R&D Contracting, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB OH 45433-7607

A -- ACTIVE AEROLASTIC WING TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRAM. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS IN TWO PARTS. THIS IS PART 1 OF 2 SOL PRDA 96-01 FIK POC Mr. Raleigh Haney, Contract Negotiator, (513) 255-5901 Mr. Lawrence W. Kopa, Contracting Officer, (513) 255-5901. INTRODUCTION: - THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS IN TWO PARTS. THIS IS PART 1 OF 2. The purpose of this notice is to solicit proposals on the PRDA which is available upon request from the technical point of contact listed below. The following is a brief description of the Active Aeroelastic Wing Technology Flight Research Program.Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW):Wright Laboratory (WL/FIBGE) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) to design fabricate (modify an existing fighter aircraft) and perform limited flight test support of a wing system that employs outboard control surfaces to alter the root to tip lift distribution by twisting the wing. Comments received in response to draft PRDA 96-01 (published MARCH 1995) have been incorporated as appropriate. Proposals submitted in response to this PRDA shall be submitted by April 1, 1996, 1500 hours, Eastern Time, addressed to Wright Laboratory, R&D Contracting Directorate, Building 7, Area B, Attn: (Mr. Raleigh Haney, WL/FIK), Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7607. Small businesses may propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposal submission after the cutoff date and time specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restrictions of FAR 52.215-10. A copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contact. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any PRDA amendments that may permit subsequent submission of proposal dates. Offerors who do not already have a copy of the current Nov 92 WL guide entitled ''PRDA BAA Guide for Industry'' should request a copy from the contracting focal point above. This guide is specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Potential offerors should request a supplemental package to this PRDA. The supplemental package may be requested from the Engineering POC at the above address. The supplemental package contains an engineering guide, list of procedures and guidance for use of government furnished property, equipment and facilities, and ground testing, a sample Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and contract data list requirements. B-REQUIREMENTS: The objective of the AAW program is to produce flight test verified design criteria for a wing system that is significantly lighter weight than current supersonic fighters while improving controllability and aerodynamic efficiency. (1) Technical Description: Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) Technology is a multidisciplinary, synergistic technology that integrates air vehicle aerodynamics, controls, and structures together to maximize air vehicle performance by taking advantage of higher aspect ratio, thinner flexible wings that are aeroelastically deformed into shapes for optimum performance. AAW technology uses wing aeroelastic flexibility for a net benefit. Wing control surfaces are used as tabs that promote wing twist instead of the current practice of adding stiffness trying to negate it. The power of the air stream is employed to twist the wing with very little control surface motion. The wing creates the control forces in AAW technology. Using AAW technology, large control power may be generated across the supersonic fighter aircraft Mach rangeenvelope that can be used for multiple purposes such as twisting and cambering the wing into a shape for: minimum drag at multiple flight conditions, to minimize structural loads, and to provide control power for rolling or pitching the air vehicle. To date, Active Aeroelastic Wing Technology has been demonstrated through analysis and wind tunnel modeling. A full scale flight demonstration utilizing a current light-weight high performance jet fighter is required to simulate the applicable Reynolds Numbers and high acceleration maneuvering effects. Successful completion of the flight test is required to mature the basic technology and provide aircraft designers with the confidence to use the technology in future designs. The major goal of this program is to conduct a flight test experiment that validates the full scale flight characteristics and benefits of Active Aeroelastic Wing Technology. The program will be accomplished by incorporating AAW technology on a full scale fighter aircraft testbed and flight testing the aircraft within its existing envelope. Development of Active Aeroelastic Wing Technology requires the integration of structures, flight controls, and aerodynamic technologies to obtain significant synergistic improvements. The contractor is encouraged to make recommendations to reduce program costs concerning all portions of the effort. The following program approach has been formulated to take advantage of current expertise and facilities in the government and industry. This contract will design, fabricate, modify an available supersonic fighter aircraft, and provide flight test support of the modified portion of the aircraft during flight testing. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center will perform the flight testing with support from the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards AFB, CA. The testbed aircraft will be delivered to the contractor facility by the government. The contractor will modify the selected aircraft at his facilities and ferry it to Edwards AFB, CA for flight testing. The contractor should select a supersonic aircraft that can be made available for the program on a cost effective basis, it should have a digital flight control system to facilitate cost efective integration with the AAW control system module which should be adaptable to the flight test learning process, should be capable of high dynamic pressure flight testing, and have instrumentation compatible with the NASA Dryden test range. Arrangements are now being made to make the NASA HARV F-18 and a NASA F-16 aircraft available for the AAW program. If any other aircraft is selected by the contractor, the contractor should investigate its availability and notify WL/FIBGE as soon as possible. (2) Deliverable Items: (a) Data and Reports: CDRL's of the supplemental package are provided as a guide to the contractor. It is the intent to permit the contractor to exercise considerable freedom in providing the minimum documentation to satisfy the requirements of the participating government organizations. Minimum documentation shall be as follows: reports to track contractor progress versus expenditures, design criteria for applying AAW technologies to flight vehicle designs giving reduced weight, increased controllability, and improved aerodynamic efficiency, documentation to operate the modified aircraft in a safe manner, and modification to appropriate manuals for maintaining the AAW testbed aircraft during flight tests. The CDRL's contain much more than this and the contractor should make recommendations as to which of these can be eliminated, e.g. the contractor will not be required to demod the testbed aircraft., (b) Hardware Deliverables: The contractor shall modify a GFP aircraft with control surfaces, actuators, skins, structural components, hydraulics, electrical system, computers etc., to provide a versatile AAW flight test aircraft capable of flight experimentation over the supersonic fighter aircraft flight envelop in sufficient thoroughness to validate the AAW technologies for application to future and current fighter aircraft (See flight test plan working group results). (c) Software Deliverables: The contractor shall design and program the AAW control software so that the operation of the testbed will prove that an integrated AAW flight vehicle can be designed to meet future fighter aircraft mission requirements. This may require reprogramming some of the basic flight control system software. The contractor will be required to provide data for the NASA Dryden flight training and planning simulation but it is anticipated that the actual simulation software programming will be provided by NASA. (3) Security Requirements: Security protection and classification requirements will be consistent with hardware to be modified during the program and performance capabilties used in comparing AAW attributes. Telemetry and data handling must be consistent with the protection and encryption needed at Edwards AFB. The AAW technology is unclassified but will have distribution limited to government agencies and their contractors and export control data protection from disclosure to foreign countries without approval from the U.S. State Department. The contractor may require access to classified information at the secret level and each requirement shall be approved on a case by case basis. (4) Other Requirements: Tentatively the following formal oral reviews are planned and should be preceded by appropriate documentation: Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Apr. 97, Critical Design Review (CDR) May 98, and Flight Readiness Review (FRR) Aug 99. The date and location of these reviews will be adjusted to fit the contractors work process on a cost effective basis. The attending government teams will submit formal Requests For Action (RFA's) which the contractor will be required to explain or perform the requested action. In general ground test facilities will be provided by the government but in some cases it may be more cost effective for the contractor to perform some of these tests in his facilities. Offerors should obtain the list of procedures and guidance for use of government furnished property, equipment and facilities, and ground testing in the supplemental package and make a cost effective selection as to which of the following are required and where they should be performed: Wind Tunnel Tests, Simulations, Wing Proof Load Tests, Ground Vibration Tests, and any other tests deemed necessary. It is anticipated that the Verification and Validation (V&V) will be performed by the contractor in conjunction with NASA Dryden at Edwards AFB, CA if the contractor can arrange to perform a minimum checkout of the basic reversion mod at his facility for ferry flight to Edwards AFB, CA. The contractor shall provide a brief flight test plan after the design is complete to show the extent to which the supersonic fighter envelope can be investigated by the AAW Test Aircraft. C-ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: 1 Sep 96 through 1 Jul 01. (2) Expected Award Date: 4 Jul 96. (3) Government Estimate: The Air Force funding profile is estimated to be as follows: FY96 $100k, fy97 $1.1M, FY98 $3,1m, fy99 $3.5M, FY00 $2.0m, FY01 $2.0M. THIS IS THE END OF PART 1. (0045)

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