Airship Training

ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE

An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services, or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier(s).

1. TITLE

Airship Training

2. OBJECTIVE
To provide two Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) Flight Test personnel with targeted training on theoretical knowledge and flying operations of modern airships. In particular, Flight Test personnel need to gain sufficient knowledge and experience that can be transposed to the certification of new hybrid airships currently under development.

3. DEFINITION OF THE REQUIREMENT
TCCA requires the Contractor to provide training at their facility for one test pilot and one flight test engineer. The training is composed of selected classroom lessons aimed at providing specific theoretical knowledge and selected flight training tasks to gain specific experience in airship operations. The classroom lessons and flight training tasks were selected from an approved training curriculum.

4. DELIVERABLES
The contractor must provide Transport Canada with the following three training sessions:
• Training Session – Basic Flying Tasks
o Dates: 25 March 2024 to 29 March 2024
o Six and one half (6.5) flight hours covering:
 Flight preparation, approaches, work on mast
 Unmasting, takeoffs, flight configuration changes
 Trim, hover, pressure control
 Pressure height, trim and hover

• Training Session – Operational Deployment
o Dates: 10 June to 21 June 2024
o Five (5) flight hours and field experience covering:
 Deployment planning, logistics, support
 Ground handling
 Cross-country flying
 Special mission operations

• Training Session – Advanced Flying Tasks
o Dates: 2 weeks between October and November 2024
o Eight and one half (8.5) flight hours covering:
 Maximum heavy takeoffs, weigh offs
 Landings, maximum heavy landings, masting
 Landings (heavy, EQ, light), ground operations on mast, masting
 Go Around, ground operation off mast, masting
 Instrument approaches
 Emergency procedures
 Night flying

5. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES (MINIMUM ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS)
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:
o Must have designed and manufactured a modern airship which has been certified by a recognized aviation authority (e.g. Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)). To demonstrate this criterion, the supplier must have an Acceptable Design Organization (ADO), an Acceptable Manufacturing Organization (AMfgO) and an Acceptable Technical Organization (ATO) certificates;

o Must be approved as an airship flight training organization by a recognized aviation authority (e.g. TCCA, EASA, FAA). To demonstrate this criterion, the supplier must have a Flight Training Unit certificate; and

o Must be operating an airship commercially. To demonstrate this criterion, the supplier must have an Acceptable Maintenance Organization (AMO) and a Commercial Operator Certificate.

6. APPLICABILITY OF THE TRADE AGREEMENT(S) TO THE PROCUREMENT
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s) (insert only the applicable trade agreement(s)):
o Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
o Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
o Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)

7. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER

Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) National Aircraft Certification (NAC) Flight Test personnel require targeted training on operational aspects of modern airships in order to address a critical knowledge gap with upcoming hybrid airship certification projects.
To address these key deficiencies, flight Test personnel need to build an understanding of how this aircraft type differs from the traditional air balloon, airplane and rotorcraft programs they are accustomed to assessing. A briefing note was sent to the Program Business Committee (PBC) to inform them of this capability gap.
A thorough review of publicly available training resources has demonstrated that there is only one company that currently designs, constructs, maintains, certifies, and trains personnel for complex airships. Zeppelin NT is a company based in Germany who developed the Zeppelin LZ N07-101. Their airships incorporate the newest technologies from the last generation of airships, including a vectored propulsion system. Zeppelin NT therefore has an airship configuration similar to the new generation of airships being proposed by new applicants, thus providing an effective platform to bridge the knowledge and experience gap. Under a separate contract, Zeppelin NT provided a 3-day training session to select TCCA NAC personnel which confirmed their engineering expertise associated with the development, certification, maintenance and aircrew training aspects for such aircraft.
As such, Zeppelin NT is the only company able to provide the specific theoretical knowledge and flying experience to prepare TCCA NAC Flight Test personnel to certification activities on upcoming hybrid airships.

8. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS REGULATIONS EXCEPTION(S)
Indicate all relevant exceptions under the Government Contracts Regulations (GCRs).
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - "only one person is capable of performing the work").

9. OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest in the Contractor. Refer to clause 4006 (2010-08-16) Contractor to Own Intellectual Property Rights in Foreground in accordance with the Policy on Title to Intellectual Property Arising under Crown Procurement Contracts: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/068.nsf/eng/00005.html

10. PERIOD OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT OR DELIVERY DATE
The proposed contract is for a period from March 18, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

11. COST ESTIMATE OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT
The estimated value of the contract is €105,000.00 EUR (19% VAT extra).

12. NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER

Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei GMBH
Messestrabe 132
88046 Friedrichshafen
Germany

13. SUPPLIERS' RIGHT TO SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

14. CLOSING DATE FOR A SUBMISSION OF A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is February 09, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

15. INQUIRIES AND STATEMENTS OF CAPABILITIES ARE TO BE DIRECTED BY EMAIL TO:

Tania Cantin
A/Procurement Specialist
Transport Canada
330 sparks street, Ottawa, ON
Telephone : 613-447-7499
Email : tania.cantin@tc.gc.ca