SOURCES SOUGHT
69 -- Spatial Disorientation Trainer
- Notice Date
- 5/17/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 333319
— Other Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command, Specialized Contracting Squadron, 2021 First Street West, Randolph AFB, TX, 78150-4302
- ZIP Code
- 78150-4302
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-SDT0001
- Response Due
- 6/1/2006
- Archive Date
- 6/16/2006
- Description
- DO NOT RESPOND TO JERRY STRUBBE OR DEBBIE AGUIRRE! RESPOND TO LT COL DEREK KNIGHT VIA EMAIL AT derek.knight@randolph.af.mil. Introduction: This Request for Information (RFI) will be used to determine if there are sources available that could provide HQ Air Education & Training Command (HQ AETC/A3) with a ground-based spatial disorientation trainer. HQ AETC/A3 is soliciting vendors who will make available their ground-based trainer for closer examination by a team of AETC pilots. It is hoped that the AETC team will find a suitable device for spatial disorientation training in Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT). The device must be capable of creating spatial disorientation (SD) illusions while at the same time producing realistic flight simulation. Details of the product specifications for the SD trainer are spelled out in the following paragraphs, but to qualify the vendor?s product must meet the following requirements: 1) It must be available for purchase or recognized as a commercial-off-the-shelf product. 2) It must be currently in use by an existing flight training program. 3) It must be either accessible or available during a period of at least six months of calendar year 2007 to allow AETC to evaluate the device. This evaluation would consist of examining the capabilities of the device, developing custom flight profiles and allowing a team of AETC instructor pilots to fly a series of missions to assess ability of the device to cause spatial disorientation illusions. This evaluation could be performed at the vendor?s facility or the device could be set up at an AETC training base. A team of AETC pilots will be assembled to examine the capability of the device. After their examination is complete, and should the device be found acceptable for the purpose of HQ AETC/A3, the product will be then considered worthy of competing for a potential purchase of five (5) devices in 2008. No specific MILSPEC Standards apply to this purchase. Vendors are to supply overall warranty information on their ground-based trainers, parts, sub-assemblies, and subcomponents; including parts warranted by individual manufacturers. No specific warranties are directed by this solicitation. Any expected annual maintenance costs, and any anticipated computer upgrades, are expected to be presented during the proposal stage of the acquisition process. A firm-fixed price contract is contemplated for the possible purchase of the five (5) training devices over a period of time as established by the Government. The first training device would be located at Randolph AFB, TX and if determined to be acceptable, the possibility of four (4) more training devices could be purchased for four (4) different Undergraduate Pilot Training base locations, on a time schedule established by USAF needs. Once the AETC/A3 assessment has been completed, the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be placed on the Federal Business Opportunities website http://www.eps.gov. At present there is no time line for posting an RFP. It will be the responsibility of prospective offerors? to check this site regularly for any postings or changes. Prospective offerors? must be registered in the DoD Central Contracting Registration (CCR). Registration may be accomplished at http://www.ccr.gov. All responsible small businesses are encouraged to respond to this RFI. All prospective offerors? shall indicate their size standard (large business, 8(a), etc) when replying to this RFI. In your response briefly describe your company?s experience with these types of training devices or similar items, current or past contracts that deal with the aforementioned products or similar products, and any information you deem relevant. Provide a point-of-contact to include an e-mail address, your Federal Cage Code and Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS). In addition to the flight simulation and SD illusions, this ground-based trainer must possess three basic capabilities. The first is a motion system that can sustain continual yaw; the second is a realistic enclosed cockpit with flight instruments and controls closely similar to those of the T-6 Texan II aircraft; and the third is a user interface between the console operator and the pilot in the cockpit that allows the console operator to insert flight conditions and flight profiles either randomly or pre-program. The pre-programmed conditions should initiate based on the flight location of the simulated aircraft. Specific Mandatory Specifications/Requirements/Capabilities: The following details explain the most important features required of the product being sought by the AETC/A3 team. Cab or Cockpit Configuration: 1) Cockpit Size: Any pilot candidate in the Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (JSUPT) program must be able to sit comfortably in the cockpit. In other words, if the person is of an anthropometric size to enter pilot training, then that person must be able to fit just like they would fit in the actual USAF T-6 Texan II aircraft. 2) Seat and rudder pedals: The seat should be adjustable in forward-backward and up-down directions. It is highly desirable for the rudder pedals to be adjustable as well (forward-backward), and include the traditional aircraft toe-brake feature. 3) The cab must be light tight to produce the autokinesis illusion. It must also contain adjustable background lighting and/or adjustable floodlights. When needed, the entire cockpit must be able to remove any background lighting, i.e. display screens must look as if they are turned off. 4) Instrumentation or head-down displays must reflect the same instrument arrangement as the T-6A aircraft, as much as possible. The detailed configuration is not required in this early assessment effort, but it will be required in the actual Request For Proposal. If necessary, the AETC/A3 will provide photos of the T-6A instrument panel. If this requirement cannot be met, the vendor will inform the program manager. 5) It is desirable that several of the instruments have interactive capability; e.g. an adjustable altimeter for changes in barometric pressure altitude, an adjustable airspeed set marker, a course set knob, and a heading set knob. Standard navigation (including instrument approaches and en-route navigation) and communication (UHF/VHF) capabilities are required. 6) Out-the-window (OTW) viewing scene: The OTW viewing scene of the virtual world must be at least 100 degrees horizontal and at least 30 degrees vertical--as measured from the eyes of the pilot when his/her head is in the normal sitting flight position. The scene itself must be of a high enough resolution so that it doesn't appear to be "jumpy" or partially rendered. Collimation of the visual scene is not necessary. 7) A functional Head-Up Display (HUD) must be capable of being displayed in the OTW scene. An independent HUD is not required, but would be acceptable. Eventually, this HUD symbology must also contain a functional flight path marker (this is not a ?pitch? reference) and reflect the flight symbology as specified in MIL-STD 1787C. This is not required for the early assessment by the AETC/A3 Team, but it will be required for the official RFP. The HUD symbology must be capable of being removed from the scene at any time with one keystroke at the controller console. 8) Headset: A functional, adjustable standard headset must be incorporated in the cab. Constant communication to the console operator is a requirement. 9) Camera: An infrared camera for observing the pilot in the cab is required. 10) Night-vision Goggle (NVG) compatibility: A desirable feature is that of being able to use a NVG when flying the ASAT. Motion Platform: 1) The motion platform must be able to produce six degrees of freedom (DoF) motion--pitch, bank, yaw, heave, surge and sway. Pitch motion must be at least +/- 20 degrees from level. Bank must be at least +/- 20 degrees, and yaw must be capable of sustaining constant rotation in either direction (sustained yaw is considered to be more than +/- 360 degrees). Linear displacement is not specified but the device is required to produce momentary accelerations in the linear displacement directions. These are minimum acceptable criteria. 2) The motion platform must be a stand-alone installation that does not require bolting to the floor. 3) Standard 220 AC (3 phase) electrical requirements are recommended, but if more (or unique power) is required, this must be brought to the attention of the AETC/A3 Team leader. 4) Sub-threshold motion in pitch, roll and yaw is required, as well as in linear displacement. General displacement and motion requirements are summarized in the Table I. TABLE I. Motion Requirements Degree of Freedom DisplacementRequirement VelocityRequirement AccelerationRequirement Pitch +/- 20 0.5 ? 20 ?/sec 0.5 ? 60 ?/sec? Roll +/- 20 0.5 ? 20 ?/sec 0.5 ? 60 ?/sec? Yaw Continuous 0.5 ? 120 ?/sec 0.5 ? 10 ?/sec? Heave (if provided) +/- 10 cm 0.5 ? 40 cm/sec Acceptable turbulence characteristics Surge Not specified Not specified Not specified Sway Not specified Not specified Not specified Console (workstation): 1) A minimum size of 17-inch color monitors for all displays at the workstation are required. The display surface should be shielded from overhead lights. 2) The graphical user interface should contain multiple features. Control of the imagery is critical. Features like time-of-day, in-flight visibility and associated changes of in-flight visibility, fog conditions, ceilings, in and out of cloud effects, are all necessary. 3) In addition, individual pre-programming of the motion is required from the console workstation, and pre-programming of many visual features leading to spatial disorientation, e.g., sloping cloud deck, false horizon, should be available for quick access by the instructor at the console. 4) It is absolutely critical to allow for pre-programmable ?conditional? events to occur. Conditional events are those motion and visual changes, which happen at a pre-determined point in space when the simulated aircraft reaches this point, or at a specific run time in the simulator space-time world. This important feature will be discussed further at the request of potential vendors. 5) The cockpit instrumentation must be controlled at the workstation by the instructor. This means any and all of the flight instruments will have a feature where they can be frozen, blanked, or removed at the discretion of the console operator. These features must be tied into the conditional event feature. In other words, the console operator must be able to either freeze an instrument whenever he/she desires to do it, or the same event (e.g., freezing the instrument) can occur at a pre-programmed conditional event. 6) The console operator must be able to move the aircraft throughout the database in the traditional three dimensions (latitude, longitude, and altitude) with the aid of a cursor. The ?click and drag? feature for latitude and longitude position will suffice. Altitude changes via another feature are desired. 7) Recording of the simulator profile is desired, but not required. However, the capability to display, record, and print an ILS approach is required (in both glide slope and localizer). Please provide a list of cost options for various levels of recording capabilities as part of your response. Specialized Features: 1) The product must be able to generate acceptable SD illusions of both vestibular or visual origins and combinations of both sensory types (i.e. vestibular and visual). Acceptable illusions will be decided by the AETC/A3 Team of experts during the assessment. 2) As mentioned earlier, NVG integration is desired but not required. It is a feature needed for future applications and the team would like to determine the potential of integrating NVG into the training curriculum. If this cannot be accomplished, the AETC/A3 Team would like to know the problems associated with this feature, e.g., technical problems and expense to implement 3) Although the distributed mission training concept (i.e., linking several devices together via the LAN) is not a requirement, AETC would like to know about the feasibility and cost of this technology. 4) The workstation must be able to generate formation profiles so the operator in the cab can fly with the virtual lead aircraft. Simulated air refueling is also a desired but not required feature. DO NOT RESPOND TO JERRY STRUBBE OR DEBBIE AGUIRRE! RESPOND TO LT COL DEREK KNIGHT VIA EMAIL AT derek.knight@randolph.af.mil.
- Record
- SN01049861-W 20060519/060517220604 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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