What Helimax Aviation does

Helimax Aviation, Inc. is a privately held aerial firefighting operator headquartered in McClellan, California (Sacramento area). Founded in 1995 and incorporated in 1996, the company has operated accident-free for its entire 25+ year history and is owned by Heligroup Holdings Inc., with Chris Turner as owner since 2008. Helimax provides heavy-lift helicopter services using a fleet that includes CH-47D Chinooks, S-61N, and Bell 505 aircraft, operating under FAA Parts 133, 135, 137, and 145 certifications. Its core commercial offering is contracted aerial fire suppression (water and retardant drops), firefighter transport, and external cargo operations delivered to federal, state, and local government firefighting agencies including CAL FIRE, US Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Alaska DNR, and Minnesota DNR, as well as utilities such as PG&E and Southern California Edison, with operations extending to Mexico, Australia, and Chile.

The company's principal technical differentiator is its AST Tank system, developed with Airborne Suppression Technologies, featuring a patented spade gate that uses a modified aerospike plug nozzle to produce laminar flow of water or retardant. This minimizes dispersion from rotor slipstream and delivers a more concentrated drop pattern under the aircraft. The carbon-fiber tank is all-electric (avoiding hydraulic complexity), holds up to 2,550 US gallons, and supports rapid tank-to-bucket conversion on the same CH-47D airframe. Supporting systems include the DataVault telemetry platform, which captures takeoff, pickup, and drop data with NAFC/USAF-compliant reporting, and the PRISM Safety Management System, an IS-BAO-compliant, FAA-recognized web-based SMS tool. Helimax also operates Night Vision Goggle (NVG) certified missions, search and rescue, hoist operations, and air ambulance services under Part 91/135.

The business model is enterprise field sales to government procurement offices and direct commercial utility clients, generating revenue through time-and-materials contracts, call-when-needed agreements, and multi-year service contracts on a quote-based pricing structure. The customer base is heavily government-weighted (primary segment) with a growing utility wildfire mitigation vertical and select commercial heavy-lift work (oil and gas exploration, construction, agriculture). Distribution is direct with no intermediaries, supported by industry certifications (IS-BAO, ARGUS Platinum, NVG) as trust signals. Marketing is limited to a professional website, government procurement channels, and industry event presence, with no disclosed digital marketing or consumer-facing brand activity.

Name

Helimax Aviation

Legal name

Helimax Aviation, Inc.

Website

https://helimaxaviation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Helimax Aviation is a private heavy-lift helicopter operator providing aerial firefighting, external cargo, and night operations services to government fire agencies and utilities across the US, Mexico, Australia, and Chile using CH-47D, S-61N, and Bell 505 fleets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mcclellan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Aerial Firefighting Services: Contracted heavy-lift helicopter services for aerial fire suppression, including firefighting agencies at federal, state, and local levels. Services include water/retardant drops via internal tank systems or external buckets, firefighter transport, and logistical support. Revenue generated through time-and-materials contracts, call-when-needed agreements, and multi-year service contracts.
2. Helicopter Charter & External Cargo: Precision external cargo lift services and personnel transport operations using CH-47D, S-61N, and Bell 505 helicopters. Includes oil and gas exploration support, construction operations, and agricultural services.
3. Night Operations & SAR Services: Specialized night vision goggle (NVG) operations including search and rescue, hoist operations, and air ambulance services under Part 91/135 operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Helimax Aviation provides contracted heavy-lift helicopter aerial firefighting services for federal, state, and local government agencies, including water and retardant drops using proprietary AST Tank systems, external bucket operations, firefighter transport, and precision external cargo lifts. Services also cover night vision goggle (NVG) operations, search and rescue, hoist operations, and air ambulance under FAA Parts 133, 135, 137, and 145. The company operates a fleet of CH-47D Chinook, S-61N, and Bell 505 helicopters from its Sacramento, California headquarters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AST Tank: Airborne Suppression Technologies Tank System - a second-generation helicopter tank system with a patented spade door system for laminar flow liquid discharge, manufactured from ultra-light carbon fiber material with an all-electric design and capacities up to 2,550 US Gallons.

Products and services

• Aerial Firefighting Services Contracted heavy-lift helicopter services for aerial fire suppression, including water and retardant drops via AST internal tank systems (2,550 US gallons) and PowerFill buckets (up to 2,600 gallons), firefighter transport, and logistical support. Served to federal, state, and local government firefighting agencies including CAL FIRE, US Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Alaska DNR, and Minnesota DNR.
• Helicopter Charter and External Cargo Services Precision external cargo lift services and personnel transport operations using CH-47D, S-61N, and Bell 505 helicopters. Includes oil and gas exploration support, construction operations support, and agricultural services.
• Night Operations, SAR, and Air Ambulance Services Specialized Night Vision Goggle (NVG) operations including search and rescue (SAR), hoist operations, and air ambulance services conducted under FAA Part 91/135. Enabled by 135 OP Spec A050 (NVG) certification received in March 2019.
• AST Tank / Helitanker Fire Suppression Operations Helicopter fire suppression service utilizing the proprietary AST (Airborne Suppression Technologies) Tank system with patented spade gate laminar flow technology on CH-47D helicopters. Operates under the Helitanker brand with 2,550 US gallon all-electric carbon fiber tank capacity for concentrated water/retardant drops with superior canopy penetration.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,550 US gallon internal tank capacity with constant flow delivery for optimized ground pattern coverage
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Airborne Suppression TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationAirborne Suppression Technologies manufactures the AST Tank system used in Helimax CH-47D helicopters. This is a technology partnership for the proprietary spade gate tank system that provides superior aerial fire suppression capabilities. The AST system offers 2,550 US gallon capacity with all-electric operation and unique laminar flow delivery technology.
• Tandem Rotor LLC (Boeing)coreTechnology or IntegrationTandem Rotor LLC manufactures the CH-47D Chinook helicopter, the primary heavy-lift aircraft in the Helimax fleet. Helimax operates multiple CH-47D aircraft configured for fire suppression tank, powerfill bucket, and external load operations. Each helicopter equipped with NVG STC, HUMS monitoring, ATU Data vault, and upgraded avionics.
• Sikorsky (Lockheed Martin)coreTechnology or IntegrationSikorsky manufactures the S-61N helicopter operated by Helimax. The S-61N is configured for Part 135 operations with up to 19 passenger capacity, COMBI loads for internal cargo and passengers, HAZMAT approved operations, and Class D external human cargo capability.
• Bell TextronsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationBell Textron manufactures the Bell 505 helicopter used by Helimax for NVG training, long line training, wildfire suppression, passenger/cargo transport, frost protection, and external lift operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Coulson Aviation: Direct peer operating large helicopter and fixed-wing aerial firefighting fleets (including Boeing 737 FireLiner tankers and Chinook/Type I helicopters) across North America, Australia, and other international markets, serving CAL FIRE, USFS, and international forestry agencies. Highly comparable in mission profile, customer base, and cross-border expansion.
• CHI Aviation: Sibling company under Heligroup Holdings operating heavy-lift helicopter services including CH-47D external load and firefighting work. Directly comparable in fleet composition, mission types, and corporate ownership structure.
• Columbia Helicopters: Operates heavy-lift tandem-rotor helicopters (including Model 234/CH-47 variants) for firefighting, external cargo, and utility support across the US. Comparable in Type I heavy-lift rotorcraft operations and external load mission profile.
• Erickson Helicopters (AAR): Operates heavy-lift helicopters (S-64 Skycrane/Aircrane) for aerial firefighting and external load work, with significant government firefighting contracts. Comparable in firefighting mission, heavy-lift platform specialization, and government customer base.
• Neptune Aviation: Aerial firefighting operator running a large fleet of fixed-wing retardant air tankers on USFS and state contracts, including Call-When-Needed agreements. Comparable in government firefighting customer base and CWN contracting model, though fixed-wing rather than rotorcraft.
• 10 Tanker Air Carrier: Aerial firefighting operator flying very large fixed-wing VLATs (DC-10) on federal and state suppression contracts. Comparable in mission and customer base; competes for the same suppression budget pool though aircraft type differs.
• Aero-Flite: Aerial firefighting operator with both helicopters and fixed-wing air attack platforms serving federal, state, and municipal agencies in the western US. Comparable in regional government firefighting customer base and rotorcraft suppression operations.

Broad incumbents

• Bristow Group: Large global helicopter operator providing offshore crew change, SAR, and utility/adventure aviation with a substantial government services portfolio. Comparable in heavy helicopter operations and Part 135/133 mission scope though focused on offshore rather than firefighting.
• PHI Aviation (PHI Helicopters): Major helicopter operator providing offshore transport, air medical, and utility services across global markets. Comparable in Part 135 passenger/external load operations, though primary focus is offshore oil and gas rather than firefighting.

Emerging players

• Rotors Air (Helicopter Express / Heli-Dyne Systems): Specialized heavy-lift helicopter operator providing external load, utility, and firefighting support with Sikorsky and Boeing platforms. Comparable in heavy-lift external load and rotorcraft firefighting missions though smaller scale and narrower geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helimax-aviation-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Helimax Aviation