Exclusive Use Helicopter Flight Services, Yosemite

The Department of the Interior, through the Interior Business Center, seeks exclusive use helicopter flight services for Yosemite National Park to support wildland fire suppression and natural resource missions, with proposals due November 13, 2026. The procurement is a 100-percent Women-Owned Small Business set-aside.

Place of performance is Yosemite National Park, California, with administrative oversight at the Interior Business Center, Herndon, Virginia. The contract runs from March 1, 2027 through February 29, 2032, comprising a base year plus four optional one-year ordering periods. The exclusive-use fire season spans 172 days annually (May 3 through October 22) with estimated 250 flight hours per year. The solicitation is issued as a Request for Proposal under FAR Part 12, incorporating clauses 52.212-1, 52.212-3, 52.212-4, and 52.212-5.

The aircraft must be a medium turbine-engine helicopter with nine insured passenger seats, non-jettisonable payload of 1,500 pounds, skid landing gear, and dual hydraulics. The contractor must hold FAA Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate, Part 133 Rotorcraft External Load Operations Certificate, and Part 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operations Certificate. Required equipment includes dual VHF-AM transceivers, P25-compliant VHF-FM transceivers, GPS navigation, Automated Flight Following satellite tracking, water buckets with longline systems, cargo hook systems, rappelling and short-haul configurations, and a fuel servicing vehicle with 16-hour fuel capacity minimum. The contractor must provide pilot-in-command with relief pilot, mechanic with relief mechanic, fuel service vehicle driver with relief driver, and an office trailer with air conditioning and internet. All fuel costs in the contiguous United States are included in the wet flight rate. The maximum contract ceiling is $15 million. Pricing is structured as daily availability rates (172 guaranteed days per year) and flight hour rates. Evaluation criteria include technical capability, organizational safety management systems, and past performance. The NAICS code is 481211, Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation, with a size standard of 1,500 employees. Prevailing wage determinations apply under the Service Contract Act.