Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Exclusive Use Helicopter Flight Services, Everglad
Department of the Interior
AI summaryOnly small businesses can quote: the Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center wants quotes under solicitation 140D0426Q0654 for an exclusive-use helicopter (reserved for the Government for the whole period), plus a second one on call, based at Homestead, Florida. The flights support Everglades National Park and South Florida Parks and Preserves, with a listed period of performance of May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032. The response due date is November 23, 2026, 10:00 AM Pacific; the pricing schedule, technical specifications and most instructions were in pages not read. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The notice looks incomplete: The pricing schedule (A2 and A3), technical specifications (Section B), contract terms (Section C) and instructions D1 through D12 are in B08_SOL_140D0426Q0654_EU_H_T3_EVER-Resource_FINAL.pdf and B09_SA_Amend_001_140D0426Q0654_0001.pdf, but only the start and end of each were read. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Only small businesses can quote: the Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center wants quotes under solicitation 140D0426Q0654 for an exclusive-use helicopter (reserved for the Government for the whole period), plus a second one on call, based at Homestead, Florida. The flights support Everglades National Park and South Florida Parks and Preserves, with a listed period of performance of May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032. The response due date is November 23, 2026, 10:00 AM Pacific; the pricing schedule, technical specifications and most instructions were in pages not read.
Who can bid (4)
- Be a small business: the acquisition is set aside for small business concerns (North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 481211)
- Hold a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 14 CFR Part 135 or Part 121 certificate (or a foreign equivalent) and the matching operations specifications, in the offeror's name
- Offer two helicopters that meet the minimum specification (one exclusive use all period, one on call), each with its weight and balance report and equipment list
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- Be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and keep the registration current
Things to watch (10)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Serious: Small businesses only. The acquisition is set aside for small business concerns, so a firm that is not small under the NAICS code cannot win.
- Serious: FAA air carrier certificate required. The offeror must send its 14 CFR Part 135 or Part 121 certificate (Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operating authority for charter or airline operators) or a foreign equivalent; a firm without one cannot complete the offer.
- Serious: Two aircraft, relief crews and a fuel truck for the whole contract. One helicopter is reserved all year and a second must be ready on two weeks' notice, with relief pilot, relief driver and fuel vehicle, which is a heavy commitment for a small operator.
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- Worth checking: Pre-award safety and accident history questionnaire. Exhibit 11 asks about the safety management system, flight time, accident history and FAA violations; a weak record could hurt the Organizational Safety rating.
- Worth checking: Fuel assumption for payload differs between documents. The minimum payload (the weight the helicopter can carry) is computed with fuel for 1.9-hour total in Section A1 and Exhibit E-2, but Exhibit E-3 says 3 hours of fuel. Ask the contracting officer which applies.
- Worth checking: Amendment 0001 must be acknowledged. Amendment 0001 (Standard Form 30, the amendment form) says that an acknowledgment not received on time may lead to rejection of the offer.
- Worth checking: Two Service Contract Act wage determinations attached. The Service Contract Act (SCA: federal law setting minimum wages and benefits for service workers) wage determinations 1995-0221 and 1995-0222 are both attached. The first says it is for fire safety services only; the second covers flying services. Check which applies to your pilots and mechanics.
- Worth checking: Unbalanced pricing can get an offer rejected. Availability rates and flight rates must be in proportion to cost; rates the Government sees as unbalanced can be rejected even when the total price is low.
- Minor: Questions due November 6, 2026, 12:00 PM Pacific. Written questions and clarification requests go by email to the contracting officer and must be in by this deadline, which comes before the response due date.
- Minor: Past performance must be recent. Only experience not more than 3 years old counts, and references that cannot be reached may not be considered.
Read from the notice and 6 attachments. Show which files.
- Sol_140D0426Q0654_Amd_0001.pdf (read)
- B09_SA_Amend_001_140D0426Q0654_0001.pdf (read)
- Sol_140D0426Q0654.pdf (read)
- B08_SOL_140D0426Q0654_EU_H_T3_EVER-Resource_FINAL.pdf (read)
- B03_Attachment_II_WD_1995-0221_Rev__74_06_29_2026.pdf (read)
- B03_Attachment_I_WD__1995-0222_Rev_72_04_11_2026.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Provide one light helicopter on an exclusive use basis for the entire exclusive use period of May 01 to April 30, based at Homestead, Florida
- Provide one additional light helicopter on an on-call basis, used occasionally; the Government gives two weeks of advance notice when a second aircraft is needed
- Keep at least two aircraft carded (approved for use) under the contract at all times
- Supply a crew of a pilot-in-command (PIC) with a relief pilot, and a fuel service vehicle driver with a relief driver
- Supply one fuel servicing vehicle equipped as Section B8 specifies (required for lower 48 states operations)
- Meet the minimum helicopter specification: 4 insured passenger seats not counting the pilot, turbine engine, 69 knots with front doors off, 14 CFR 27 certification, skid landing gear, right seat PIC, and a non-jettisonable payload (HIGE, hover-in-ground effect, the weight carried while hovering near the ground) of 725 pounds at 25 degrees C at 2,500 feet pressure altitude
- Quote prices for daily availability, flight time and additional pay items (time and materials), with all Federal, State and local taxes and duties included in the price
- Contract type
- Single-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: the Government places orders as needed) contract, with firm fixed unit prices and time and material items under the task orders; bought as a commercial services combined synopsis/solicitation under Part 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
- Period of performance
- Listed as May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032. Each exclusive use period runs May 01 to April 30. How this splits into base and option periods is in pages not read; a six-month extension under FAR 52.217-8 is also mentioned.
- Place of performance
- Designated base: Homestead, Florida, for Everglades National Park and South Florida Parks and Preserves (SAM.gov lists no place of performance)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Best value tradeoff: the Government weighs Technical Capability, Organizational Safety, Past Performance and Total Evaluated Price. Total Evaluated Price adds all option periods and a prorated six-month extension to the base price.
- Offers due
- November 23, 2026, 10:00 AM Pacific
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Capability
- Organizational Safety
- Past Performance
- Total Evaluated Price (base plus all options plus a six-month extension at the final or highest option-period price)
What to include when you submit
- Send the offer in four volumes, as the table of contents lists them: Volume I Offer, Volume II Technical Capability, Volume III Organizational Safety and Volume IV Past Performance
- Enter the offeror's name on each pricing page; it must match the name on the Standard Form 1449 and the 14 CFR 135 certificate holder's name
- Complete the Helicopter Questionnaire (Exhibit E-2) for both the primary and the secondary aircraft, with the current weight and balance report, the certified equipment list, aircraft flight manual performance data, performance calculations (fuel at 6.7 pounds per gallon), the 14 CFR Part 135 or Part 121 certificate or foreign equivalent, and Operations Specifications A003, B050 and D085
- Complete the Helicopter Information Form (Exhibit E-3) for both the primary and the secondary aircraft
- Complete the Offeror's Miscellaneous Information page (Exhibit E-1): company name, UEI (unique entity ID) and CAGE code (commercial and government entity code), and contacts including Director of Operations, Chief Pilot and Director of Maintenance
- Send Past Performance Information Sheets (Exhibit E-4) showing recent experience, not more than 3 years old, of the kind described in the solicitation
- Send the pre-award Safety Management System, flight time, accident history and FAA violation questionnaire (Exhibit 11), listed as a Section C exhibit
- Acknowledge Amendment 0001 before the response due date: return signed copies of Standard Form 30, note it on each copy of the offer, or send a letter or electronic message that cites the solicitation and amendment numbers
- To protect trade secrets or confidential financial information, mark the cover page and each affected page with the legends in provision DIAR 1452.215-71
- Send questions in writing by email to Melanie Johnson (Melanie_Johnson@ibc.doi.gov) in the format: RFP 140D0426Q0654, Section, Page, Paragraph, Question
After award, you must have
- Supply the crew (pilot-in-command with relief pilot, fuel service vehicle driver with relief driver) and a fuel servicing vehicle equipped as Section B8 specifies From B08_SOL_140D0426Q0654_EU_H_T3_EVER-Resource_FINAL.pdf:
Crew Compliment Required: Pilot-in-Command (PIC) with relief pilot and fuel service vehicle…
Not in the notice text
- The pricing schedule (A2 and A3), technical specifications (Section B), contract terms (Section C) and instructions D1 through D12 are in B08_SOL_140D0426Q0654_EU_H_T3_EVER-Resource_FINAL.pdf and B09_SA_Amend_001_140D0426Q0654_0001.pdf, but only the start and end of each were read
- How and where to send the offer, and the relative importance of the four evaluation factors (Section D8.2), are in the pages not read
- The split of the May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032 period into base and option periods, and the quantity and unit for item 00010 on the Standard Form 1449, are not in the text read
- Pilot, mechanic and fuel driver qualifications, maintenance rules, availability and damages terms, and the fuel price adjustment are listed in the table of contents but were not read
- Which of the two wage determinations (1995-0221 or 1995-0222) applies to each job is not stated in the text read; Exhibit 13 is listed as the Applicable Wage Determination
- Amendment 0001 (dated October 23, 2026) says it provides the Combined Pre-Solicitation Notice / Solicitation page; whether it changes the due date couldn't be read from its checkboxes, so check the amendment on SAM.gov
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 481211
- How and where to submit is in the notice text and its attachments on SAM.gov.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- Ibc Acq SVCS Directorate (00004), Herndon, VA
- Product/service code
- V221 · Transportation/Travel/Relocation – Travel/Lodging/Recruitment: Passenger Air Charter
- Business type
- Transportation, logistics & vehicles (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 481211)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 23, 2026
- Oct 23, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Nov 23, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Exclusive Use Resource Helicopter Flight Services, South Florida Parks and Preserves
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