HELO QA 17 Jun.pdf

Helicopter Transport Service - Eielson AFB, AK

Questions and Answers

1. For the insurance requirements, can the prime contractor just have the subcontractor provided their insurance to meet the requirements?

- No, the Prime Contractor must maintain the required insurance coverage in its own name. Because the contractual relationship (privity of contract) exists strictly between the Government and the Prime

Contractor, the Prime remains solely responsible for meeting all terms, conditions, and insurance requirements of the contract.

- While the Prime Contractor is responsible for ensuring subcontractors maintain adequate liability insurance in accordance with PWS Paragraph 2.3, the Prime cannot rely solely on a subcontractor’s insurance policy to satisfy the Prime’s contractual obligations to the Government. The Prime

Contractor must provide proof of its own liability insurance, which must also cover operations performed by subcontractors on its behalf.

2. Is there any incumbent/recompete or this is a brand-new project? If yes, could you please provide us with their award number or even if the customer bought similar services in the past.

- This is a follow-on requirement for services currently being performed.

- Incumbent Contractor: Maritime Helicopters, Inc.

- Contract Number: FA521521C0018

- Historical workload data and mission profile estimates based on the performance of the current contract have been provided in Section 1.3 of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) for informational and contractor planning purposes.

3. Can the DoD Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) certification be waived?

- In short, there is a waiver process, but at this time the RANS does NOT plan to waive the requirement.

From the following under DoDI 4500.53 and 10 U.S. Code § 2640 we would require the cert to transport DOD cargo and personnel. Requirements of the DoD Commercial Airlift Review Board

(CARB) under DoDI 4500.53 and 10 U.S. Code § 2640 are waivable on commercial contracts with industry. Waivers are governed by strict regulatory limits and are generally reserved for emergency situations, mission-essential requirements in austere environments, or specialized airlift needs where no CARB-approved carriers are reasonably available.

4. Can the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)-qualified aircraft requirement be waived?

- The Government intends to remove the Night Flight requirement through a forthcoming solicitation amendment. Upon issuance of that amendment, the associated IFR-qualified aircraft requirement will no longer apply

5. Who is the current incumbent contractor?

- Maritime Helicopters, Inc. is the current incumbent contractor and is OY4 of the current contract.

Company website here: https://maritimehelicopters.com/

6. What type(s) of aircraft are currently being utilized under this contract?

- Based on historical performance under the current contract, Bell 206 and Bell 407 aircraft have frequently been utilized to support mission requirements. However, aircraft utilized under the incumbent contract are contractor-owned assets and may vary over time. This information is https://maritimehelicopters.com/ provided for informational purposes only and does not establish a Government preference for any specific aircraft type- https://maritimehelicopters.com/fleet/

7. Given that JPARC airspace includes portions of the Aleutian Islands, is there a requirement for aircraft operating under this contract to be equipped with floats?

- There is no requirement for the aircraft to be equipped with floats.

8. Is there a requirement for, or preference given to, contractors proposing twin-engine aircraft?

- No. The Government does not require or provide preference for twin-engine aircraft. Aircraft will be evaluated based on their ability to meet all performance, safety, and operational requirements identified in the solicitation.

9. What percentage of historical missions originated from:

a. Eielson AFB

b. Fort Greely

c. Delta Junction

d. Other locations

- Approximately 90-95% of recent “historical missions originated from meeting at contractor facility or other designated location. In the past years of the contract there were some pickups on military bases but recent arrangements are at contractor facility or other pre-arranged locations. This eases logistics of transportation of personnel and materials.

10. Are contractors expected to stage aircraft within the Fairbanks/Eielson area, or may aircraft be dispatched from other Alaska locations?

- Aircraft may be dispatched from locations outside the Fairbanks/Eielson area. However, contractors remain responsible for all costs associated with positioning aircraft to perform ordered services.

Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria identified in the solicitation.

11. Will the government provide hangar space for aircraft maintenance and/or overnight parking when there is inclement weather?

- No. The asset is owned, operated, and maintained in their entirety by the contractor. If overnight deployment is required, the government will not pay for the storage of the asset(s).

Night / IFR Questions

12. Can the Government provide historical utilization data for the Night/IFR requirement, including:

a. Number of Night flights annually

b. Number of IFR flights annually

c. Typical mission duration

d. Typical launch locations

The solicitation contains only 50 Night/IFR hours annually, but requires availability. That requirement could dramatically change aircraft selection and pricing.

- The Government intends to remove the Night Flight requirement through a forthcoming amendment.

As a result, historical Night/IFR utilization data is no longer considered relevant to proposal preparation and will not be provided

13. Is a twin-engine IFR aircraft required for Night/IFR missions, or will a properly certified single-engine IFR aircraft satisfy the requirement?

- Following removal of the Night Flight requirement through a forthcoming amendment, there will be no requirement for a twin-engine aircraft. Offerors may propose any aircraft that meets the remaining solicitation requirements.

Aircraft Capability Questions https://maritimehelicopters.com/fleet/

14. Is the Government seeking dedicated aircraft availability, or is this strictly an On-Call ordering contract with no minimum availability requirement?

- On-call ordering is the service requested. There may be some level of forecasting to the season and frequently flown routes or timeframes where service is routinely desired. However, the service is on-call and the contractor will be notified when service is required.

15. Are aircraft expected to be wheel-equipped, skid-equipped, float-equipped, or any combination thereof?

- The Government has no preference regarding wheel-equipped, skid-equipped, or float-equipped aircraft. Offerors are responsible for proposing aircraft capable of safely operating in the environmental and terrain conditions described in the solicitation, including snow, ice, gravel, grass, and unimproved landing areas.

16. Are there any remote sites with established landing zones that cannot accommodate a Bell 212-class aircraft?

- The Government is not aware of any routinely utilized landing zones that would categorically preclude operations by a Bell 212-class aircraft. Offerors remain responsible for determining aircraft suitability based on site conditions and operational requirements

17. What is the largest historical external load moved under this contract during the past three years?

The PWS says 500 lbs. minimum, but actual loads may be much larger.

- For:light-lift the largest historical weight is ~600-700Lbs onboard and 1000-1100Lbs on the hook for sling

- Medium-lift the largest historical weight is ~1200-1300Lbs onboard and 1700-1800Lbs on the hook for sling

Response Time Questions

18. For the requirement to have an aircraft "on station" within 4 hours for Priority Requests:

• Does this mean airborne and arriving at the mission location within 4 hours?

• Or simply available and dispatched within 4 hours?

- Arrived, on station for loading and ready to depart afterwards.

19. Does the 4-hour Priority response requirement apply 24/7/365, including weekends and holidays?

- The 4-hour response requirement applies when Priority Requests are issued by the Government.

Historically, such requests have primarily occurred during normal business hours and weekends.

Priority Requests are not typically anticipated on Federal holidays.

Incumbent / Contract Questions

20. What was the total annual contract value paid to the incumbent contractor during the previous three years?

- Historical contract award information is publicly available through Government contract reporting systems. The total annual contract value for prior years was approximately $535,400, $545,748, and $556,304, $567,070.60, $578,051.70, $266,244.35 respectively.

21. Were any option years exercised under the incumbent contract?

- All 4 option years were exercised.

22. Were there any significant performance issues or lessons learned under the incumbent contract?

- The Government is not aware of any significant performance issues that materially impacted contract execution. Performance information is considered in accordance with applicable acquisition regulations.

Evaluation Questions

23. Since award is based upon Price and Technical Acceptability, does the Government intend to evaluate proposed aircraft types, fleet depth, response capability, and subcontractor network as part of Technical Acceptability? Is the Government expecting offerors to identify specific subcontracted operators and aircraft in their proposal, or may offerors propose a network-based logistics solution to satisfy requirements.

- Technical Acceptability will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria identified in the solicitation.

Offerors may propose the use of subcontractors to satisfy contract requirements; however, the Prime Contractor remains responsible for ensuring contract performance. Offerors are required to provide sufficient information to demonstrate their ability to meet all requirements.

24. Would the Government consider revising the pricing schedule to include either a mobilization/project setup CLIN or a per-call-out mobilization fee CLIN, in addition to the hourly flight rates, to account for fixed positioning, dispatch, and staging costs?

- Yes. Through Amendment 02, the Government has revised the pricing schedule to include a separate, Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) "Mission Call-Out Fee" CLIN for both Light Weight (CLINs 0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002) and Medium Weight (CLINs 0004, 1004, 2004, 3004, 4004) helicopter support.

Additionally, definitions for "Call-Out" and "Flight Hour / Blade-Hour" have been incorporated into PWS Sections 3.2 and 1.4 respectively to clarify billing and cost allocation.

25. Can the Government provide historical metrics regarding the frequency, duration, and types of missions (Routine vs. Priority, Light vs. Medium) to assist offerors in pricing the new Call-Out Fee CLINs?

- Yes. Based on historical data from the past three fiscal years, the Government provides the following operational averages for contractor planning purposes:

Historical Annual Average Approximately 2.6 Flight Hours Approximately 100 Missions Approximately 45 Missions Approximately 55 Missions Historically less than 10% of total annual requests

- Operational Metric

- Average Flight Hours per Mission

- Total Call-Outs / Missions per Year

- Light-Lift Missions per Year

- Medium-Lift Missions per Year

- Priority Requests (Urgent <72hr Notice) dsdf (approximately 5 to 10 priority missions per year).