almost entirely within Department of the Interior sub-agencies. The top five funding offices account for 64% of award count and 98% of combined potential value. The National Park Service Alaska Region leads by volume (51 awards, $9.2 million) and the Pacific West Region (51 awards, $4.3 million) ranks second. The Interior Business Center, the administrative hub, holds 18 awards valued at $18.9 million combined potential value — a sharp concentration signal driven by the multi-million-dollar parent IDIQ. The Department of the Army Installation Management Command Pacific Region (6 awards, $2.5 million) and the USGS Alaska Science Center and Hawaii Volcano Observatory round out active customer relationships. The vendor serves 18 distinct agencies in total, but DOI dominance is overwhelming.

Windward Aviation holds a primary $9 million multiple-award IDIQ (Contract 140D8122D0008, awarded March 1, 2022, running through February 28, 2027) with the Interior Business Center, designated as a total small business set-aside. This vehicle carries 57 task orders worth $1.4 million combined potential value and serves as the parent for the vast majority of recent delivery orders across NPS, USGS, and Bureau of Land Management customers. A legacy DOI Alaska On Call Helicopter Flight Services vehicle (2017-2021) generated 54 task orders ($1.2 million), and a 2013-2017 Helicopter Rental Services vehicle yielded 36 task orders ($1 million). A Blanket Purchase Agreement (IND81ARA3295) holds 30 task orders with no stated dollar value. Across vehicles, all work is delivery-order based (no blanket-call work), priced firm fixed price with economic price adjustment, and performed from Kahului with performance locations spanning the Hawaiian islands — Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kalaupapa, and other locations as mission-specific.

Activity shows a decline trajectory: 18 awards in 2022, declining to 15 in 2023, 15 in 2024, 8 in 2025, and only 2 in 2026 year-to-date. Five awards (combined potential value $253 thousand) expire within the next twenty-four months, presenting modest recompete exposure. The vendor's $75 million combined potential value across 228 awards masks a utilization gap — only $9.3 million (12% of potential) has been obligated, indicating substantial vehicle capacity ahead. The vendor competes in NAICS 481211 (Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation) and PSC 41A2B (Passenger Air Charter), with 207 of 228 awards coded to charter passenger operations and 10 to charter freight, making the category concentration tight and highly specialized to helicopter operations in the Hawaiian region.

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.