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Flight Data Recorder (FDR) Information

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General Information

  • Contract Opportunity Type: Sources Sought (Updated)
  • Updated Published Date: Jul 12, 2022 09:49 am EDT
  • Original Published Date: Jul 05, 2022 09:40 am EDT
  • Updated Response Date: Aug 11, 2022 05:00 pm EDT
  • Original Response Date: Jul 29, 2022 05:00 pm EDT
  • Inactive Policy: 15 days after response date
  • Updated Inactive Date:
  • Original Inactive Date:
  • Initiative:
    • None

Classification

  • Original Set Aside:
  • Product Service Code: V221 - TRANSPORTATION/TRAVEL/RELOCATION- TRAVEL/LODGING/RECRUITMENT: PASSENGER AIR CHARTER
  • NAICS Code:
    • 481211 - Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation
  • Place of Performance:

Description

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY.

This notice does not constitute a commitment by the Government. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary, and the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government.

The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (“Volpe”) in Cambridge, Massachusetts seeks to identify potential sources – either via a future purchase agreement or through a knowledge exchange partnership – to provide airplane Flight Data Recorder (FDR) information for use in researching the environmental effects of aviation.  These FDR data may also be referred to as Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) data.  Between 10,000 and 1 million flights of FDR data are desired for the improvement and validation of environmental impact modeling.

This Sources Sought is only for the purpose of identifying potential sources. No Request for Quote (RFQ) exists.  If a company is interested in being a potential source of FDR data for better protecting the environment, please fill out the survey at the end of this announcement.

Responses to this Sources Sought are not quotes on which Volpe can issue any contract. This Sources Sought is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not itself constitute an RFP or RFQ. The Government does not intend to award a contract vehicle based solely on responses to this Sources Sought.

Volpe is seeking FDR datasets for a variety of civil transport aircraft types currently operating the U.S. and international markets. Volpe is seeking on the order of up to several hundred FDR records for each aircraft type of interest. The ideal dataset would capture temporal data for each operation beginning at the time the first engine is started at the departure airport and ending the time the last engine is shutdown at the arrival airport.  The temporal resolution of the data is expected to be at least one record per second near the terminal area of the airport.  

For informational purposes only, a sample of the type of dataset Volpe is seeking is included the attached spreadsheets; one spreadsheet (“meta”) contains the general data for the flights, with one record per flight, and the other (“details”) contains the temporal data fields of all the flights, with multiple records per flight to reflect temporal variations across the flight trajectory. The provided files are intended to be informational, meaning not all data fields are required.

As part of our market research, Volpe is issuing this Sources Sought to determine if there are companies or organizations who can provide the required FDR data. The Government may use the responses to this Sources Sought for information and planning purposes.

All information received in response to this Sources Sought marked "Proprietary" will be protected and handled accordingly. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Volpe will not release or publish uniquely identifiable flight information for individual operations contained in the FDR dataset.

Responses to the Sources Sought will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought. Volpe will not pay for information received in response to this Sources Sought. Do not submit pricing information in response to this Sources Sought. Interested sources shall provide a response detailing their capability to provide FDR information of the type given in the data description attachment. Please provide the following information:

Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization, and if applicable any Government contract vehicle numbers; tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational capability.

The Government does not possess or own data rights necessary to distribute for this effort. Based on the responses to this sources sought notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition.

Please note telephonic responses WILL NOT be accepted.

**************************************Survey**********************************************
1. Does your organization generate, analyze, or otherwise handle aviation CFDR?
☐ Yes
☐ No

2. Would your organization consider selling or sharing some volume of reduced-form CFDR, meaning CFDR that has been “de-identified”?
☐ Yes
☐ No

3. Would your organization consider selling or sharing some volume of raw CFDR, meaning CFDR that could be identified and linked to other flight information?
☐ Yes
☐ No

4. If you answered “No” to questions 3 and 4, would a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and/or the use of specific data sharing platforms affect the likelihood of your organization’s willingness to sell or share CFDR? For example, some organizations share data with DOT via the Secure Data Commons: https://www.transportation.gov/data/secure

5. (Optional) Is your organization based in the United States?
☐ Yes
☐ No

6. Does your organization contain as part of its mission statement(s) to minimize environmental impacts, such as noise and air quality?
☐ Yes
☐ No

7. What type of organization do you belong to?
☐ Passenger airline
☐ Cargo airline
☐ Charter airline
☐ Original Equipment Manufacturer – Member of Aerospace Industries Association (AIA)
☐ Original Equipment Manufacturer – non-AIA avionics manufacturer
☐ Flight School
☐ Governmental
☐ Fractional Aircraft Ownership Management Company
☐ Academia / Research
☐ Other (please list)

8. (Optional) Would your firm submit an offer if this requirement is issued?
☐ Yes
☐ No

9. What is the minimum number of flights your firm could deliver at its desired price point?
____________ flights

10. What is the maximum number of flights your firm could deliver at its desired price point?
____________ flights

11. Given the numbers of flights you provided in responses #9 and #10 above, what would be the bulk discount, defined as 1 minus the ratio of unit prices between your minimum deliverable flights to your maximum deliverable flights?
Bulk discount: _____% (enter zero if you do not offer a bulk discount)

12. (Optional) Please indicate the size of your business.
☐ S – Small
☐ O – Other than small

13. (Optional) Do you provide this service or product commercially?
☐ Yes
☐ No

Contact Information

Contracting Office Address

  • OFFICE OF ACQUISITIONS 220 Binney Street
  • CAMBRIDGE , MA 02142
  • USA

Primary Point of Contact

Secondary Point of Contact

History