Icing Wind Tunnel RFI 5Jun2026_Final.pdf

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Requirements Workspace #: REQUIREMENTS-26-3794

Notice Type: Request for Information (RFI)

This RFI is not a Request for Proposal and does not constitute a commitment by the Government. The Government is currently conducting market research in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10, to identify potential sources to fulfill the requirement and gather information on current capabilities of businesses within the market.

All information submitted in response to the RFI is voluntary and the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. Proprietary information submitted should be marked appropriately. All submitted information shall remain with the U.S. Government and will not be returned.

Synopsis The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) have a requirement for Icing Wind Tunnel services to assist with certifying an instrument that will be mounted to a NOAA aircraft.

Introduction The NOAA/ OMAO is one of the significant operational arms of NOAA. Through its headquarters office in Silver Spring, MD and the Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) in Lakeland, FL, OMAO operates, maintains and manages the aircraft used by NOAA programs to collect the critical airborne environmental observations essential to meeting NOAA's prioritized airborne requirements.

Purpose The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information about the capability and availability of Icing Wind Tunnel (IWT) services and ancillary engineering support, required to assist with NOAA’s effort to characterize ice accretion and shedding on an instrument pylon. That pylon will be installed on one of NOAA’s Gulfstream 550 (G550) aircraft to provide air sampling for cabin-mounted water vapor and air chemistry instruments.

Background The aircraft of the NOAA/AOC are flown in support of NOAA's mission to promote global environmental assessment, prediction and stewardship of the Earth's environment. NOAA's aircraft operate throughout the United States and around the world over open oceans, mountains, coastal wetlands, and Arctic pack ice. These versatile aircraft provide scientists with airborne platforms necessary to collect the environmental and geographic data essential to their research.

The AOC is in the process of acquiring two Gulfstream 550 high-altitude jets, modified with provisions for the sensors, instruments and processing systems needed for the various NOAA data collection requirements. Basic in-situ measurements, including water vapor/humidity, are required for all science missions. For the G550s, this is accomplished by providing external air to a cabin-mounted instrument, using a pylon called a Trace Gas Inlet (TGI). The TGI is mounted

Page | 2 in an aperture port on the top of the fuselage, extending out 345 mm (~13.6 inches) from the skin of the aircraft, see attached figures 1 and 2.

While the TGI pylon installation has been certified on other aircraft for static and aerodynamic loads, the TGI has no de-icing or anti-icing provisions and has never been tested for ice accretion. Because the NOAA G550s fly in many different environments, including the vicinity of Tropical Cyclones, the aircraft must maintain its certification for Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI). For this reason, the TGI must be tested to determine the potential for ice accretion and shed, along with effective methods to prevent excessive ice buildup by deicing or anti-icing appropriate parts of the TGI. This testing is typically done in an Icing Wind Tunnel, which can simulate flying into icing conditions of varying severity.

Details The aircraft manufacturer (Gulfstream Aerospace) provided the following specifications for icing testing. They are based on standard parameters for a case where the aircraft is forced to stay in an arrival holding pattern in icing conditions.

Parameter Test Value Calibrated Air Speed (CAS) 160.0 knots True Air Speed (TAS) 201.8 knots Mach 0.316 Altitude 14,400 feet Outside Ambient Temperature (OAT) 23.5 °F Droplet Mean Volumetric Diameter (MVD) 15 μm Liquid Water Content 0.707 grams per cubic meter Test Point Duration 2,700 seconds

NOAA’s desired test plan would include varying several of these parameters to provide a range of test points (nominally 5-6), ideally to include Supercooled Large Droplets (SLD) greater than 50 μm in diameter. The tests would be run first with no heating to determine an accretion baseline, then run again as needed with various previously installed heaters cycled, potentially varying power and duration to simulate both de-icing and anti-icing scenarios. It is highly desired that the IWT vendor be able to provide power for the heaters (nominally 115V, wattage and number of separate circuits TBD). Note that having the capability to test at the specified altitude is desired, but can be simulated by varying other parameters.

As mentioned above, the TGI pylon extends 345 mm in height above the fuselage skin. With the mounting structure, the overall TGI assembly is about 385 mm (15.2 inches) in height, with some additional height required for electrical connectors at the base for heater power. Although it is desired to test the entire height of the TGI, there is some shadowing of the TGI pylon close to the fuselage, and the test could be conducted on the upper section of the TGI, without full spray coverage all the way to the fuselage interface. Note that the above description is oriented to

Page | 3 the way the TGI will be mounted on the aircraft and a horizontal orientation in the test chamber is acceptable.

Response Requirements (Limited to 15 pages total) Responses must be unclassified and contain no proprietary information. Responses to this RFI shall submit a statement of capabilities, not to exceed 15 pages, encompassing the following information:

1) Company Profile

a) Company Name;

b) Company Address;

c) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI);

d) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code applicable and corresponding business size for the NAICS Code(s) indicated;

e) Applicable General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) and Schedule Item Numbers (SIN) (include all that apply to this requirement);

f) Small Business Administration (SBA) certified small business concern status and/or socio-economic status (if applicable); and

g) Primary point of contact information and Secondary point of contact (Name, Title, Phone, and Email).

2) The Capability Demonstration shall provide a summary of capabilities and availability of such engines, displaying the following:

a) The Sources Sought/RFI number.

b) If/when the aforementioned requirement for "Icing Wind Tunnel Testing” is formerly solicited by the Government, would your company be interested in providing a quote?

c) Description of ability to meet the requirements of this RFI.

d) Suggestions for alternatives or deviations, based on current capabilities or previous experience, including impacts and additional resources required for proposed alternatives, if known.

e) Statement or schedule of facility availability within one year of this RFI being issued.

NOTE: If necessary, based on responses to this RFI, the Government reserves the right to schedule vendor meetings and have discussions between vendor personnel and NOAA representatives regarding the capabilities of the vendor supplies/services being offered. All vendor meetings will be authorized, approved, and conducted by the Contracting Officer to ensure they do not create a potential exclusive situation that gives competitive advantage or otherwise disadvantages participants in any potential future competition.

Government Point of Contact Company brochures will not be considered in lieu of a capability statement. Interested and capable firms shall submit their statement of capabilities to Jennifer Peters, Contract Specialist, at Jennifer.peters@noaa.gov by no later than 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Any questions or responses regarding this notice must be submitted to Jennifer Peters via the above email address provided. Information received in response to this notice will be considered solely

Page | 4 to conduct informed decisions regarding the potential procurement strategy of this requirement.

No telephone requests will be honored. Firms that are interested in subcontracting opportunities related to portions of this requirement should contact potential firms directly.

Figure 1 - TGIs installed on German Aerospace G550

Figure 2 - Trace Gas Inlet Pylon, shown mounted in fuselage aperture port