Solicitation Number W9124Q-AEROSTATSYSTEM Questions/Issues: 1. Will formal proposal evaluation criteria be released prior to the 11 August 2011 due date? If not, can you describe the evaluation methodology for selecting the winning proposal? The evaluation will be based upon the documented technical requirements. A full technical review will be accomplished based on technical information submitted in proposal. The Government reserves the right to ask for clarifications but can make a decision based on the information as submitted. Past Performance references maybe requested as well as any past performance currently available maybe reviewed. The Government will not limit itself on avenues of Past Performance research. A decision will be made based on Best Value to the Government. Best Value is subjective in nature. Best Value will be judged to be the system that presents the best solution to the technical requirement and is the most beneficial to the Government in relation to the cost expended. It is in the best interest of the Contractor to present their best technical solution based on the Technical Requirements in the most cost efficient manner. If a Contractor has more than one viable solution to the Requirement each solution must be presented as a separate Proposal and will be evaluated separately. 2. Clarify whether the tether must have the capability to conduct power to and signal from any future airborne sensor configurations? It is understood that no payload is specified in the SOW. No power will be required for sensor configuration. Customer will provide their own sensors. 3. Should any required spare parts and consumables be proposed and priced? No spare parts or consumables will be needed other than the aerostat spares and covers (if cover is required as part of the aerostat) as outlined in the requirements. 4. Will the contractor be required to provide workmanship warranty for the delivered system? If yes, for how long? Yes, a minimum of one (1) year after delivery date. 5. Please clarify whether the SOW lift requirement is for net lift to be 25 lbs at the operating altitude of 1,200 ft AGL? Net lift of 25 lbs is required at sea level with a maximum operating altitude 1200 ft MSL. a. Net lift is defined as the marginal lift above the weight of the delivered aerostat, handling/flight lines, tether, EDD, and strobe light. b. Reference SOW requirements (somewhat conflicting): i. "Minimum lift with no wind at sea level: Not less than a 25 lb payload." 25 lb Net lift at sea level with no winds (it is assumed the winds increase the lift capability because of the aerodynamic design of the aerostat and associated wing/skirt). ii. "The total weight of payload (including all mounting hardware, batteries, secondary lines on the tether) is 25 lbs." Yes sensors will weigh up to a total of 12 lbs, plus extra batteries, warning lights, deflation device, secondary lines etc. not to exceed 25 lbs. 6. Please clarify whether the tether winch must be powered with 120 VAC? No the winch does not have to be powered by 120 VAC. It is assumed that the 120 VAC will in some way power the winch, probably by using an AC to DC converter or using the 120 VAC to charge internal DC batteries. a. Reference SOW requirement: "Launcher requires 120 VAC 60HZ. This is used to drive the motor to raise and lower the Aerostat." b. Our tether winch is powered by internal 24 VDC to allow for remote operation (away from a shore AC power source) for up to 72 hours of normal operation using the system's batteries and thus preclude the need of a DC/AC inverter or a portable power generator. 7. Please clarify whether it is the intent to fly the aerostat in winds of 70 mph at 1,200 ft or for the inflated aerostat to withstand winds of 70 mph while stowed on the ground? To clarify: The Aerostat must be deployable from the surface with up to a 30 mph wind and at the height of 1200 ft MSL it must be able to withstand up to a 70 mph max wind. If the tether tension will require stronger breaking strength then that should be part of the quote. a. Reference SOW requirements: i. "Deployed aerostat must be able to withstand wind speeds of up to 70 mph." ii. "2500 ft of tether line to withstand maximum 70 mph wind speeds and maximum 25 lb. payload. b. Please note that flying the aerostat in winds of 70 mph at an altitude of 1,200 ft will generate tether tension of about 2,000 lbs; if a margin of safety of 3 is assumed, the tether breaking strength will have to be about 6,000 lbs. Furthermore, the launcher will have to be secured to ground to prevent it from moving or tipping over. 8. Please clarify whether the intended use of the specified 1,000 watt DC/AC inverter is to power airborne sensors, provide power to an AC tether winch, or provide AC power for other uses while away from a shore AC power source? The inverter is used to power the customer's portable computer. a. Reference SOW requirements: i. "Launcher Trailer should have a built in DC/AC pure sine wave inverter rated at a minimum of 1000 watts." ii. "Systems must have an internal power system (AGM batteries with inverter) to provide 180-200 Amp hours." These assumptions were made and the use for these batteries is to power the winch if shore power is not available. iii. "Aerostat must be able to handle typical flight duration of 16 hours." b. The use of a DC/AC inverter to provide 1,000 watt AC power to an airborne sensor, to an AC tether winch or other uses with a specified battery (either 12/24 VDC) capacity of 200 amp-hrs will deplete the batteries in less than four hours and thus not meet the "typical 16 hour flight duration" requirement. This requirement is to ensure that there is sufficient battery power to bring the Aerostat down safely with a computer running in the event of a complete power failure of externally supplied power. We do not expect to be able to run only on battery power for 16 hours. The sensors will need to run that long on battery power but that is customer supplied and not part of this requirement.
