RFI: Helicopter Flight Services in support of wildland fire emergencies for Department of Interior (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM). THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes, and it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this contemplated effort. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate any feedback with regards to this submission; other than acknowledgement of receipt, if a request for an acknowledgement is requested by the submitter. Responders are advised that the Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding partys expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP or RFQ. If a solicitation is released, it will be via the Government Wide Point of Entry (GPE) at (http://www.fedbizopps.gov). It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor the website for any information that may pertain to this RFI. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned. The information provided may be utilized by the U.S. Department of the Interior and BLM in developing its acquisition strategy. Requirements : The Government has a requirement for an exclusive use flight services and support utilizing fully-functional aircraft equipped to meet specifications, operated and maintained by qualified personnel in support of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wildland fire missions. Base of Operations: 1. Boise, Idaho Description: The fully contractor operated and maintained Exclusive Use Helicopter (EU) for 150 calendar days. The period of performance will be base year with three one-year option years. Contractor services will include; a helicopter, personnel, fuel servicing vehicle, fuel, and all other associated equipment. The contractor must hold and keep current all of the their required certificates and must ensure that contract aircraft are operated and maintained in compliance with those certificates at all times: 1. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Carrier or Operating Certificate which authorizes the Contractor to operate in the category and class of aircraft and under flight conditions required by this contract (e.g., rotorcraft, visual flight rules (VFR), instrument flight rules (IFR), day/night, passengers, and cargo) in the conterminous United States. 2. A 14 CFR 133 Rotorcraft External Load Operations Certificate, which authorizes Class B loads, as a minimum. 3. A 14 CFR 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operations Certificate. 4. Left seat pilot-in-command (PIC) required. The Contractor is required to have the appropriate FAA approvals for left seat operations. The Contractor must have 14 CFR Part 135 Operation Specifications and CFR 14 Part 133 approval for left seat operation, passenger transportation, and external load operations. MINIMUM AIRCRAFT REQUIREMENTS Boise, Idaho Aircraft: One Type I Heavy S-70 helicopter (more than 12,500 lb) brand name only. Crew Compliment Required: Pilot-in-Command (PIC), Second-in-Command (SIC), Fuel Servicing Vehicle Driver(s), Relief PIC, Relief SIC, Relief Fuel Servicing Vehicle Driver(s), Mechanic, and Relief Mechanic. Seating: Eleven (11) insured qualified non-crewmember seats not including pilot and copilot seats. Normally operated by a two-pilot crew. Payload: Non-jettisonable payload (HOGE) of 4,000 pounds at 25 degrees C at 7,000 feet pressure altitude using a pilot/copilot weight of 400 pounds, a 35-pound survival kit and fuel for 1.9 hours. Powerplant:Turbine engine Airspeed: 193 Knot VNE and capable of 140 knot cruise speed Landing Gear: Wheels If your organization has the potential capacity to provide, one or both aircraft, operate and maintain the required aircraft and perform these contract services, please provide the following information: 1) Company name, mailing address, and point of contact information. 2) Email and web site address 3) Telephone Number 4) Companys applicable small business socioeconomic status, NAICS 481211, 1500 employees or less. 5) Capabilities Statement that clearly aligns the capabilities of the company to the requirements contained above. Include the aircraft type and a brief list of experience on similar service projects (comparable in type of services, size of program, and complexity); including client/project owner, name/title/phone number of a client point of contact, prime contractor name (if applicable), size of comparable contract, brief description, period of performance. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Submission Instructions: Interested responders are asked to provide a brief response to this Request for Information of not more than ten (10) pages, excluding cover page, with the information detailed above not later than December 15, 2015 1400, MST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to
[email protected]