T-38 Quick Disconnect Project

SOURCES SOUGHT FOR THE T-38 QUICK DISCONNECT PROJECT August 23, 2011 NOTE This notification is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses will not be returned. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), a response to this notice is not an offer and cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with their response. Not responding to this Market Research will not preclude participation in any future Request for Proposal (RFP), if issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be publicized in accordance with the requirements of the FAR. PROGRAM GOAL The current T-38 Quick Disconnect (QD) fails at a relatively high rate and is a high maintenance driver for the T-38 program. This QD project is to improve the design of the QDs to increase the mean time between maintenance (MTBM) of the parts to reduce overall costs to the program. PROBLEM DESCRIPTION System description The T-38 uses four hydraulic QDs to link hydraulic lines between the center fuselage and the aft fuselage (boattail) during disassembly and assembly. These couplings provide a mechanism to automatically seal the lines when both engaged and disengaged. The system uses hydraulic fluid at 3000 PSI to operate flight control actuators in the aft section of the aircraft. There are two pressure lines and two return lines. The QDs need to accommodate slight mis-alignment during engagement and they must survive vibration, side loads, and assembly loads for a significant number of flight hours. The temperature of the environment surrounding the QDs may be above 280*F, so the seals will be required to be made of a material that is able to survive that temperature (the oil temperature range is -65*F to 275*F). Problem statement The current design does not have a high enough MTBM. The high cost of maintenance action warrants investigation into an improved design that could reduce costs. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION The Air Force requests information concerning the engineering design and manufacturing capabilities of potential contractors. Questions include: 1) Does the contractor have any currently fielded items that are used in a similar application? 2) Does the contractor have access to engineering experience that could be applied to solving this problem? 3) Has the contractor performed previous development on similar designs that could be applied to this application to give increased confidence in the expected MTBM of the new design? 4) Does the contractor have adequate manufacturing know-how to produce the re-designed components? 5) Does the contractor have the manufacturing capability to support a large production run? 6) Does the contractor have fielded units that show that they are able to meet production dates and quoted estimates? 7) Can the contractor provide examples of similar problems that they have solved? 8) Can the contractor provide the general experience level of their employees (resumes not required) and the number of employees that could be devoted to this effort? Please send all responses via U.S. mail or email to: Ms. Brandi Clark 6072 Fir Avenue, Bldg. 1233 Hill AFB, UT 84056 Phone: 801-586-1126 Email: Brandi.Clark@hill.af.mil Ms. Sheela Casper 6072 Fir Avenue, Bldg. 1233 Hill AFB, UT 84056 Phone: 801-775-2097 Email: Sheela.Casper@hill.af.mil Responses are due no later than 15:00 MST Friday 23 September 2011.