Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
On Call Type III Helicopter Flight Services
Department of the Interior
AI summaryThe Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center (IBC) Acquisition Services Directorate wants on-call light (Type III) helicopters with pilots for fire and non-fire flights in the lower 48 states. It is set aside for small businesses, with the work running May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032. The response due date is November 3, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The notice looks incomplete: Large parts of the solicitation were attached but not read: B08_SOL_140D0426R0085_OC_Type_3_Helo_L48.pdf (94,221 of 362,218 characters read) and B09_SA_Amd_0001_0001.pdf (47,111 of 380,233 characters read). The missing middle includes Section B (technical specifications and certifications), most of Section C (terms, insurance, exhibits) and the offer submission and offer contents instructions (D3 and D4). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center (IBC) Acquisition Services Directorate wants on-call light (Type III) helicopters with pilots for fire and non-fire flights in the lower 48 states. It is set aside for small businesses, with the work running May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032. The response due date is November 3, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain.
Who can bid (6)
- Small business concern. SAM.gov lists this as a Small Business Set Aside - Total under NAICS 481211, so only small businesses can win.
- Offer a turbine-engine helicopter with at least 317 takeoff horsepower, three to seven insured passenger seats, and the 550-pound jettisonable payload described above.
- Appears to require an FAA air-carrier certificate under 14 CFR Part 135: the pricing pages must match the certificate holder's name and operating locations. The certifications section (B2) was not read, so confirm.
Show all 6Show fewer
- Active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM).
- Aircraft and general public liability insurance under the Interior clause (amounts were not read). Extra aircraft insurance is needed to operate in Alaska.
- Follow the limitations on subcontracting clause, which caps how much of the work a small business may pass to others (the percentages were not read).
Things to watch (11)
From the version posted Oct 21, 2026.
- Serious: Small business set-aside. Only small businesses can win this contract, and the limitations on subcontracting clause limits how much work you can hand to others.
- Serious: Aircraft must meet the minimum requirements. An aircraft that falls short on seats, engine power or the 550-pound payload is rated Unacceptable and cannot be considered for award.
- Serious: Five years of daily rates required. An aircraft offer is not acceptable for daily availability pricing unless all five years are priced.
Show all 11Show fewer
- Worth checking: Likely needs an FAA Part 135 air-carrier certificate. Pricing pages must match the 14 CFR 135 certificate holder, so a firm without that certificate may not be able to bid; check Section B2 (not read).
- Worth checking: Unbalanced pricing can be rejected. Rates that are far out of line between availability and flight rates, or between years, can get an offer rejected.
- Worth checking: Fuel supplied by the contractor. Rates are bid wet, so you cover fuel; only the Government-set fixed hourly flight rates get fuel price adjustments.
- Worth checking: Only one inspection is guaranteed. The minimum the Government plans to order is one inspection per aircraft and pilot; flying work comes only as orders are placed.
- Worth checking: Fuel truck and driver for fire aircraft. Interagency fire aircraft need a fuel servicing vehicle and driver in addition to the pilot, which adds equipment and staff costs.
- Worth checking: Extra insurance for Alaska. Aircraft may be sent to Alaska, and the contractor must carry extra aircraft insurance for flying there.
- Minor: No subsistence pay with daily availability. Crew meal and lodging costs are paid only under project rates, so build them into the daily availability price.
- Minor: Safety questionnaire due after award. The safety management system questionnaire (Exhibit 12) is due within 30 days of award if you win.
Read from the notice and 4 attachments. Show which files.
- Sol_140D0426R0085_Amd_0001.pdf (read)
- Sol_140D0426R0085.pdf (read)
- B08_SOL_140D0426R0085_OC_Type_3_Helo_L48.pdf (read)
- B09_SA_Amd_0001_0001.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- On-call turbine-engine light helicopters with a pilot-in-command (PIC), used for interagency fire flights and non-fire flights (called resource-only or project flights)
- Three to seven insured passenger seats per aircraft, not counting the pilot
- Jettisonable payload (HOGE, the weight the helicopter can lift while hovering) of 550 pounds at 30 degrees C at 5,000 feet pressure altitude, using a 200-pound pilot, a 25-pound survival kit and fuel for 1.5 hours
- For interagency fire aircraft: a fuel servicing vehicle and its driver; a relief crew is optional
- Daily availability prices for all five years, plus optional hourly project flight rates, with fuel supplied by the contractor (wet rates)
- Optional extras priced separately, such as long line, snow landing equipment, seeders, a concrete bucket, a litter kit, helitorch (aerial fire ignition) and overwater floats
- A Government inspection and test of each aircraft and pilot before use (Item 1, the minimum guarantee)
- Contract type
- Multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts, with firm fixed unit price items under the task orders. Paid by a daily availability rate plus an hourly flight rate when flown.
- Period of performance
- May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032 (five years, each May 1 to April 30). The Government may also extend services up to six months under FAR 52.217-8.
- Place of performance
- The lower 48 states. The solicitation says aircraft may also work in Alaska, with transit through Canada.
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Technically acceptable offers with fair and reasonable prices; no tradeoffs and no ranking on non-price factors. Several awards are possible.
- Offers due
- November 3, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Capability: the offered aircraft must meet or exceed the minimum aircraft requirements (rated Acceptable or Unacceptable)
- Past Performance: recent (last three years) and relevant aviation support work, rated Acceptable, Neutral or Unacceptable
- Evaluated Price: rates for all years checked for fair and reasonable pricing against past contract prices and other offers; unbalanced pricing may be rejected
What to include when you submit
- Acknowledge Amendment 0001 (Standard Form 30, SF 30, the form that amends a solicitation) before the response due date, using one of the methods on the form.
- Offer contents are organized as Volume I (Offer), Volume II (Technical Capability) and Volume III (Past Performance), per the amended table of contents; the volume details were not read.
- Fill in the pricing pages only for aircraft you are offering: daily availability for all five years (May 1, 2027 to April 30, 2032), and optionally hourly project flight rates with and without a fuel truck.
- Project flight rates must be in the original proposal to be considered for project work; they are optional for the offer to be acceptable.
- Put your name and principal base of operations on each pricing page, matching the SF 1449 (the form you sign and return as your offer) and the 14 CFR 135 certificate holder.
- Send a helicopter questionnaire (Exhibit E-2) for each aircraft, with the latest weight and balance report, the latest equipment list and the hover ceiling charts used for the payload figure.
- Include the helicopter information form (Exhibit E-3) and the offeror's miscellaneous information (Exhibit E-1).
- For past performance, send a past performance information sheet (Exhibit E-4) for each contract; include only experience not more than 3 years old, of the kind described in paragraph B1.1.
- Hold prices firm for 240 calendar days from the date offers are due.
- Complete the Section E representations and certifications.
After award, you must have
- Safety management system (SMS) questionnaire and supporting documents (Exhibit 12): may be sent with the offer but are not required then; due within 30 days of award. From B09_SA_Amd_0001_0001.pdf:
Exhibit 12 (SMS Questionnaire and Supporting Documentation) MAY be submitted…
Not in the notice text
- Large parts of the solicitation were attached but not read: B08_SOL_140D0426R0085_OC_Type_3_Helo_L48.pdf (94,221 of 362,218 characters read) and B09_SA_Amd_0001_0001.pdf (47,111 of 380,233 characters read). The missing middle includes Section B (technical specifications and certifications), most of Section C (terms, insurance, exhibits) and the offer submission and offer contents instructions (D3 and D4).
- How and where to send the offer (e-mail, portal or other) is not stated in the text read.
- Page limits and the exact contents of each offer volume are not stated in the text read.
- The Government's estimate, a ceiling or the expected number of awards is not stated.
- Pilot, mechanic and aircraft inspection requirements, insurance amounts, and the Government-set fixed hourly flight rates in Exhibit A-1 were not read.
- Whether the question deadline of October 6, 2026, 12:00 PM MT in the original solicitation changed in the amended solicitation is not shown in the text read.
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 21, 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 21, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 3, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 21, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Oct 27, 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
On Call Type III Helicopter Flight Services in the Lower 48 States
Similar open opportunities
- Exclusive Use Helicopter Flight Services, EvergladOnly small businesses can quote: the Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center wants quotes under solicitation 140D0426Q0654 for an exclusive-use helicopter (reserved…
- Type I Helicopter Service
- Exclusive Use Helicopter Flight Services, YosemiteThe Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center is buying one contractor-operated, contractor-maintained medium helicopter, with crew and fuel truck, for the U.S.…
- Solicitation for AK Helo On CallThe Department of the Interior (Interior Business Center, for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service) wants on-call helicopter flight services in Alaska, with the contractor supplying…
- Airborne Special Operations Testing Directorate Wet Blade Hours IDIQThe Army's Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Bragg wants a small business to supply aircraft, pilots and mechanics for military parachute flights for the…