RFI 70Z03825IB0000001.pdf

1. Request for Information Number

70Z03825IB0000001

2. Procurement Type

Request for Information

3. Date Posted

October 2, 2024

4. Title

H-65 Environmental Control System (ECS), Procurement and Sustainment; Request for

Information (RFI)

5. NAICS Code

336413

6. Response Date/Time

October 16, 2024

7. Primary POC

Alyson S. Harrison

8. Secondary POC

Brock Colson

9. Description

Request for Information (RFI):

This is not a request for proposals. This is a RFI released pursuant to Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e). This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this announcement.

The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the

Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned.

The United States Coast Guard is requesting information from industry regarding an ECS that could replace the vapor cycle refrigeration system currently installed in the H-65

Helicopter. Replacement systems must be lighter in weight and have greater cooling capacity than the system installed presently. This solicitation has been issued to survey the market to identify suitable candidate systems and suppliers for consideration.

Note: this RFI pertains to cooling systems using any technology available to include but not limited to vapor cycle, bleed air, and electrically or mechanically driven.

Please respond to the following questions in additions to submission of your company’s capability statement:

Company Information

Please respond to the following questions:

(1) Is your business a large or small business?

(2) If small, does your firm qualify as a small, emergent business, or a small, disadvantaged business?

(3) If disadvantaged, specify under which disadvantaged group and is your firm certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act?

(4) Is your firm a certified "hub zone" firm?

(5) Is your firm a woman-owned or operated business?

(6) Is your firm a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned?

(7) Is your product listed on a GSA schedule?

(8) Do you have other government agencies using the product, and if so which agencies, POC's and contract numbers?

(9) If possible, any POC's for civilian users for general usage of product questions.

Additional Project Details and Objectives

1.0 Scope

The environmental control system for cooling may be installed in all H-65 aircraft. The requirement will include spare parts and support. The system and associated support plans will be designed to minimize government inventory requirements.

2.0 Background

The H-65 is a derivative of the Airbus Helicopters Dauphin aircraft. The current configuration is similar to the AS 365N3. The aircraft is powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 2C2− CG engines.

The aircraft was originally built to Federal Aviation Regulations Part 29 standards.

Modifications to the aircraft are designed to current Federal Aviation Regulations Part 29 standards with exceptions approved for Coast Guard specific requirements.

The Coast Guard currently operates 84 H-65 aircraft. The original avionics system has been upgraded to a Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) to provide substantial additional communication and sensor capabilities. The newer avionics components are capable of operating with less conditioned air than that required for the original H-65 avionics system. However, there is a now a greater need for cooling air in the cabin.

The H-65 was originally equipped with a bleed air ECS. The bleed air cooling system was removed early in the development of the H-65 in order to preserve the engines. The bleed air heat function was retained. A vapor cycle (Freon) system was installed to eliminate the need for the engines to provide bleed air for cooling. The current heat exchanger has been modified further to operate on FR-12 refrigerant.

The Coast Guard is looking to the open market for solutions that can replace the current system while gaining weight savings and increased cooling capacity to meet present and future avionics upgrades.

3.0 Support

A Performance Based Logistics (PBL) support strategy is desired. The support structure will be based on existing Coast Guard support contracts. The support strategy will be included in the system procurement process.

3.1 Open Architecture

The aircraft will be designed to incorporate open architecture to the greatest extent possible and use standard government and commercial protocols. The system should minimize proprietary interfaces and systems. Data developed at government expense will be used by the government without restriction.

A full documentation package is desired. The minimum documentation requirement will include a detailed interface control documentation and system data necessary for troubleshooting and maintenance.

Universal connections are required for any interface to refrigerant servicing carts if proposed systems are maintained with their use.

3.2 Integration

Vendors submitting capability info must include information on their ability to supply an engineer on-site throughout the development and integration phase if successfully awarded to.

The supplied engineer would interface daily with onsite engineers and will also be required to perform tasks inside the helicopter through all operational ground and flight-testing phases.

4. Vendor Qualification

The supplier must be an original equipment manufacturer for aircraft environmental control systems. The supplier must be FAA certified and must have been awarded a Supplemental Type

Certificate (STC) for environmental control systems installed on other aircraft. The Coast Guard will use this STC information as a basis to gauge quality in regards to the product and customer support.

The supplier must have experience working with civil and/or military airworthiness authorities.

The supplier must explain in their response how they would support the airworthiness certification of the installation.

The supplier must have or establish a permanent presence in the United States staffed with

English speaking technical support personnel. All system documentation must be available in readily understandable English language format.

5. Evaluation

After evaluation of the information received, the Coast Guard may issue a separate request for proposals.

It is critical that, prior to submitting an RFI, you review all attached enclosures. The compartments that house the current ECS cannot be modified. Therefore, submissions that will not fit into the designated spaces will not be considered for Request for Proposal (RFP) development or as potential candidates for award. Any follow-on RFP will include this statement as well.

If more than one qualified supplier is identified, the request for proposals will include an evaluation and source selection process. This process will be designed to consider each offeror's capability to provide a technical solution that best aligns with the project objectives, is within the proposed schedule, and is affordably priced. An integrated assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, and risks of each offeror's proposal, together with the cost proposed, will be used to determine which proposal offers the best overall value to the Government.

Enclosures:

(1) H-65 Environmental Control System (ECS), Performance Objectives

(2) H-65 Data

(3) ECS Compartment CAD model

H-65 Environmental Control System (ECS)

Performance Objectives

1. Cooling: 3 or more Tons required

Airflow: 600 total CFM Desired.

2. Operating Environment: Normal operations: Outside: 103̊ F/50% RH. Cabin: 73̊

F/50% RH. The system must be capable of cooling avionics up to the H-65 maximum operating temperature of 122̊ F (50̊ C).

3. Design Details:

100 CFM cooled air directed into avionics compartment. The avionics cooled air will be supplied at 38̊ F desired, 73̊ F required.

Separate temperature sensor and control for avionics compartment and cabin. Mixing duct with conditioned air, sensors and controls for cabin air temperature outlet 38̊ -170̊ F.

Water separation.

Low and high temperature protection (38̊-170̊ F)

Airframe equipment: air distribution system.

4. Weight: 35 lbs. desired, 100 lbs. maximum. Note: weight includes the heat/cooling unit and controls. Airframe ducting is calculated separately.

5. Size: 11.5 in x 28 in x 28 in desired. See attached depiction and CAD model of the current ECS compartment. Note: There is ducting, and other equipment located in the adjacent compartments.

H-65 Data

This attachment provides information about the H-65 aircraft. The limits listed here pertain to aircraft operation. This data is provided for information only. Design parameters for an ECS will be provided in a specification

Critical Frequencies

The frequencies of most concern are the main rotor blade pass frequencies and 2, 3 and 4 time multiples of the main rotor frequencies. The main rotor revolutions per minute RPM varies with altitude from 355 - 360 RPM from sea level to 5740 ft pressure altitude. The pilot can also command rotor speed to a fixed 365 RPM regardless of altitude. The aircraft has a 10 bladed shrouded tail rotor assembly.

Main Rotor RPM/Hz, Blade Pass (4) Tail Rotor RPM/Hz, Blade Pass (10)

Normal Sea Level 355/5.92, 23.67 3717.8/61.96, 619.6

Normal at Altitude 360/6.00, 24.00 3770.1/62.84, 628.4

High setting 365/6.08, 24.33 3822.5/63.71, 637.1

Armament

The aircraft is outfitted with a M-240D machine gun in a door pintle mount configuration. The

M-240D is belt fed and has three rates of fire: 650 rounds per minute (10.8 Hz), 750 (12.5 Hz), 950 rounds per minute (15.8 Hz). Only the lower rate of fire is used in H-65 operations (650 rounds per minute (10.8 Hz)).

Crash Load Design Factors

Equipment installed in the cabin area of either aircraft will be designed for the following load factors:

20 g’s forward and aft

10 g’s on the rotors

20 g’s on the helicopter bottom

10 g’s on either side

Modifications to the H-65 must be designed to meet or exceed the requirements of 14 Code of

Federal Regulations CFR 29 Airworthiness Standards: Transport Category Rotorcraft.

Pulley

There is a pulley mounted on the tail rotor drive shaft that turns either a Sanden SD510HD or

SD7H15 or other air conditioning compressor at 3200 RPM.

H-65 General Description

The USCG H−65 Short Range Recovery (SRR) helicopter, a product of Aerospatiale Helicopter

Corporation (now Airbus Helicopters), is designed for short range search and rescue operations.

Secondary mission roles are patrol and observation, passenger transport, and cargo hook operations. It is capable of operating from prepared and unprepared areas in visual and instrument flight conditions, day or night and is configured with Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible cockpit lighting. The main sections of the fuselage are the forward section consisting of the cockpit, cabin area and baggage compartment, and the aft (tail boom) section. The forward section is constructed primarily of longitudinal, aluminum alloy beams and non−metallic honeycomb, laminated with fiberglass cloth. The aft section consists of a truncated cone of composite honeycomb fiberglass with a metal covering which supports the vertical fin and a fixed horizontal stabilizer. Cockpit entrance is through two hinged doors located forward of the cabin next to the pilot’s and copilot’s stations. Entrances to the passenger area are a hinged door on the left side of the cabin aft of the copilot’s station and a sliding door on the right side of the cabin aft of the pilot’s station. A baggage compartment door is located on the right side aft of the cabin for exterior access to the baggage compartment. The side−by−side cockpit arrangement is equipped with dual flight controls augmented by an Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS).

Each station has a full instrument panel and controls for the avionics systems. Refer to figure

5−1 for general cockpit arrangement. The passenger−cargo area is designed to accommodate a rescue basket, litter configurations, and a hoist operator station. Seats may be installed for five passengers and a crew of three. The propulsion system, consisting of two turbo shaft engines and a drive system, is mounted above the fuselage on a platform located above the aft cabin area. The engines and drive systems are enclosed by a cowling which may be swung open or removed for access. The rotor system consists of a single 4−blade main rotor, which may be folded for shipboard parking or storage, and a multi−bladed shrouded tail rotor located within the vertical fin. Two independent hydraulic systems provide power for the flight controls, retractable landing gear, wheel brakes, and a 600 pound capacity rescue hoist. The electrical system includes dual

AC and DC generating systems: two 10.5 KVA alternators to supply 400 Hz AC power (115V single phase), and two starter/ generators for 28 VDC power. In addition, each engine has a dual channel alternator to run its Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) computer. Electrical power can also be supplied by an internal battery or transformer/rectifier for emergency DC power, or AC and DC external sources. A Common Avionics Architecture System

(CAAS) Avionics Management System integrates multiple communications, navigation and mission subsystems, automatic cockpit management, and flight guidance and control through selection of special sensors, and use of data stored in on−board Control Display Units (CDU).

The Flight Director System (FDS) may be coupled to the AFCS to enhance airborne control of the helicopter. Additional equipment includes weather and search radar, an Environmental

Control System (ECS), emergency pop−out flotation system, a 2,000 pound capacity cargo hook, and a controllable searchlight. The maximum unrestricted gross weight of the helicopter is 8,900 pounds. Restricted operations may be conducted up to a maximum weight of 9,480 pounds.

1. ESS Display 10. Forward Avionics Tower

2. Overhead Quadrant 11. Air Distribution Levers

3. Outside Temperature Gauge 12. Door Jettison Handle

4. Overhead Panel 13. Cockpit Avionics C/B Panel

5. Standby Compass 14. Center Console

6. Instrument Panel 15. ESS Joystick Control Unit

8. Accumulator Pressure

Figure 5-1 Cockpit Arrangement

Maximum overall dimensions of the helicopter are shown in Figure 5-2:

Figure 5-2 Dimensions

Electrical System Limits

The DC Electrical System maximum voltage is 30 volts (as indicated on the cockpit voltmeter) with a maximum continuous current of 160 amps per generator displayed as 100% on the cockpit load meter.

The AC Electrical System maximum voltage is 120 volts as indicated by the cockpit voltmeter with a maximum continuous current of 29 amps per alternator phase displayed as 100% on the cockpit load meter.

Acceleration Limits

The maximum permissible acceleration is between 2.67 and 0.5 positive g at the maximum gross weight of 9200 pounds. Maximum positive acceleration is 3.5 g at a gross weight of 6718 pounds.

Temperature Limits

Minimum: –25°C (–13°F). Maximum: +50°C (122°F)

Aircraft Reference System: H-65 locations are identified with respect to reference datum locations as follows:

X = 0 is located just forward of the nose bulkhead and increases in the positive longitudinal direction moving aft. Station 600 mm (23.62 in) is the forward most vertical bulkhead aft of the radome. Station 6630 (261.02 in) is the aft most bulkhead of the cabin structure where the tail boom attaches.

Y=0 is the aircraft centerline. The positive Y direction is to the right.

Z=0 is located above the aircraft and is negative moving downward. The top of the cockpit cabin deck plate is located at station -3000 mm (-118.1 in).

After the review of the responses to this RFI announcement, and if the Government still plans to proceed with an acquisition, a solicitation announcement will be published in SAM.GOV.

Responses to this RFI are not an adequate response to any future solicitation announcement.

Again, this is not a request for proposals and in no way obligates the Government to award any contract. All companies that can meet the performance objectives are encouraged to provide a capability statement, company literature, brochures, or any other information that demonstrates that the objectives can be met. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than October 16, 2024 at 12:00pm EST. This notice is intended to provide qualified suppliers an opportunity to describe their product. All firms responding to this RFI are advised that their response to this notice is not a request to be considered for a contract award.

All interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this announcement. Responses to this RFI are NOT a request to be added to a prospective offerors list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. Reimbursement will not be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and any follow-up information requests.

At the discretion of the contracting officer, the Coast Guard may quote all or part of any suggestions or questions received in future correspondence regarding an ECS acquisition. The original author will not be identified.

The Coast Guard will consider the information provided by qualified suppliers in the acquisition planning for the H-65 ECS replacement.

Closing date and time for receipt of response is October 16, 2024 at 12:00pm EST. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses should be submitted to alyson.s.harrison2@uscg.mil.

Please indicate 70Z03825IB0000001 in the subject line.

mailto:alyson.s.harrison2@uscg.mil