Description
The US Army Special Operations Command is conducting a market survey to determine the availability of contractors to provide air support for various missions. The support must comply with the requirements listed below: I. REQUIREMENTS UNDER Federal Aviation Regulation PARTs 91, 119, 125, 135 1. Pilot Qualifications- Minimum qualifications of pilots who will crew the aircraft used by the service provider of this purchase order are: a. The Pilot in Command will have a valid and current Federal Aviation Administration Commercial pilots certificate with Instrument Rating or an Airline Transport Pilot certificate with appropriate category and type endorsements. b. The Co-pilot (if required) will have a valid and current Federal Aviation Administration Commercial pilots certificate with Instrument Rating certificate with appropriate category and type endorsements. 2. Currency and Training- The Pilot in Command must receive training tailored specifically to the requirements of this statement (Airborne Operations). The co-pilot must receive at least a detailed briefing of the task to be performed and not handle the flight controls while jumpers are on board unless he has received the appropriate training. A written record of this training must be kept by the service provider and made available upon request for inspection by a USASOC representative. The PIC will have performed the tasks supported by this purchase order at least once every 90 days to remain current. Aircraft currency will be IAW FAR 61.57c,d and e. 3. Transport of Personnel- Only crew members approved by USASOC will be authorized to be onboard during flights supporting this purchase order. No civilian (non-crew) personnel or jumpers are allowed on board the aircraft in support of USASOC at any time. 4. Aircraft will not conduct concurrent operations. Only those missions stated in the contract will be conducted within the parameters of the contract and within the required mission or flight time. USASOC will not be held responsible for the conduct of any flight or mission outside the confines of the contract. 5. Regulations: a. Aircraft - Aircraft provided for the support of this purchase order will be maintained IAW FAR 91 subpart E. If this regulation does not apply to the service provider due to an airworthiness maintenance program under a different regulation, USASOC will be notified prior to the execution of the contract. USASOC will determine the suitability of the maintenance program used by the service provider prior to beginning operations. b. Parachuting and/or Airborne Operations- Parachuting and/or Airborne operation will be conducted IAW FAR 105f USASOC Reg. 350-2, Training Airborne operations and FM 57-220 Static Line Parachuting Techniques and Training. 6. Inspection- The service provider will make available for inspection prior to any USASOC purchase order operations the following: a. Aircraft- The type of maintenance program used, airframe and engine logbooks, airworthiness certificate, radio station license, registration, operators handbook, and weight and balance records. A list with the tail number(s) of the aircraft to be used. b. Aircrew- The training records of the aircrews the provider intends to use. If a logbook sign off is used in lieu of training records, then the written training syllabus used for the sign off. The logbooks, pilot certificates and Class 2 FAA medical certificates of the aircrews to be used. A list with the names of the aircrew proposed by the provider. Pilot and medical certificates will be in the possession of the pilots during the performance of their duties and made available upon request to the USASOC Drop Zone OIC/NCOIC or Drop Zone Safety Officer. 7. Rejection- USASOC reserves the right to reject aircraft and/or crew for any measure of noncompliance with procedures, regulations, or unsafe acts or conditions. 8. Changes and Waivers- Any changes or waivers to the clauses of this purchase order will be in writing from the USASOC representative. 9. Required Briefings- The contract pilot will ensure required briefings are conducted as per USASOC reg. 350-2 and FM 57-220 for jump operations. For passenger operations/movement briefing will be conducted as per FAR 91.519. 9. IAW FAR Parts 119, 121, 125, 135- Contractor must meet all the requirements outlined in these parts to include, but are not limited to, insurance, crewmember qualifications, testing, and maintenance standards. 10. Compliance Inspections- All assumed contract vendors are required to submit to periodic compliance inspections. Compliance inspections may be conducted by USASOC inspectors for part 91 above and will be required by Air Mobility Command (AMC) of USTRANSCOM for Parts 119, 125, and 135 above. Contract vendors must also be already inspected and approved by AMC in part 135. II. MISSION PROFILES AND DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS 1. Standard Mission Definitions. a. Combat Equipped Jumper. An aircraft passenger rigged with a main parachute, reserve parachute, weapon, and ALICE pack (back?pack) to parachute from an aircraft. The planning weight for a combat equipped jumper is as follows: Weight of average jumper = 180 lbs. Weight of parachute with reserve = 40 lbs. Weight of ALICE pack and weapon = 80 lbs. Total Average Planning Weight per Combat Equipped Jumper = 300 lbs. b. Paradrop Equipment Bundle. These bundles are composed of equipment packed into a canvas container. The maximum container dimensions are 30?x 66?x 48?. The bundle is dropped using a static line deployed parachute. Bundles are rigged in such a manner that when placed on the balance point of the jump platform, the parachute is on the top of the bundle or on the side of the bundle facing the center of the aircraft, based on the largest dimension. The maximum weight of the bundle is 500 lbs. c. Message Pickup (MPU) Operation. The MPU sites are selected to meet or exceed all ground and air selection considerations IAW TC 31-24. The MPU operational procedures and techniques discussed below apply when using a STOL aircraft. 1) Aircrew must be able to: Locate the PZ, and be able to identify the PZ, the authentication signals on the PZ, and both far and near recognition signals. 2) The reception committee must select an MPU that is accessible, secure, and safe. 3) Air considerations of Terrain: General area must be relatively free of obstacles, flat or rolling terrain is preferred; however in mountainous terrain use large valleys, flat ridges, and level plateaus, avoid small pockets and valleys surrounded by obstacles such as tall trees and hilly terrain, very difficult for the pilot to locate, approach from any direction is preferred, or a minimum of 45 degrees open quadrant on approach and departure ends, MPU PZ having a single clear line of approach is acceptable provided there is a level turning radius of 2-kilometers/1 nautical mile. 4) Obstacles: Terrain obstacles are rising ground or hills more than 153 meters (500 feet) higher than the PZ surface, should not be closer than 6 kilometers (3NM), and must be reported; artificial obstacles 90 meters (300 feet) in height above PZ level not on the issue map within a radius 5 NM must be reported; approach and takeoff clearance is based on the decent and ascent STOL aircraft ratio, or the so-called glide and climb ratio, 1 to 11 ratio, and also is the same ratio for mask clearance on MPU operations. 5) Size and surface area of the MPU site: MPU pickup zone is the safe area where the aircraft has descended to recovery altitude and is level, cleared to deploy the MPU retriever system, recover the MPU container from the MPU ground apparatus, and the aircraft initiates its ascent. The PZ area is the area where the ground committee places in the visual authentication marking system; the PZ minimum area in length is 92 meters (302 feet) and its minimum width is 23 meters (75 feet). The PZ surface must be reasonably leveled, obstacle free, vegetation should not exceed 0.3 meters (1 foot). In addition to the PZ length, mask clearance/ascent/descent ratio (1:11 for STOL aircraft) must be applied to the approach and departure ends in order to clear any obstacle surrounding the usable area. MPU PZ shoulder safety zone is the area on both sides of the PZ's outer edge, parallel to the PZ's long axis (minimum length 92 meters) and is extended laterally an additional 24 meters (79 feet). Its surface inside this given area must be clear of obstacles that exceed 1 meter. The purpose of the two shoulder safety zones is to allow the pilot lateral maneuvers, free of obstacles, to prevent the retrieve anchor point from entanglement during his approach and departure of the MPU operation. Additional ground consideration information is the surrounding area must be relatively free of obstacles to all a safe flight during approach and departure and to prevent entanglement of the retrieve hook and line. 2. Fort Bragg, North Carolina support - Estimated 3279 Flight Hours a. JFK Special Warfare Center and School Specific Tasks. ? (1) Air Operations Practical Exercise (conducted four times per year). For this operation, the aircraft will be required to perform message pickup operations (MPU) during day and night, para-drops of equipment bundles and personnel (both day and night), and landing zone operations on field landing strips (both day and night) that have been marked for landing with infrared lights, railroad fuses, beanbag lights, or other expedient marking methods. During the conduct of these operations, the aircraft will utilize aircraft landing light(s). The aircraft will also be required to have the capability to talk with the ground party running the operation via VHF and/or UHF frequencies. The aircraft must be configured to allow a military static line airborne exit of the aircraft whether through a side door or ramp with a linear anchor line cable that runs the length of the aircraft so as to support 20 combat equipped jumpers. The estimated time that is required to complete this operation is twelve hours. (2) Practice Airborne Infiltration Operations (conducted four times per year). For this operation, the aircraft must have a minimum of 15 seats installed (side fold-up seats) and with an allowable cabin load capable of transporting 15 combat equipped jumpers with 2 non-combat equipped personnel. There will be between 150-200 total jumpers. The aircraft must be configured to allow military static line airborne exit of the aircraft whether through a side door or ramp with a linear anchor line cable that runs the length of the aircraft so as to support 20 combat equipped jumpers. This operation is normally conducted during nighttime. The estimated time that is required to complete this operation is six hours. Additionally, it is required that the pilots that will fly this operation brief the flight routes to personnel that will be jumping. The aircraft will also be required to have the capability to talk with the ground party running the operation via VHF and/or UHF frequencies. (3) ?Robin Sage? Airborne Infiltration Operations (conducted four times per year). For this operation, every effort will be made to utilize military aircraft; however, in the event that military aircraft are not available, the contractor shall provide an aircraft that is capable of supporting the ?Robin Sage? Airborne Infiltration requirements. For this operation, the aircraft must have a minimum of 15 seats installed (side fold-up seats) and with an allowable cabin load capable of transporting 15 combat equipped jumpers with 2 non-combat equipped personnel. The aircraft will also be required to have the capability to talk with the ground party running the operation via VHF and/or UHF frequencies. The aircraft must be configured to allow military static line airborne exit of the aircraft whether through a side door or ramp. The aircraft must be able to complete two 1,500? above ground level lifts before having to refuel. This operation is normally conducted during nighttime. The estimated time that is required to complete this operation is six hours. Additionally, it is required that the pilots that will fly this operation brief the flight routes to personnel that will be jumping. (4) ?Robin Sage? Re-supply Bundle Drop (conducted eight times per year). For this operation, the aircraft will be required to perform static line para-drops of equipment bundles onto drop zones from an altitude of 500? above ground level. This operation is conducted up to two consecutive nights four times per year. Two military personnel will spot the drop zones and push the bundles out of the aircraft. The drop zones will be marked with a standard NATO ?L?. On each of the nights, the aircraft must be capable of dropping 6 to 10 bundles with 2 lifts. The estimated time that is required to complete this operation for each night is four hours. The bundles will not exceed 400 lbs. Door size must be 60 inches wide minimum. (5) ?Robin Sage? Landing Zone and MPU Operations (conducted four times per year). For this operation, the aircraft will be required to perform the same landing zone (LZ) and MPU operations as outlined in paragraph C.5.1.1. The operation will consist of a mixture of LZ and MPU operations that will total approximately twelve separate missions. The LZ portion of this mission will require the aircraft to land at various small field landing strips, which will often be during the night. The LZ portion of this operation will also require passenger transport of personnel not to exceed six individuals; therefore, for the LZ portion of this operation, the aircraft will be required to meet FAR Part 135. The locations of the various missions for this operation will be in the same large area in North Carolina as described in paragraph C.5.1.3. The aircraft will also be required to have the capability to talk with the ground party running the operation via VHF and/or UHF frequencies. The estimated time that is required to complete this operation is seven hours. (6) Cadre Train up (conducted four times per year). For this operation, the aircraft will be required to perform message pickup operations (MPU) during daylight hours, para-drops of equipment bundles and personnel (both static line and HALO) (both day and night), and landing zone operations on field landing strips (both day and night) that have been marked for landing with infrared lights, railroad fuses, beanbag lights, or other expedient marking methods. During the conduct of these operations, the aircraft will utilize aircraft landing light(s). The aircraft will also be required to have the capability to talk with the ground party running the operation via VHF and/or UHF frequencies. The estimated time that is required to complete this operation is ten hours. b. USASOC Specific Tasks. (1). SL OPS- Static Line Airborne Operations conducted from fixed wing aircraft 1250? to 1500?AGL during daylight and night profiles. Average amounts of jumpers per mission are 90-120, with 8-12 jumpers per pass. Average amounts of Airborne Operations throughout the command on a daily basis 2-3 with multiple lifts. (2) HALO OPS- High Altitude Low Opening Airborne Operations conducted during daylight and night profiles. Often include combat equipped jumpers exiting the aircraft from 6000? AGL to 25,000? MSL. Number of jumpers per pass for regular SOF units are 6-12. (3) INFIL/EXFIL- Fixed wing air land to improved and unimproved landing areas (lighted or unlighted). Often these landing areas require short take-off and landing (STOL)zone capability ranging from 1100? to 1500?. Normal passenger transport includes small teams (8-12 combat-equipped soldiers). (4) MPU- Message Pick Up. Fixed wing aircraft conduct daylight and night pick up of approximately 3-5 pound containers suspended between two 15? poles. Aircraft approaches the target at 30? AGL and soldier retrieves the container with a pole and hook device at approximately 110 KIAS. (5) Resupply- Equipment and services bundle dropped from fixed wing aircraft onto surveyed drop zones. (Typical bundle drops weigh in excess of 500 pounds and measure 4-5? high and 2-3? wide). Fort Campbell KY and Fort Polk, LA - estimated 395 flight hours SL OPS HALO OPS Infil/Exfil Fort Carson, CO and Utah ? estimated 552 flight hours SL OPS HALO OPS Yuma Proving Ground, AZ ? estimated 945 flight hours Fort Lewis, WA ? estimated 290 flight hours SL OPS HALO OPS III. FLIGHT HOUR DEFINITION 1. For Hourly Operation- determined by engine start up to shut- down or change of crew as necessary. 2. Cyclic Operation (number of touchdowns)- determined by total number of aircraft landings 3. Lift Operation (number of lifts)- determined by total number of aircraft take-off iterations regardless of number of parachutists on board the aircraft Consideration for the Response to this Sources Sought Synopsis should be in the form of a capabilities presentation that reflects those portions of the requirements that can be met by the product(s) presented. The presentation will form the basis of the Government?s decision on how to proceed with this action. The package shall include the following: (1) Name and address, including phone number, fax number and POC; (2) Type of airframe proposed; (3) Rough Order of Magnitude pricing in the form of an hourly rate for each location; (4) sufficient information to determine compliance with the requirements (5) whether or not your concern is small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a) certified, woman-owned small business, HUBZone certified small business, Veteran owned small business or service disabled veteran owned small business (NAICS Code 481219 (size standard $5.0M). Interest sources are requested to submit a package by close of business 25 April 2002. Proprietary data should be clearly marked. This is not a request for proposals. No award will be made based on responses to this announcement. This Sources Sought announcement is for informational purposes only*****