Upgrade to Engineering Flight Simulators

The 10th Contracting Squadron, United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Colorado, intends to make a sole source award to Calspan Corporation for the upgrades to two Genesis Engineering Flight Simulators. This acquisition will be done in accordance with FAR 12 and 13 procedures. The North American Industry Classification System Code [NAICS] is 541712 and the size standard is 500 employees. FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER-THAN-FULL-AND-OPEN COMPETITION: 1) The existing ‘Genesis' simulators were designed and fabricated by Calspan Corporation. The software is Calspan proprietary as is the overall system design and all interfaces. These simulators currently support four Aeronautical Engineering courses and are used for projects affecting approximately 250 cadets per year. The existing ‘Genesis' computer and cockpit hardware is over 15 years old and replacement parts are not available. In addition, system reliability has severely degraded during the past three years putting the ability to complete course projects and requirements in jeopardy. 2) Maintaining the simulator capability is crucial to the USAFA Flight Mechanics curriculum and overall ABET accreditation. The ‘Genesis' simulators provide unique capabilities for our educational environment including the ability to change any or all of approximately 200 stability and control derivatives/values simultaneously during flight simulation. USAFA requires the ability to access one or multiple derivitives in real time at any time in the course of doing a project tailoring the cadets' experience while providing instantly the ability to change the baseline aircraft and aircraft responses. 3) The engineering flight simulators must allow cadets to perform specific flight tasks such as air to air tracking, air to ground tracking, landing, and formation flying. In addition, the simulators must have scoring (numerical assessment of specific mission tasks) associated with the programs to provide immediate feedback. 4) The requirement for this upgrade is to maintain the current functionality of the ‘Genesis' with the hardware and software upgrade intended to significantly improve maintainability and reliability without redeveloping the 200 derivatives already developed over the past 25 years. This one-of-a-kind setup has proven to be highly successful. 5) Not only is some of the effort that went into developing the 200 derivatives considered proprietary to Calspan, awarding to Calspan Corporation eliminates the time and expense involved in design, engineering, execution, and troubleshooting that would be necessary with a new vendor. Awarding to a vendor other than Calspan would result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. REQUIREMENTS: 1. Replace the Genesis cockpit controls with position-command, maintainable controls rugged enough to last for 10-plus years of use. a. The Center Stick will be replaced with a rugged center stick gimbal assembly with a grip similar to the A-10. The grip will include a two-axis "coolie hat" trim switch, a two-stage trigger switch, and a "pickle" button. The center stick position sensor and switch closures will be interfaced to the Genesis computer via USB. The stick assembly will be bolted to the base. b. The Side Stick will be replaced with a rugged side stick gimbal assembly with the same grip as the center stick. The assembly will be mounted to standard Dzus rails oriented fore/aft to allow for changing the longitudinal placement of the stick. The side stick position sensor and switch closures will be interfaced to the Genesis computer via USB. c. The Throttles will be replaced by a rugged dual throttle assembly similar in shape to the A-10. The inboard throttle will have a speedbrake switch oriented fore/aft. The assembly will be mounted to standard Dzus rails oriented fore/aft to allow for changing the longitudinal placement of the throttle assembly. The throttle position sensors and switch closures will be interfaced to the Genesis computer via USB. d. The Rudder Pedals will be replaced by a rugged F-18 style rack and pinion rudder pedal assembly, including +/- 3.5 inches travel from neutral and 15 degrees of toe brake travel. The assembly will be mounted to the base. The pedal and brake position sensors will be interfaced to the Genesis computer via USB. e. The existing Auxiliary Switches (i.e. flaps, gear, etc.) will be interfaced to the Genesis computer via USB. 2. Upgrade the Genesis computer hardware and displays with modern COTS hardware which is maintainable by USAFA personnel. This includes eliminating special-purpose interface hardware such as the MIL-STD-1553 bus. a. The two existing Genesis computers will replaced by a single COTS Intel quad-core I7-based, rack-mounted computer. b. Four graphics outputs will be provided by a workstation-class graphics card with four video outputs utilized as follows: i. Engineer station display, 1920 x 1080 pixels. ii. Outside view display, 1920 x 1080 pixels. iii. Head-down display, 1920 x 1080 pixels. iv. Projector output, configurable resolution up to 1920 x 1080 (HDTV). c. A new USB keyboard and USB optical mouse will be installed. d. A (nominally) 22-inch 1920 x 1080 flat-panel LCD monitor will be installed at the engineer station. e. A 42-inch LCD HDTV will be installed for the heads up display. f. A (nominally) 22-inch 1920 x 1080 flat-panel LCD monitor mounted in the Genesis enclosure will be installed for the heads-down display. The existing opening in the enclosure will be enlarged to accommodate the larger form factor. g. A keyed lockout will be provided for the power-up function. 3. Upgrade the Calspan proprietary Genesis simulation software with a modern operating system, user interface, and model/data exchange capabilities. a. Genesis Model. The existing Genesis 6-degree-of-freedom Simulink model will be ported to a current version of Matlab. b. User Interface. The menu-based user interface will be ported to a modern graphical user interface, retaining the equivalent menus, plotting, and data recording and functionality. c. Outside Graphics and HUD. The existing open-source FlightGear terrain and graphics will be upgraded to a more current version. FlightGear will be modified to include the Genesis MIL-STD HUD and the USAFA airport. d. Head-Down Display. The existing head-down display will be used. e. Operating System. The Genesis computer will be Linux-based. The engineer station will use the full-featured GNOME desktop. Data and configuration (model) files will be transferred via USB interface. An external Ethernet connection will be provided but it is not required for operation of the Genesis. 4. All existing Genesis functional capabilities will be retained. An updated Genesis User's Manual and Genesis Maintenance Manual will be provided. Calspan engineers will travel to USAFA to set up and verify the operation of each upgraded Genesis simulator. 5. Each Genesis simulator will be shipped to the Calspan facility for four weeks for the proposed upgrade. The second simulator will be upgraded after the first has been upgraded and returned. 6. Calspan will provide on-site operations and maintenance training on the system at USAFA for five persons after completion of system installation. Training must include instruction on using all systems menus, capabilities, software utilities, maintenance, and troubleshooting of equipment. 7. Calspan will provide a one year warranty (beginning from the date of USAFA acceptance) for full coverage of all system hardware and software maintenance required to keep the system fully operational. This includes hardware and labor costs associated with repairs. Place of performance will be at Calspan Corp., 2041 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY 14304. This synopsis is for notification purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation for bids or proposals. DO NOT submit a bid/quote at this time. Any offerors believing they can provide the required upgrade to the Engineering Flight Simulators that meet all of the features and functions of the requirement described above may provide evidence for consideration. Evidence must include Past Perfomance information showing that the vendor already has an engineering flight simulator currently in place that meets all charachteristics of the current simulator with upgrade requirements or shows that they have already successfully upgraded such simulators with the software supporting approximately 200 derivatives. Information must support the offeror's claim they can provide all services with properly qualified personnel. All qualified sources may submit a response, which if timely received, will be considered by this agency. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether a competitive procurement can be conducted. A determination not to compete this proposed procurement based on response to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Responses must be received NLT 8 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on September 20, 2011. Responses received after this will be considered late IAW FAR 52.212-1(f) and will not be evaluated. The Government does not intend to pay for any information provided under this announcement. Contractors must have a current registration with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at http://www.ccr.gov and with Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) at http://orca.bpn.gov . Questions should be addressed to the Primary POC James Lovely, Contract Specialist, (719) 333-8161 or sent via e-mail to [email protected]. Alternate POC is Elizabeth Lawson, Contracting Officer, (719) 333-3929, [email protected]. 5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (APR 10) (a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the party to another official who can resolve the concern. (b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions). (c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, concerned parties may contact the USAF Academy Ombudsmen, Kelly S. Snyder 8110 Industrial Drive, Ste 103 USAFA, CO 80840 Telephone number 719-333-2074 FAX 719-333-9018 email: [email protected] Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the MAJCOM/DRU level, may be brought by the concerned party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (703) 588-7004, facsimile number (703) 588-1067. (d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency. (e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer. (End of clause)