But Kristen Schloemer, president of the Missoula-based Neptune, remained optimistic and said she hasn't seen anything official from the Forest Service. Several weeks ago, Neptune responded to a nationwide request for bids for 20 fixed-wing airtankers.
Aero Union Corp. of Chico, Calif., won the first seven of those contracts. Three of its tankers are already in service in Oklahoma and Alabama, said Rose Davis, a public affairs officer for the Forest Service.
Other factors also affect the cost. In past years, the budget for 33 airtankers for a season was about $20 million, Davis said.
According to Davis, the stickler for Neptune remains a lack of data on the "service life" of the P2V tankers it uses to deliver retardant to wildfires.
Last May, citing concerns for public safety and airworthiness, the Forest Service abruptly canceled its contract for eight Neptune airtankers and 25 others around the West.
The decision came after the crash of three slurry bombers in previous fire seasons. None of those planes was owned by Neptune, which operates P2Vs, a former Navy submarine warfare plane that was in production from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.
The Forest Service maintains that it needs more information on the planes before it can resume work with Neptune, Davis said.
To get that information, the Forest Service has contracted with first one and then another company to research the life and structure of the planes. Last August, the agency gave the go-ahead to one of Neptune's tankers to take part in a test program. That plane carried equipment that monitored aircraft structure and stress in the firefighting environment.
Yet last year's data was insufficient, Davis said Tuesday.
For another round of research, the Forest Service has contracted with a third engineering company - for $300,000 - to complete another inspection of the P2Vs by early June, Davis said.
Meanwhile, Neptune has persevered, keeping 50 employees on staff, including highly skilled and certified airplane mechanics. Only the pilots for the grounded aircraft have been laid off.
"Neptune is a great organization," Davis said.
"I'm encouraged and look forward to hearing what the third engineering firm has to say," Schloemer said.
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